A US-based astrophotographer has surprised the world by taking the clearest picture of the moon and its craters by taking multiple shots during different lunar phases and combining them into a wholesome photo of the moon and its countless craters.

Andrew McCarthy from California took thousands of photos of the moon in its different lunar phases before combining them into incredible photos.

Presenting his project on his Instagram account, @cosmic_background, the photographer explained the grueling process behind his ‘lunar terminator’ picture of the moon.

“This moon might look a little funny to you, and that’s because it is an impossible scene,” Mr. McCarthy explained in his post.

“From 2 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.

“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. I may or may not try this again for the waning phases depending on feedback.”

As McCarthy suggested, he could be taking on another lunar terminator project depending on the feedback he receives.

The term lunar terminator refers to the division between the light and the dark side of the moon. As the Sun is closest to the horizon in the terminator, long shadows that are cast give the moon’s surface its 3D appearance.

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