The Photo That Changed How We See Ourselves

<p>I remember this day vividly - and this story of how the unscheduled photo got made is timely, this being Christmas Eve. It's interesting to hear the photo-related discussion, and the astronauts discussion of whether to break their schedule to shoot this - also the discussion about camera settings, and film is great.</p>

<p><a href="http://science.time.com/2013/12/24/earthrise-on-christmas-eve-the-picture-that-changed-the-world/?hpt=hp_t2">http://science.time.com/2013/12/24/earthrise-on-christmas-eve-the-picture-that-changed-the-world/?hpt=hp_t2</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>David, that photo means a lot to me. I had it covering my wall in college -- the entire wall. I would often sit back and stare at it -- and contemplate -- and wonder -- and dream.</p>

<p>David, thanks for posting this. I almost posted it the other day but got distracted.</p>

<p>And Sarah, I'm with you all the way on this...</p>

<p>High resolution of the Earthrise photo can be seen here:<br>

<a href="http://www.planetary.org/connect/infinite-visions/2013/form-uploads/apollo_8_earthrise.jpg">http://www.planetary.org/connect/infinite-visions/2013/form-uploads/apollo_8_earthrise.jpg</a></p>

<p>Along the same time period, NASA sent out a series of unmanned lunar orbiters to survey its surface for a landing spot. The original analog tapes are deteriorating so a "Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project" was formed, using the same gear from the 1960s to digitize the analog footage in a closed McDonald's restaurant. <br>

<a href="

- Interesting video description, 6:27 run time<br>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOIRP">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOIRP</a> - project description </p>

<p>David, thanks for the posting. Their excitement in their voices in the video makes the view worthwhile for me.</p>

<p>Michael, thanks for the link of the high res photo too. Although I've seen the photo in different news stories and some of the documentaries, I've not had the opportunity to see it this well.</p>

<p>All very interesting, . . . can you just imagine having that opportunity with camera in hand!<br>

As Sarah said, . . . alot to contemplate, wonder, and dream about!</p>

<p>Cheers to all with Holiday Wishes,<br>

Jim j.</p>

<p>David,</p>

<p>Thanks for posting this link. I was interesting to go through the sequence of photos.</p>

<p>Michael,</p>

<p>Thanks for posting your link on the recovery of data from analog tapes. I first worked on instrumentation tape recorders when I started with the DoD. I never worked on the FR-900 but well remember the FR-1400. They did some excellent work to recover that old information.</p>

<p>Happy Holidays to all.</p>

<p>I remember sitting entranced with my family as Lovell read the first ten verses of Genesis - truly an awe-inspiring moment when you realized the largest human audience ever heard those words. Regardless of your upbringing it was a wonderful moment.</p>

<p>I had the biggest blow-up I could find of this photo on my office wall for years. And I still think it was one of the most meaningful photos ever taken.</p>

<p>Thank you Michael - more evidence that those were, in many ways, magical times.</p>

<p>It is no such a thing as Earth rise in the Moon. What you seeing is the spacecraft moving above the Moon surface toward the side, witch is always facing the Earth, the Moon is synchronous with the Earth and showing the same side all the time. Standing on the Moon on certain place, you my see the Earth but it is not moving nowhere. No Earth-rise on the Moon, as you see on the Earth the Moon, or the Sun rising. What you seeing is an illusion only</p>

<p>Oh, great. Thanks, Bela. Next you'll be claiming there's no man in the moon or green cheese either. And I suppose we're expected to believe Fearless Leader Kim Young 'un didn't set foot on the moon before Chuck Norris.</p>

<p>Dear Lex. You totally misunderstood my point. One more time. Those movies, videos was taken from a spacecraft moving above the surface of the moon, toward the side of the moon facing to the earth. If you don't know astronomy it is the best time to learn.<br /> Have a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.</p>

