An astrophotographer has captured his clearest ever image of the surface of the moon, and then shared with delighted fans exactly how he did it with a mind-boggling behind-the-scenes video.

Word renowned Andrew McCarthy is regularly asked how he creates the stunning images, which show the moon and its craters in amazing high definition.

So as a special treat for fans who visit his @AJamesMcCarthy Twitter account he has filmed his latest effort, creating a stunning image which is made by stacking 30,000 individual 16-bit TIF image files, taken using his high-powered telescope.

"I am frequently asked questions like what my telescope looks like, or how it looks as I'm capturing images, versus after stacking and processing, so I thought it could make for a cinematic presentation of the image.

"This image is so clear because by applying a technique known as "lucky imaging" I was able to conquer the turbulent effects of our atmosphere and show the moon in incredible detail.

"The video shows my telescope and mount (and me) in my roll-off observatory as I orient my telescope towards the distant moon. Then, I show how everything appears in-camera during capture. Then I show the final processed image," said McCarthy, who predominantly works from his Arizona, US, backyard.

The giant image is so clear that features smaller than a mile wide are visible, and the viewer can see craters which would ordinarily require a huge telescope to view.

McCarthy said: "So far, everyone seems to love it! I was getting an abnormally large number of print orders. It's quite encouraging!

"The contrast turned out really nice. The craters and "seas" stand out nicely, without looking too overly processed. The subtle colour from the mineral content showed up nicely too!"

McCarthy has been fascinated by the cosmos from a young age, and has attracted global acclaim for his pin-sharp images of our solar system.

And speaking about future ambitions for space travel, McCarthy enthused: "Absolutely, provided I can bring enough air to last the whole trip, and can come back at some point!

"The moon is incredible, but it is still a desert wasteland. Our home on Earth is absolutely incredible, filled with stunning beauty.

"Standing on the moon would be a life-changing event, but you just can't beat the earthly wonders of our home."

An astrophotographer has captured his clearest ever image of the surface of the moon, and then shared with delighted fans exactly how he did it with a mind-boggling behind the scenes video.

Word renowned Andrew McCarthy is regularly asked how he creates the stunning images, which show the moon and its craters in amazing high definition.

So as a special treat for fans who visit his @AJamesMcCarthy Twitter account he has filmed his latest effort, creating a stunning image which is made by stacking 30,000 individual 16-bit TIF image files, taken using his high-powered telescope.

"I am frequently asked questions like what my telescope looks like, or how it looks as I'm capturing images, versus after stacking and processing, so I thought it could make for a cinematic presentation of the image.

"This image is so clear because by applying a technique known as "lucky imaging" I was able to conquer the turbulent effects of our atmosphere and show the moon in incredible detail.

"The video shows my telescope and mount (and me) in my roll -off observatory as I orient my telescope towards the distant moon. Then, I show how everything appears in-camera during capture. Then I show the final processed image." Said Andrew, who predominantly works from his Arizona, USA backyard.

The giant image is so clear that features smaller than a mile wide are visible, and the viewer can see craters which would ordinarily require a huge telescope to view.

Andrew said: "So far, everyone seems to love it! I was getting an abnormally large number of print orders. It's quite encouraging!

"The contrast turned out really nice. The craters and "seas" stand out nicely, without looking too overly-processed. The subtle color from the mineral content showed up nicely too!"

Andrew has been fascinated by the cosmos from a young age, and has attracted global acclaim for his pin-sharp images of our solar system.

And speaking about future ambitions for space travel, Andrew enthused: "Absolutely, provided I can bring enough air to last the whole trip, and can come back at some point!

"The moon is incredible, but it is still a desert wasteland. Our home on Earth is absolutely incredible, filled with stunning beauty.

"Standing on the moon would be a life-changing event, but you just can't beat the Earthly wonders of our home."