Last week, sitting on our terrace, I pointed my Canon 5D Mark IV with the Sigma 100–400mm toward something both familiar and almost impossible to truly grasp: the Moon.
What we see as a calm, steady presence has a violent origin. The leading theory suggests that around 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-sized body—often called Theia—collided with the early Earth. The debris from that impact eventually coalesced into the Moon. A cosmic accident, shaping everything that followed.
And yet, most illustrations fail to capture its true scale and distance.
In books, the Moon is often shown close to Earth, almost within reach. In reality, it orbits at an average distance of about 384,400 kilometers. You could line up roughly 30 Earths between them. That space is vast—so vast that the Moon, despite its size, appears small in our sky.
And still, its influence is enormous.
It stabilizes Earth’s axial tilt, helping maintain a relatively stable climate. Its gravitational pull drives the tides, shaping coastal ecosystems and possibly even playing a role in the early development of life.
Captured at 400mm, this image brings it closer—compressing that immense distance into something we can hold in a frame.
A reminder that some of the most distant things are also the most essential.
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Low Orbit Tourist 🌍📷
Maikel de Bakker
Chirayu 
Andy Tseng