The most detailed image of the moon took almost 250,000 frames to capture this photo.
Two astrophotographers have teamed up to create a detailed colored moon image. Andrew McCarthy and Connor Matherene took this image from 250,000 individual images.
The images are 174 megabytes and took at least 9 months to create. “The Hunt for Artemis” is of thousands of stacked frames. The finished photo went online on Reddit and has received over 100,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.
The astrophotographers teamed up 2 years ago and are currently brainstorming ideas for a new collaboration.
Astrophotographers relationship
The two photographers connected on Reddit several years ago and bonded over their love of astrophotography.
McCarthy and Matherene have worked together with this image by sharing ideas and making creative decisions together.
Andrew McCarthy specializes in the detail of the moon and took 200,000 black and white images while in Arizona. McCarthy also captured the geographical features on the moon’s surface.
Connor Matherene specializes in color and took 50,000 images from Louisiana. The color in the photo has increased saturation so that it is visible to the eyes of the audience.
Color tones used in the moon image
The reddish tones demonstrate areas rich in iron and feldspar, and the bluish areas are spots where the regolith is rich in titanium. Regolith is the layer of rocky material that covers the bedrock of the moon.
The oxidation from the influence of the atmosphere of the earth makes the colors appear as they do in the image. The colors provided insight into the mineralogical differences of the lunar surface.
The use of scientific observational devices that capture subtle color changes helped make the moon images, by using software to analyze, stack, and sharpen the thousands of images to get the clearest version helped with the image.
Tom Urbain has spent the last 15 years in the United Kingdom as an amateur astronomer and considers himself to be an experienced stargazer. Urbain was impressed with the combined skills of the two shows in a portrayal of the Earth’s satellite. To learn more about astronomy, you can go to his website.
“While professional scientists often have access to advanced equipment and resources, passionate individuals like McCarthy and Matherne can achieve remarkable results through dedication, creativity, and the willingness to learn and experiment,” Urbain said.
To recreate your photo of the moon, all you need is a camera, tripod, star tracker, and telescope to make images like the ones McCarthy and Matherne have created.
