Moon Up Close: Gigamoon Image Stitched From 280,000 Shots Shows Apollo Landing Sites, Copernicus Crater, Other Lunar Landmarks

The new, interactive Gigamoon image can now allow anyone to take a look at the moon up close.

Interactive Gigamoon Image

MailOnline reports that the interactive Gigamoon image is based on a consolidation of 280,000 different lunar shots. This was put together by Andrew McCarthy, a photographer from Arizona who spent two hours snapping the Moon from his garden. He used two telescopes for the project, namely an 11-inch SCT and a 12-inch Newtonian telescope. Both were vital in the creation of the final Gigamoon output.

McCarthy adds that when he took the photos, the Moon was in its Waxing Gibbous phase. He explains that he finds this quite ideal because of how the Moon is high over the horizon at dusk during this phase. This, then, offers a good position for capturing the Moon without the need to be sleep deprived.

All the snaps were pulled into the Gigamoon image, which takes up 1.3 gigapixels worth of space. The unique output was finally achieved after a roster of unsuccessful attempts.

McCarthy notes that the quality of the shot is quite consistent across the lunar surface, which is quite hard to pull off in major efforts. He stresses that it is quite coincidental how the "sky cooperated with him" to create the Gigamoon image.

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Lunar Landmarks

The Gigamoon image features well-known lunar landmarks, such as the Apollo landing sites and prominent craters, as reported by the ADB Post. The craters include Plato, Tycho, Clavius, and Copernicus.

The Copernicus crater, which is one of the most prominent craters on the Moon's nearside and formed roughly 800 million years ago, was included in the image. Brittanica adds that this crater is a classic example of a lunar impact crater that is well-preserved and quite young. Over half a century ago, Apollo 12 astronauts sampled debris from this site.

The Gigamoon image also illuminates Clavius and Tycho craters, which are both situated in the lunar surface's southern highlands. According to NASA, Clavius is among the Moon's oldest and largest craters and has been a site where previous water droplet discoveries on the Moon were made. The BBC Sky Magazine also notes that the Tycho Crater is considerably the Moon's most conspicuous area. As per MailOnline, NASA also thinks that some Apollo 17 samples were originally from the Tycho crater.

Interestingly, McCarthy was also able to take a rare snap of the Plato crater, which was named after the prominent ancient Greek philosopher. The Plato crater can rarely be seen from the Earth because of its far-north location.

Check out more news and information on the Moon in Science Times.