An astrophotographer has released an incredible gigapixel picture of the moon – which is so detailed you can zoom into individual craters.

Andrew McCarthy created the giant shot titled "The Gigamoon", using 280,000 individual images, which even illuminate the moon’s popular landmarks such as the Apollo landing sites.

He’s attempted to capture the pin-sharp picture more than a dozen times but has only now, for the first time, managed to achieve such an epic result.

Andrew, known to his followers as @cosmic_background, has set up an Easyzoom link so people can get up close on some of the most recognisable craters such as Copernicus, Tycho, Plato, Eratosthenes and Clavius.

He said: “The largest moon image I’ve ever done is ready. Zooming into this thing is surreal.

“I'm absolutely thrilled with the final image. The quality is fairly consistent across the surface which is really hard to do with these major projects, so it's quite serendipitous that the sky cooperated with me to create this image.

“You can zoom in to any crater on this part of the moon larger than a half mile wide.

“I have been planning this for years. I have attempted it dozens of times. Sadly, usually good conditions don't hold long enough to get consistent detail across the surface, so my hard drives are filled with unfinished gigamoon projects.”

Andrew waited for the right conditions in the sky before spending around two hours capturing the images from his backyard in Arizona, USA, using two different telescopes.

He then pulled together the images into one incredible 1.3 gigapixel final result, which offers the clearest view of the moon he has ever seen.

The moon glows brightly against the black night sky, acting as a spotlight across the surface to illuminate the varied surface.

The image is so clear that the surface of the moon looks as if it’s made of clay, with smooth sections broken up by cracks which open up into large craters.

“This was shot entirely from my backyard, I waited until the best conditions came to me,” said Andrew.

“The two telescopes used for this project include a 12" Newtonian telescope and an 11" SCT, which were both integral to creating the final image.

“The moon was in the Waxing Gibbous phase at the time, which I find ideal as it means the moon is high in the sky at dusk and in an optimal shooting position so there’s no need to deprive yourself of sleep to get a good shot.

“There’s also a really nice relief to the image, caused by shadows elongated near the lunar terminator, which illustrate the diverse types of terrain on the moon.”

To zoom in on Andrew’s image, visit: https://www.easyzoom.com/imageaccess/366d4072398b42f0aa756d036eb38fce

An astrophotographer has released an incredible gigapixel picture of the moon – which is so detailed you can zoom into individual craters.



Andrew McCarthy created the giant shot titled 'The Gigamoon', using 280,000 individual images, which even illuminate the moon’s popular landmarks such as the apollo landing sites.



He’s attempted to capture the pin-sharp picture more than a dozen times but has only now, for the first time, managed to achieve such an epic result.



Andrew, known to his followers as @cosmic_background, has set up an ‘easyzoom’ link so people can get up close on some of the most recognisable craters such as Copernicus, Tycho, Plato, Eratosthenes and Clavius.



He said: “The largest moon image I’ve ever done is ready. Zooming into this thing is surreal.



He said: “I'm absolutely thrilled with the final image. The quality is fairly consistent across the surface which is really hard to do with these major projects, so it's quite serendipitous that the sky cooperated with me to create this image.



“You can zoom into any crater on this part of the moon larger than a half mile wide.



“I have been planning this for years. I have attempted it dozens of times. Sadly, usually good conditions don't hold long enough to get consistent detail across the surface, so my hard drives are filled with unfinished gigamoon projects.”



Andrew waited for the right conditions in the sky before spending around two hours capturing the images from his backyard in Arizona, USA, using two different telescopes.



He then pulled together the images into one incredible 1.3 gigapixel final result, which offers the clearest view of the moon he has ever seen.



The moon glows brightly against the black night sky, acting as a spotlight across the surface to illuminate the varied surface.



The image is so clear that the surface of the moon looks as if it’s made of clay, with smooth sections broken up by cracks which open up into large craters.



“This was shot entirely from my backyard, I waited until the best conditions came to me,” said Andrew.



“The two telescopes used for this project include a 12" Newtonian telescope and an 11" SCT, which were both integral to creating the final image.



“The moon was in the Waxing Gibbous phase at the time, which I find ideal as it means the moon is high in the sky at dusk and in an optimal shooting position so there’s no need to deprive yourself of sleep to get a good shot.



“There’s also a really nice relief to the image, caused by shadows elongated near the lunar terminator, which illustrate the diverse types of terrain on the moon.”



To zoom in on Andrew’s image, visit: https://www.easyzoom.com/imageaccess/366d4072398b42f0aa756d036eb38fce