The Morteus region on the Moon, taken from the suburbs of Paris, France. Credit: Thierry Legault

Think this is an orbital view of the Moon? Guess again. Astrophotographer Thierry Legault took this image from his backyard in the suburbs of Paris, France! He's taken a series of images of the Moon the past few nights that will blow your mind when you consider they were taken from Earth, within the confines of the metropolis of Paris (largest city in France, 5th largest in the EU, 20th largest in the world). Thierry used a Celestron C14 EdgeHD (356mm) and Skynyx2.2 camera. You definitely want to click on these images for the larger versions on Thierry's website, and he suggests using a full-HD screen in subdued surroundings.

Plato, Mons Pico and Montes Teneriffe as seen on Sept 8th, 2010, from the suburbs of Paris, France. Credit: Thierry Legault

Additionally, Thierry also recently took images of Mercury and Uranus that include incredible detail.

The clarity and detail are just tremendous. See all of Thierry's recent at this link. He has a collection of twelve different images of various regions on the Moon and all are stunning.

Below are his images of Mercury and Uranus. In the image of Mercury, surface details are visible, and the cloud belts are even visible on the images of :

  • Incredibly detailed view of Mercury on August 23, 2012, as seen from Blancourt, France. Credit: Thierry Legault

  • Uranus, as seen on September 9, 2012 from Blancourt, France. Credit: Thierry Legault

More information: legault.perso.sfr.fr/

Source: Universe Today