An astrophotographer was able to create an incredibly detailed image of the Moon that accurately shows the highly-detailed features of its surface. According to the artist, he used about 100,000 photos of the Moon in order to create a clear and accurate image of the Earth's natural satellite.
The stunning image was made by astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy, who specializes in providing highly-detailed photographs of various space objects. In his most recent work, he provided a glimpse of the first quarter Moon of the year.
McCarthy's First Quarter Moon of 2020
Through his Instagram page, McCarthy shared an image. According to the astrophotographer, doing so allowed him to accurately show the incredible details of the Moon's surface. By combining the photos, he was able to eliminate the fuzzy effect caused by Earth's atmosphere.
"My first lunar image of 2020 is also one of my most detailed," McCarthy stated. "This is a blend of around 100k photos, which allowed me to sharpen the image and overcome some of the fuzzing caused by our turbulent atmosphere."
Details Of The Moon And McCarthy's Other Works
As noted by McCarthy, the colours shown in his latest work are all real and accurately represent the appearance of the lunar surface's features. From the images provided by him, viewers can clearly see every crater as well as other variations on the surface such as lava flows and shadows.
"The colours you see are real, caused by variations in the composition of the regolith," the astrophotographer noted. "This first quarter moon also is one of the best for showing crater detail, as the long shadows long the terminator really make the details pop."
A printed version of McCarthy's latest work can be purchased from his website. Aside from the image of the first quarter Moon, other photos of the natural satellite are available on the site. One of these is a mineral map of the Moon, which McCarthy was able to make by removing the Moon's albedo or brightness and highlighting the natural colours on its surface.
