Earthrise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Earthrise is the name given to NASA image AS8-14-2383, taken by astronaut William Anders[1][2] during the historic Apollo 8 mission, the first manned voyage to the Moon.[3] The photograph was taken from lunar orbit on December 24, 1968; Apollo 8 did not actually land on the moon. The noted wilderness photographer Galen Rowell called it "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken."[4].
On April 6, 2008 (Japan Standard Time), the first 1080p high-definition Earthrise video was captured, both a full Earthrise and Earthset video, by the JAXA lunar orbiter mission, Kaguya ("Selene"). It is currently orbiting at a lunar altitude of 100 km (62 miles), about 380,000 km (237,500 miles) from Earth.
From the surface of the Moon an observer cannot actually see the Earth "rise" in the way a sunrise or moonrise is observed on Earth. Because the moon is tidally locked with the Earth, one side of the Moon always faces toward Earth. Consequently, from any location on the Moon, the Earth occupies a (more or less) fixed position in the sky. During the course of the month-long lunar orbit, an observer would, however, witness a succession of "Earth phases", much like the lunar phases seen from Earth. That is what accounts for the half-illuminated globe seen in the photograph.
In 1969, the US Postal Service issued a stamp (Scott # 1371) commemorating the Apollo 8 flight around the moon. The stamp featured a detail of the Earthrise photograph, and the words, "In the beginning God...", recalling the Apollo 8 Genesis reading.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
