This spectacular blue marble image is the most detailed true color image of the entire earth to date.
Blue marble picture apollo 8.
The blue marble is an image of earth taken on december 7 1972 from a distance of about 29 000 kilometers 18 000 miles from the planet s surface.
Apollo 8 s earthrise photo changed our understanding of our place in the universe.
And scientist astronaut harrison h.
It mainly shows the earth from the mediterranean sea to antarctica.
Evans command module pilot.
This photograph illustrates the earth as an isolated ecosystem floating in space.
That was the last of the apollo moon missions but nasa s space probes continued to take.
Here s the story behind the picture blue marble.
From the great distance of the moon nearly the entire western hemisphere is visible.
This translunar coast photograph extends from the mediterranean sea area to the antarctica south polar ice cap.
The new collection is called the blue marble.
Using a collection of satellite based observations scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface oceans sea ice and clouds into a seamless true color mosaic of every square kilometer 386 square mile of our planet.
It was not until this stunning photo along with many others came back to earth with the apollo 8 astronauts in late december 1968 that we saw earth as a vibrant delicate blue and white globe framed by the velvety blackness of space.
The home planet as seen from lunar orbit christmas.
On december 7 1972 the crew of apollo 17 changed the way we look at our home planet.
It was taken by the crew of the apollo 17 spacecraft on its way to the moon and is one of the most reproduced images in history.
This is the first picture of the earth from lunar orbit.
T his photograph is now half a century old.
This is the first picture of the earth from lunar orbit.
View of the earth as seen by the apollo 17 crew astronaut eugene a.
Although not a blue marble as it s in black and white lunar orbiter 1 took an earlier earthrise photo on august 23 1966.
Schmitt lunar module pilot traveling toward the moon.