The Moon is one of the most gorgeous sights in the night sky — and this latest photo of it is one of the very best we've ever seen. Outer space is filled with many wonders. There are billions of stars, imposing black holes, jaw-dropping supernovas, and countless other things. Astronomers learn something new about space every day, and even with that constantly growing knowledge, there always seems to be something new to uncover.
Among all of those things, the Moon remains one of the most important. Not only is it a pretty thing to look at during a clear night, but it also plays a critical role in everyday life on Earth. It helps stabilize the planet's wobble, moderates its climate, and is responsible for the tides in all of our oceans. Without the Moon, life on Earth would be substantially different.
While there have been numerous pictures taken of the Moon over the years, skilled photographers always find a way to make it look even better. This point was recently proven yet again by u/Daryavaseum on the r/Space subreddit. u/Daryavaseum posted the above photo on Sunday, November 21, with the caption, "I finished editing my clearest moon image ever after many days of post processing and merging 400 RAW images." For those interested in the technical tidbits, the RAW images were captured with a Celestron NexStar 8SE telescope and Canon EOS 1200D camera. u/Daryavaseum further explains that they edited all of the photos in Photoshop using things like the sharpness tool, saturation tool, etc.
An Unbelievably Clear View Of The Moon's Surface
As mentioned above, photos of the Moon aren't anything new. Plenty of hobbyists often take incredible pictures of it, as does NASA with its more advanced imaging tools. However, this one really stands out for just how clear it is. So many fine details of the Moon are readily present. You can immediately see its many craters, distinct gray color, and other lines/ridges creating its rough surface. Also present are beautiful shades of blue and red/orange. These blue areas of the Moon are the result of increased titanium, while the red/orange regions likely get their color from volcanic glass beads.
Would the Moon actually look like this if you were to visit it yourself? Yes and no. It's proven that the Moon isn't actually a completely gray environment. During the Apollo 17 mission, astronauts reported finding orange regolith (also known as Moon dust) while exploring the surface. The colors wouldn't appear this intense as photo editing tends to enhance them quite a bit, but you would likely be able to see some color there.
At the end of the day, pictures like this are a lot more important than many folks realize. They're fun to look at for a few minutes and get a lot of upvotes on Reddit, but they also make space discovery/exploration more accessible. Most of us likely won't be walking on the Moon any time soon, but with images that are this good, we can get a detailed view of it without ever leaving home.
Source: u/Daryavaseum