For this week’s NASA Image of the Day I chose this iconic photo. This is called “Earthrise” and it is without a doubt one of the most famous and recognizable images from the early space race and the subsequent moon landing. It is awe-inspiring, proving humanity’s ability to reach beyond our terrestrial boundaries and reach out into the galaxy to explore the greater mysteries of space. It is also humbling. Reminding us that we are but a small cog in an infinite and complex universe.

For me, however, it makes me think of this line from a Bugs Bunny cartoon:

This is from NASA.org about the photo:

On Dec. 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders became the first humans to orbit the Moon, and the first to witness the magnificent sight called “Earthrise.” As the spacecraft was in the process of rotating, Anders took this iconic picture showing Earth rising over the Moon’s horizon. In 2018, the International Astronomical Union commemorated the event by naming a 25 mile diameter crater “Anders’ Earthrise.”

Relive the astronauts’ experience.

Courtesy of NASA.org | Image Credit: NASA

This is from NASA.org about the video:

Earthrise: A Video Reconstruction
Video Credit: NASA, SVS, Apollo 8 Crew;
Lead Animator: Ernie Wright; (USRA); Music: C Major Prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach

Explanation: About 12 seconds into this video, something unusual happens. The Earth begins to rise. Never seen by humans before, the rise of the Earth over the limb of the Moon occurred about 55.5 years ago and surprised and amazed the crew of Apollo 8. The crew immediately scrambled to take still images of the stunning vista caused by Apollo 8‘s orbit around the Moon. The featured video is a modern reconstruction of the event as it would have looked were it recorded with a modern movie camera. The colorful orb of our Earth stood out as a familiar icon rising above a distant and unfamiliar moonscape, the whole scene the conceptual reverse of a more familiar moonrise as seen from Earth. To many, the scene also spoke about the unity of humanity: that big blue marble — that’s us — we all live there. The two-minute video is not time-lapse — this is the real speed of the Earth rising through the windows of Apollo 8. Seven months and three missions later, Apollo 11 astronauts would not only circle Earth’s moon, but land on it.