{"id":781487,"date":"2024-04-27T07:38:06","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T12:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=781487"},"modified":"2024-04-27T07:38:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T12:38:06","slug":"10-incredible-photos-of-our-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=781487","title":{"rendered":"10 incredible photos of our planet"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NASA\u2019s Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first Earth image as seen from the vicinity of the moon in 1966. Forty-two years later, NASA released this much higher resolution version reprocessed from the original analog data tapes. Image via Wikimedia. See more Earth images from space below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To celebrate Earth Day tomorrow, enjoy these incredible Earth images from space.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published by NASA Science; the author is Phil Davis<\/p>\n

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It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn\u2019t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11<\/p>\n

Join us in making sure everyone has access to the wonders of astronomy. Donate now!<\/p>\n

1. Voyager 1: At 7.2 million miles \u2026 and 4 billion miles<\/h3>\n
\"Small
Voyager 1\u2019s image of Earth and the moon, September 18, 1977. Image via NASA\/ JPL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fuzzy
The famous pale blue dot from Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990. Image via NASA\/ JPL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Voyager famously captured two unique views of our home world from afar. The upper image, taken in 1977 from a distance of 7.3 million miles (11.7 million km), showed the full Earth and full moon in a single frame for the first time in history.<\/p>\n

The second image, taken in 1990 as part of a family portrait of our solar system from 4 billion miles (6.4 billion km), shows Earth as a tiny blue speck in a ray of sunlight. This is the famous \u201cPale Blue Dot\u201d image immortalized by Carl Sagan.<\/p>\n

Sagan\u2019s widow, Ann Druyan, said of the image:<\/p>\n

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This was our willingness to see the Earth as a 1-pixel object in a far greater cosmos. It\u2019s that humility that science gives us. That weans us from our childhood need to be the center of things. And Voyager gave us that image of the Earth that is so heart tugging because you can\u2019t look at that image and not think of how fragile, how fragile our world is. How much we have in common with everyone with whom we share it; our relationship, our relatedness, to everyone on this tiny pixel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

2. Kepler: A bright flashlight in a dark sea of stars<\/h3>\n
\"Brilliantly
Kepler\u2019s view of Earth from December 10, 2017. Image via NASA\/ Ames Research Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA\u2019s Kepler mission captured Earth\u2019s image as it slipped past at a distance of 94 million miles (151 million km). The reflection was so extraordinarily bright that it created a saber-like saturation bleed across the instrument\u2019s sensors, obscuring the neighboring moon.<\/p>\n

3. Cassini: Hello and goodbye<\/h3>\n
\"Multiple
Right, Cassini\u2019s view in 2013. Left, a final look between the rings in 2017. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This beautiful shot of Earth as a dot beneath Saturn\u2019s rings was taken in 2013 as thousands of humans on Earth waved at the exact moment the Cassini spacecraft pointed its cameras at our home world. Then, in 2017, Cassini caught this final view of Earth between Saturn\u2019s rings as the spacecraft spiraled in for its Grand Finale at Saturn.<\/p>\n

4. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: \u201cSimply stunning\u201d<\/h3>\n
\"Full
NASA\u2019s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured a unique view of Earth from the spacecraft\u2019s vantage point in orbit around the moon on October 12, 2015. Image via NASA\/ Goddard\/ Arizona State University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The image is simply stunning. The image of the Earth evokes the famous Blue Marble image taken by astronaut Harrison Schmitt during Apollo 17 \u2026 which also showed Africa prominently in the picture.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 Noah Petro, Deputy Project Scientist for NASA\u2019s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.<\/p>\n

5. OSIRIS-REx: Goodbye \u2013 for now \u2013 at 19,000 mph<\/h3>\n
\"Small
NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft captured this image of the Earth and moon. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As part of an engineering test, NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft captured this image of Earth and the moon in January 2018 from a distance of 39.5 million miles (63.6 million km). When the camera acquired the image, the spacecraft was moving away from our home planet at a speed of 19,000 miles per hour (8.5 km per second). Earth is the largest, brightest spot in the center of the image, with the smaller, dimmer moon appearing to the right. Several constellations are also visible in the surrounding space.<\/p>\n

6. Curiosity: The view from Mars<\/h3>\n
\"Twilight
This view of the twilight sky and Martian horizon taken by NASA\u2019s Mars Curiosity rover includes Earth as the brightest point of light in the night sky. Image via NASA\/ JPL-Caltech\/ MSSS\/ TAMU.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A human observer with normal vision, standing on Mars, could easily see Earth and the moon as two distinct, bright \u201cevening stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

7. DSCOVR: Moon photobombs Earth<\/h3>\n
\"Animated
Earth and moon from a million miles out. Image via NASA\/ NOAA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This image from the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured a unique view of the moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth in 2015. It provides a view of the far side of the moon, which is never directly visible to us here on Earth. I found this perspective profoundly moving and only through our satellite views could this have been shared.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 Michael Freilich, Director of NASA\u2019s Earth Science Division<\/p>\n

8. Galileo: 8 days out<\/h3>\n
\"Brownish
The Galileo spacecraft\u2019s view as it departed Earth. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eight days after its final encounter with Earth \u2013 the second of two gravitational assists from Earth that helped boost the spacecraft to Jupiter \u2013 the Galileo spacecraft looked back and captured this remarkable view of our planet and its moon. The image was taken from a distance of about 3.9 million miles (6.2 million km).<\/p>\n

9. Rosetta: A slice of life<\/h3>\n
\"Very
Rosetta\u2019s view of Earth. Image via ESA \u00a92009 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS\/ UPD\/ LAM\/ IAA\/ RSSD\/ INTA\/ UPM\/ DASP\/ IDA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earth from about 393,000 miles (633,000 km) away, as seen by the European Space Agency\u2019s comet-bound Rosetta spacecraft during its 3rd and final swing-by of our home planet in 2009.<\/p>\n

10. MESSENGER: So long<\/h3>\n
\"Animated
MESSENGER\u2019s view departing Earth. Image via NASA\/ JHUAPL\/ Carnegie Institution of Washington.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mercury-bound MESSENGER spacecraft captured several stunning images of Earth during a gravity assist swing-by of its home planet on August 2, 2005.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: Ten amazing images of Earth from space.<\/p>\n

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EarthSky Voices<\/h4>\n

View Articles\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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About the Author:<\/h6>\n

Members of the EarthSky community – including scientists, as well as science and nature writers from across the globe – weigh in on what’s important to them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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NASA\u2019s Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first Earth image as seen from the vicinity of the moon in 1966. Forty-two years later, NASA released this much higher resolution version reprocessed… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":781488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-781487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-sky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=781487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/781488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=781487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=781487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=781487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}