Apollo 17: The Crescent Earth
Explanation:
Our fair planet
sports a curved, sunlit crescent
against the black backdrop of space in this stunning photograph.
From the unfamiliar perspective,
the Earth is small
and, like a
telescopic image of a distant planet,
the entire horizon is completely within the field of view.
Enjoyed by
crews on board
the International Space Station,
only much closer views of the planet are possible from low Earth orbit.
Orbiting the planet once every 90 minutes, a spectacle of clouds, oceans,
and continents
scrolls beneath them
with the partial arc of the planet's edge in the distance.
But this digitally restored image
presents a view so far
only achieved by 24 humans,
Apollo
astronauts
who traveled to the Moon and back again between 1968 and 1972.
The original photograph, AS17-152-23420, was taken by the
homeward bound crew of
Apollo 17, on December 17, 1972.
For now it's the last picture
of Earth from this planetary perspective taken by
human
hands.
-
NASA Remembers Michael Collins
-
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
