The iconic photo "Sunrise of the Earth" of Apollo 8 continues to impress even after 50 years



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On December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts William Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman reached the lunar orbit, allowing them to be the first human in history to attend Earthrise (Earthrise), the iconic photo where the Earth partially appears in the shade, as if it was a sunrise.

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It was during the fourth orbit around the moon that the iconic photo was outlet. "Oh, my God, look at this picture here!" S exclaimed Anders. "It's the Earth coming up, and it's beautiful!"

Anders took his camera and captured the scene. Currently, the image of Earthrise is often used to prove that the Earth is not flat. However, the photo was taken in portrait orientation (as shown here). Looking at the picture, you can see the sunrise lines stretching across Africa and Antarctica, while South and North America are heavily enveloped in clouds.

A black and white photograph taken of the Earthrise was taken on the same day, showing the emerging Earth on a horizontally oriented surface. The image, probably taken by Anders, was captured when the Apollo 8 capsule was at 100 degrees east longitude, showing a lunar horizon line extending over 570 kilometers.

Back on Earth, about 500 million people listened to the live broadcast of Natal – the largest audience on television at that time.

"We were told that the Christmas event would attract the largest possible audience, with a human voice," Borman said in 2008, the Apollo mission. "And the only instructions we received from NASA was to do something appropriate."

Lovell stated that the "vast solitude" that he felt while surrounding the Moon was "inspiring" and that he "realized what to have on earth". He described his planet as "a great oasis in the immensity of space".

Looking at the moon, Borman was impressed by his dead and lifeless appearance.

"The moon is something different for all of us, and I think each of us – each one of us has an impression of what was seen that day," said Borman. "I know my impression was that of a vast, lonely and prohibitive type of existence, a vast expanse of nothing, that looks more like clouds and clouds of pumice, and that certainly did not seem to be the kind of inviting place to live or work. "

The next day – Christmas 1968 – the Apollo 8 crew left the lunar orbit and returned home. Lovell confirmed that the engines were being taken to mission control personnel saying "please, you can inform that Santa exists."

"But despite the great distance that made the picture possible, we did not lose our connection with the natural world, we rediscovered it, we are in the cosmos for the first time." – Sir David Attenborough # Apollo8 # Apollo50 #IdeasThatDefy pic.twitter.com/2MBWuaxQEs "Despite the great distance that made photography possible, we did not lose our connection with the natural world, we have rediscovered it. " 24 December 2018

We saw, for the first time, our house together in the cosmos "- Mr. David Attenborough

After fifty years, it is easy to think of these pictures, but they were the first to show our planet in context with another celestial body Since many photos have been taken since the Earth and the Moon, but this image of "Earthrise" always has something special – a picture that continues to inspire, hope and situate our place in the cosmos in perspective.

[NASA Earth Observatory]

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