A pair of American astrophotographers have gone viral after capturing what they describe as a “ridiculously detailed” image of the Moon.
Key Points:
- Two photographers used only “basic” equipment to produce this stunning image
- Over 200,000 frames were compiled into a final mosaic
- Image released as a “tribute” before NASA’s Moon test mission
The 174-megapixel image, which captures the moon’s craters, colors and textures in spectacular detail, was posted on social media.
Arizona-based Andrew McCarthy worked with planetary scientist and space photographer Connor Matherne to create the image as a “collaborative tribute” to NASA’s upcoming Artemis mission.
NASA’s mission will lift off from Cape Canaveral on August 29, the first unmanned test of the super-heavy rocket of the Space Launch System capable of returning humans to the Moon.
McCarthy and Matherne’s latest project, which began last November, combines more than 200,000 individual shots into a single image.
All the photos were taken in a single night, and the couple spent nine months editing and collating their work to make the finished product.
“Everything is assembled like a mosaic, and each tile is made up of thousands of photos,” McCarthy told NPR.
He explained that while taking thousands of photographs revealing intricate details of the lunar surface, Matherne focused on the colors of the Moon.
McCarthy told NPR that while only “basic” equipment—a camera, a tripod, and a star tracker—was needed for his lunar photoshoot, the main requirement was patience to wait out the weather conditions. perfect skies, free of light pollution.
The first image of the Moon is believed to have been captured by French artist and inventor Louis Daguerre in January 1839.
Unfortunately, this image, along with many other “daguerreotypes,” an early form of photography, was destroyed in a fire two months later.
A year later, American physician and chemist John William Draper made his own daguerreotype of the moon, which remains the oldest photographic image of the celestial body.
ABC