The magnificent 'Blue Marble' photograph--one of the most iconic images of Earth that changed the way we visualized our planet forever, turned 50 on Wednesday. It was the first photograph taken of the whole round Earth and is believed to be the most reproduced image of all time.
This classic photograph of the Earth was taken on Dec. 7, 1972, by the crew of the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, as they traveled toward the moon on their lunar landing mission. The photograph was captured at 18,000 miles (29,000 kilometers) from the Earth.
Sharing the photograph on Instagram to celebrate its golden anniversary, NASA wrote, '' On Dec. 7, 1972-50 years ago today-the crew of Apollo 17 took this photo of Earth as they journeyed to the Moon. Known today as the "Blue Marble", this picture has since become one of the most iconic images of our home world.''
See the post here:
The photograph shows Earth from the Mediterranean Sea to Antarctica and was the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the south polar ice cap, along with heavy cloud cover in the Southern Hemisphere.
"Note the heavy cloud cover in the Southern Hemisphere," NASA said in a statement. "Almost the entire coastline of Africa is clearly visible. The Arabian Peninsula can be seen at the northeastern edge of Africa. The large island off the coast of Africa is the Malagasy Republic. The Asian mainland is on the horizon toward the northeast."
The Apollo 17 crew consisted of astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, mission commander; Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot; and Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot. Though NASA credits the whole crew with the photo, Mr. Schmitt later said he thought he'd shot the actual image, crediting his 70-millimeter Hasselblad camera equipped with an 80-millimeter Zeiss lens.
Apollo 17 marked the last time that a capsule headed to the moon until NASA's Artemis I mission blasted off last month. Its uncrewed Orion capsule is now on its way back to Earth after spending the last week in a distant orbit around the moon, sending back stunning photos.
