The most promising method so far involves determining how the turbulence has distorted a simple point source of light in the image and reversing the effect.
But a human expert is required to locate what appear to be point-like sources from which the distortion can be calculated. Now Yitzhak Yitzhaky, an electronics engineer at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, has developed a system that automates a version of the process.
It works by searching the image for what appear to be step-like edges, and then calculating how such edges must have been distorted. It applies the reverse of that to the entire image.
This method only determines the distortion in one direction across an image (since edges are straight lines). But Yitzhaky points out that blurring due to atmospheric turbulence is usually the same in all directions this doesn't matter. The result is an automated system for removing the blur from satellite images of the Earth.
Read the full satellite image sharpener patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant
