A Redditor pieced together 150,000 photos of the Moon to make one breathtaking image

• Throughout history, the Moon has been a source of wonder and inspiration for mankind.
• Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy recently posted a stunning image of the Moon on his Instagram page.
• The image is composed of 150,000 photos he captured of the supermoon on Tuesday February 19.

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Whether it's a super blood wolf moon or various space exploration missions, the Moon has always captivated mankind and it seems it always will.

As the Earth's only permanent natural satellite, the Moon has been the muse of many a philosopher and astronomer — and it appears to have caught the attention of an astrophotographer from California too.

Andrew McCarthy is one of the most recent stargazers to draw our attention back to the celestial body, after he posted the stunning image of the supermoon on Tuesday February 19 below on Instagram.

I took the color data from my supermoon picture and embellished it. You can see where each impact "paints" a new splash of color on the surface of the moon. . . . . . #orion #skywatcher #skywatchertelescope #oriontelescopes #astrophotography #astronomy #nightphotography #space #sonyalpha #sonyalpha7ii #sacramento #sonyimages #nightphotography #sacramentophotographer #amateurastronomy #amateurastrophotography #amateurastronomer #spacenerd #cosmos #astro #starrynight #milkyway #nightshooters #universe #telescope #astrophotographer #stargazers #deepspace #lunar #moon #supermoon

A post shared by Andrew McCarthy (@cosmic_background) on Feb 25, 2019 at 6:53am PSTFeb 25, 2019 at 6:53am PST

Known on Reddit as ajamesmccarthy and Instagram as @cosmic_background, McCarthy explained that the 81-megapixel photo was composed of color data from 150,000 images he captured of the Moon.

He also produced this stunning shot of the supermoon, which has generated 19,578 likes on Instagram and over 162,000 votes and 3900 comments on Reddit since it was published.

Supermoon! This is a shot of the full moon during it's perigee, it's closest point to Earth. The atmosphere was a bit erratic during the night I took these shots, so unfortunately there are a few areas that don't have the crystal-clarity that I would have liked, but overall I'm pretty happy with it. Check the link in my bio if you want a print. . . . . . #orion #skywatcher #skywatchertelescope #oriontelescopes #astrophotography #astronomy #nightphotography #space #sonyalpha #sonyalpha7ii #sacramento #sonyimages #nightphotography #sacramentophotographer #amateurastronomy #amateurastrophotography #amateurastronomer #spacenerd #cosmos #astro #starrynight #milkyway #nightshooters #universe #telescope #astrophotographer #stargazers #deepspace #lunar #moon #supermoon

A post shared by Andrew McCarthy (@cosmic_background) on Feb 23, 2019 at 4:00pm PSTFeb 23, 2019 at 4:00pm PST

The astrophotographer told Forbes that he produces the shots using an Orion XT10 telescope and two digital cameras — a Sony A7ii and the ZWO ASI224MC — then using Photoshop and other software to process the images.

Read more: Astronauts may have found a four-billion-year-old chunk of Earth on the Moon

"The inspiration came from when I was young looking through my dad's telescope," McCarthy explained to Forbes. "He showed me the planets and the Moon, and left me with a curiosity that has never been satisfied since. I spend my nights outside in awe at the wonders above us, and have only scratched the surface of what I want to be able to see and image."

This image was published just a few days after NASA Chief Executive Officer Jim Bridenstine's statement on OZY about US ambitions for the Moon: "I want to be clear — we are going to the moon with innovative new technologies and systems to explore more locations across the surface than we ever thought possible. This time, when we go to the moon, we will stay."