When we think about the Moon, most of us think about this one popular image by NASA that shows us the bright circular celestial body with crater marks that somehow add to its beauty.?
And over the years there have been several images captured of the moon, revealing different facets of the satellite of our planet. NASA even has a detailed map of the lunar surface now However, now an astrophotographer has managed to capture Moon in a never-before-seen avatar that makes it look even more breathtaking.
California based astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has captured the clearest ever image of the moon¡¯s carters, combining multiple shot images of the lunar line -- the place where the light meets the dark.
McCarthy took multiple shots of the lunar surface (in different lighting conditions) and fused them all together to create this dreadful yet a majestic-looking masterpiece, making it look perfect with its imperfections.?
He posted this image on Instagram handle @cosmic_background with a caption stating, ¡°From two weeks of images of the waxing moon, I took the section of the picture that has the most contrast (right before the lunar terminator where shadows are the longest), aligned and blended them to show the rich texture across the entire surface.¡±
He added, ¡°'This was exhausting to say the least, namely because the moon doesn't line up, day over day, so each image had to be mapped to a 3D sphere and adjusted to make sure each image aligned.¡±
He captured this on ASI1600MM and the Celestron edgeHD 800 telescope. The image is captured when the moon was in the ¡®twilight zone¡¯ or terminator -- when the sun is closer to the horizon, creating long shadows that gave the surface depth and looks 3D.
The image is nothing short of brilliant, looking like a planet from Guardians of the Galaxy or somewhere Thanos would set up his evil lair.?
What do you think about the moon? Tell us in the comments below.