Two US astronomers have gone viral after taking a picture of the moon. Because the pictures taken by them contain a lot of detailed information.
The 174-megapixel photo was shared on social media. It gives detailed information about the amazing moon’s surface, color, and texture.
Arizona-based Andrew McCarthy and fellow photographer and planetary scientist Connor Matherne worked together to use the image as a “collaborative tribute” to NASA’s upcoming Artemis mission.
The NASA mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on August 29 This rocket could take men back to the moon.
McCarthy and his latest project, which began in November last year, managed to capture more than 200,000 individual shots.
All the photos were taken on the same night, and it took the two of them nine months to edit and prepare everything.
“The whole thing is put together like a mosaic, and each piece is made up of thousands of photos,” Mr. McCarthy told NPR.
He said that while Mr. Mathern took thousands of photos showing the intricate details of the moon’s surface, he focused on the moon’s color.
Mr. McCarthy told NPR that they only needed “basic” equipment like a camera, tripod, and star tracker for the moon photo shoot. But most importantly they had the patience to wait for a clear night sky.
French artist and inventor Louis Daguerre is believed to have taken the first photograph of the moon in January 1839. Two months later, a fire accident destroyed that picture and many other “photographs,” which were an early form of photography.
A year later, American doctor and chemist John William Draper’s photograph of the moon is the oldest surviving photograph of space.