Since I made the "Most Important Image" video, I have consistently gotten emails asking how the image was taken in the first place.

Here is a video from HubbleSite.org that does a great job of telling the story of how the first Hubble Deep Field was taken in 1995.

What many people don't know is that the decision to try and take this image was very risky for the project scientists. Time on the Hubble telescope is in very high demand and very competitive and using it to stare at an empty patch of sky was considered a waste, especially if nothing turned up.

It was far from clear that the telescope would see anything at all after such long exposures. The risk paid off however, and the rest is history.


CREDIT: NASA and STSci (created under NASA contract and is public domain)

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/movie_theater/lookdeep/