See the moon with 'superhuman vision': Astrophotographer snaps incredible photo of our lunar satellite with inverted colours to enhance the texture
- Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy snapped the incredible image this week
- He altered the image to highlight things the human eye can't see
- The incredible picture was created by processing the image with an inverted luminance layer to enhance the lunar texture This mind-bending picture of the moon with inverted colours shows where it once flowed with magma - and what it would look like with 'superhuman vision'.
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy, known as cosmic_background on Instagram, has altered the image of the lunar surface to highlight things the human eye cannot see.
The incredible picture was created by processing the image with an inverted luminance layer to enhance the lunar texture.
This mind-bending picture of the moon with inverted colours shows where it once flowed with magma - and what it would look like with 'superhuman vision'
Andrew says the brighter regions show where the moon once flowed with magma.
He said: 'Our eyes are quite incredible, but sometimes it's cool seeing what things could look like with superhuman vision.
'In this version the colors show how the composition changes where the magma once flowed, as well as how impacts striking the surface add an additional splash of color.
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy, know as cosmic_background on Instagram, has altered the image of the lunar surface to highlight things the human eye cannot see
The incredible picture was created by processing the image with an inverted luminance layer to enhance the lunar texture'The colors are real, and represent the hidden geological history of the moon.
'I feel like this image shows the colors and features in a unique way I haven't seen done before.'
Andrew is known for his stunning astrophotography, and recently snapped a 'once in a blue moon shot' of the International Space Station passing across the moon.
The rare shot of the reorientated view of the station 'instantly became on of my favourite captures,' explained McCarthy.
Andrew says the brighter regions show where the moon once flowed with magma
What made this image remarkable was the orientation of the ISS at the time it was taken and the 'to the second' precision of McCarthy capturing the orbiting lab as it grazed across the Copernicus crater on the moon - before it disappeared.
This lunar impact crater is visible with binoculars slightly northwest of the centre of the Moon's Earth-facing hemisphere.
The solar panels that usually lie flat at each side of the station were seen shifting at different angles due to the spacewalk, adding to the uniqueness of the photograph.
SCIENTISTS DON'T AGREE ON HOW THE MOON FORMED BUT MANY BELIEVE IT WAS THE RESULT OF AN IMPACT BETWEEN EARTH AND ANOTHER PLANET
Many researchers believe the moon formed after Earth was hit by a planet the size of Mars billions of years ago.
This is called the giant impact hypothesis.
The theory suggests the moon is made up of debris left over following a collision between our planet and a body around 4.5 billion years ago.
The colliding body is sometimes called Theia, after the mythical Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, the goddess of the moon.
Many researchers believe the moon formed after Earth was hit by a planet the size of Mars billions of years ago. This is called the giant impact hypothesis
But one mystery has persisted, revealed by rocks the Apollo astronauts brought back from the moon: Why are the moon and Earth so similar in their composition?
Several different theories have emerged over the years to explain the similar fingerprints of Earth and the moon.
Perhaps the impact created a huge cloud of debris that mixed thoroughly with the Earth and then later condensed to form the moon.
Or Theia could have, coincidentally, been chemically similar to young Earth.
A third possibility is that the moon formed from Earthen materials, rather than from Theia, although this would have been a very unusual type of impact.
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