Blue Planet
Our Planet Home
The earliest pictures of Earth from above the atmosphere were taken on October 24, 1946. The photographs were shot from an altitude of 65 miles over the New Mexico desert by a V-2 missile that was launched from the White Sands Missile Range. The blurry, black and white photos clearly revealed the curvature of the Earth, though from that low altitude only a partial view of the Earth’s surface was possible.
It was not until 1961, with the beginning of NASA manned missions into space, that we could see stunning photographs of the Earth from space –- photographs that changed everything.
To see the Earth from space meant gaining a perspective never before available to mankind. From space no arbitrary boundaries, no borders, no ethnic homelands are visible. Instead we see that our planet is a shining blue ball hanging in utter darkness.
Even from afar, the evidence of ever-present life is clear: 77% of the planet is covered with sparkling blue water; white-cloud weather patterns swirl around the planet; and the infinite textures of green alert any observer to the presence of photosynthesis-based plant life.
On December 24, 1968 NASA crew member William A. Anders took a famous photograph through the window of the Apollo 8 spacecraft in lunar orbit as it came around the far side of the moon. NASA commander Frank Borman exclaimed, “Oh my God, look at that picture over there! Here’s the Earth coming up!”
Earthrise, as this photo came to be called, is certainly one of the most powerful and evocative images ever taken of the Earth from Space. We can clearly see the watery abundance of our life-filled planet contrasting with the sterile moon’s surface below, set against the backdrop of vast and empty Space.
Noted wilderness photographer Galen Rowell has called this image “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.”
Perhaps we are habituated, after all these years. A space agency website catalogs some 745,000 photos of the planet from space. Yet these photographs give rise to feeling a sense of place in a way that language cannot. They can call up again that experience of wonder we experienced when we first saw Earthrise –- and to powerfully help us remember how vast and beautiful and vulnerable is this Earth.
Artist Lance Hidy says that the photographs of the planet from Space changed things forever. We can no longer ignore the fragility of Earth, nor the need to cooperate to effectively care for the environment.
About the Author
David Yarian, Ph.D. http://www.DavidYarian.com recommends books and resources on nature and the environment at http://www.SavingtheEarth.net. Also visit The Guide to Self-Help Books at http://www.Books4SelfHelp.com.
Blue Planet, Ocean World. 1 Of 5
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