Kurdish astrophotographer Darya Kawa Mirza has taken the most advanced photo of the moon ever, revealing unprecedented surface details. The image, which required four days of continuous observation and shooting, shows the moon's topography in stunning clarity and detail, revealing features that may never have been seen before.
Mr Mirza's photograph, which he described as the "clearest and sharpest Moon image" he has ever captured, was the result of four days of continuous observation and shooting. The final image is a stunning 159.7 megapixels and has a file size of 708 gigabytes, created by stacking over 81,000 individual images.
The photographer revealed some interesting facts about the picture in a post on Instagram.
- Image Size: 708 GB
- Images Stacked: Over 81,000
- Composition: Merging of four different Moon phases and shadow areas to reveal detailed topography
- Telescope Used: Skywatcher Flextube 250p Dobsonian modified on an Equatorial Mount NEQ 6pro
- Cameras Used: Canon EOS 1200D (for minerals), ZWO ASI 178mc (for details)
- AI Involvement: None
- Image Resolution: 159.7 megapixels
- Visual Representation: Depicts the Moon as a flat disk with detailed topography
The photo was posted on Reddit, where it sparked a lively discussion among enthusiasts. One user questioned whether the colours in the image were representative of actual metals and minerals on the Moon. A user clarified that the colours in the image are not what the human eye would naturally perceive.
"The saturation has been increased to highlight geological differences on the lunar surface," they explained. "The reddish areas indicate high iron and feldspar content, while the blue-tinted zones have higher titanium content. Instead of viewing the colours as 'real' or 'fake,' it's more accurate to consider them as a tool that simulates what one might see with enhanced detection capabilities."
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Another user explained simply, urging us to think like "someone who is colour-blind". Colour-blind people can't see certain colours, like red and green. To them, these colours might appear as shades of grey or be so muted that they look the same. The colours are there, but they can't see them because their eyes aren't sensitive enough. Similarly, the colours in Darya Mirza's Moon photograph are real, but our eyes might not be sensitive enough to pick them out in their natural state. The enhancements in the photo make these colours more visible.
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Earlier, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who had been living aboard the International Space Station for about four months, captured a stunning photo of the moon setting over the Pacific Ocean.
