It took 50,000 individual photos to create this image of the moon

We've seen beautiful images of the Moon over the years thanks to powerful imaging tools from NASA and other space agencies, but you do not need a massive observatory to create a beautiful image of the closest neighbor of the Earth. Photographer Andrew McCarthy produced the amazing moon image you see above (and here in full resolution) using a Sony camera and camera ZWO Autonomous Photo Astronomy, which you can buy for under $ 300.

The catch? Well, the image is not a single photo, but the result of some 50,000 individual photos slammed, studied and then assembled. It's a lot of work for a single image, but the result suggests it was worth it.

The final image of 81 megapixels contains a ton of detail that you can watch for a while while noticing the new features that jump right at you from the surface of the moon. It's a beautiful picture and it took a lot of work to get there.

"The illuminated side of the moon was treated with 25-inch tiles sewn together in Photoshop," McCarthy told PetaPixel. "Each" tile "was a stack of the 50% of 2000 images captured with the ZWO, the dark side is about 13 tiles, each containing the best of about 50. The stars were captured with a stack of 50 shots. the Sony. "

The resulting image was then modified to obtain a contrast until McCarthy was satisfied with his appearance. The image is clear enough that we can see lots of tiny elements on the moon's surface while balancing the lighted and shaded sides so we can see as much as possible.