Full moon. Photographer brings together 200,000 images of the Moon to reveal every crater and crack on its surface in incredible detail

The stunning new imagery offers the most detailed view of the moon's rough surface, revealing every crevice in incredible detail.

Enhanced photographs show all the mountains, craters, and caves in the lunar landscape, making the moon more visible to the human eye than ever before.

They were taken by photographer Andrew McCarthy, better known to his Instagram followers as @cosmic_background, who painstakingly created a unique effect using 200,000 individual images.

He used altitude data provided by NASA and 3D software to show the difference between the lunar sea and the lunar highlands.

Mr. McCarthy from Arizona, USA, said: “By exaggerating the heights of objects on the Moon, you can really show how the sea is different from the highlands. The densely cratered highlands seem incredibly dangerous compared to the smooth basalt in the lunar seas.

5 PHOTOS

1. Huge 200-megapixel moon image showing the most realistic lunar surface ever made, with every mountain and cave in the lunar landscape seen in high resolution.

2. Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy took hundreds of images of the lunar surface and overlaid them to create a realistic effect.

3. These incredible images show the most realistic images of the lunar surface ever taken.

4. The photographs show all the mountains and caves in the lunar landscape, making the moon more visible to the human eye than ever before.

5. Usually only a few images can be seen, but astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has put together thousands of moon phase images to show it off in all its glory.