<p>And thank you for your intelligent comments.</p>

<p>Or as they say in certain parts of the world: everything is relative.</p>

<p>Best wishes to everyone for the holidays, if you're celebrating a holiday, and best wishes anyway if you're not.</p>

<p>Bela, I think most of us are aware of the relative movements of the sun, moon and earth. The term "Earthrise" is more a play on words to complement the commonly used "Moonrise" and "Sunrise". It's not a technically accurate term, but it's one that every earthling can relate to in a philosophical way. </p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>"And I still think it was one of the most meaningful photos ever taken."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>I agree, David, and it has also in part inspired some of the most meaningful words ever spoken by Carl Sagan in his narrative "Pale Blue Dot", and what better time than Christmas to appreciate those words all over again: <br>

<a href="

- Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot, 3:30 run time</p>

<p>@David - I, too, remember watching the Apollo Christmas broadcast. It brought tears to my eyes then, and still does. </p>

<p>Merry Christmas to all and especially to all the brave men and women in harm's way.</p>

<p>I like to try to imagine what a "twin earth" would look like FROM EARTH if we could see it rising instead of the full moon. It would be about two degrees across (instead of .5 degrees) and it would take eight minutes to rise from the time one could barely make out the first direct light.</p>

<p>In other words, it would hardly be a pale blue dot but instead be a fairly large orb--imagine a full moon that was four times greater in diameter, sixteen times greater in surface area. It would light up our back yards to the extent that it would look like very bright twilight. One could mow the law and trim the hedges on "full earth" nights, and this light would "be there" all night long. It might even be hard to sleep with such a bright light showing through the bedroom window.</p>

<p>It's a shame that its gravitational field would pretty much destroy everything as the "earth crust wave" came around twice a day.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

<p>Hi Michael Chang. <em>" I think most of us are aware of the relative movements of the sun, moon and earth. "</em> I hope so. But, getting a sarcastic comment what I get, is reflecting this <strong>missing knowledge</strong> otherwise. Or, <strong>missing something else?</strong> Yes, it was a symbolic statement on that time, I know, it was not a real scientific facts. I wish we can repeat this big moment in our life again.<br>

Happy New Year for all of you.</p>

<p>Bela, I think you may be mistaking absurdism for sarcasm.</p>

<p>Happy New Year Lex. I hope, I getting right of this. English is not my mother tung. But this fact is not changing the physical law.</p>

<p>Bela, I apologize if my earlier comment seemed sarcastic. It was just intended as a humorous observation on other moon related folklore and pop culture characters.</p>

<p>Your comments reminded me of a story my mom likes to tell about me as a little kid, which I can't remember at all. I was born a month after Sputnik was launched and grew up more fascinated with the space program than with typical children's fiction. Like many kids I wanted to grow up to be an astronaut. When I was around 3 years old we were out at night, perhaps at a drive in movie, and mom pointed to the full moon and asked if I could see the man in the moon. Supposedly I replied "Mom, there is no man in the moon. Those are just craters."</p>

<p>It took me a few years to finally appreciate the way humans tend to embrace mythology and human-centric perspectives on the natural world.</p>

<p>:-) </p>

<p>Ramachandran talks about this in his lecture about synesthesia among artists, poets and novelists:<br>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMmh-8r_UH8#t=1210">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMmh-8r_UH8#t=1210</a> - a few minutes long, cued to the relevant section. </p>

<p>The downside to synesthesia is often overlooked in the enthusiasm to promote it as some sort of sensory superpower or gift to artists and creative people. There are related comorbidities - overreactions to or misinterpretations of sensory stimuli - that are more often impairments or impediments to normal social functioning. For some creative types it's a curse rather than a gift.</p>

<p>I remember the Gemini and Apollo missions well. We watched every liftoff, space walk, and re-entry on TV. If schools were in session, classes were cancelled so we could watch these historic moments. </p>

<p>After Apollo 13, interest waned, and the television coverage was scaled back. Attention turned to the Watergate break-ins and the question of how and when to end the Vietnam War.</p>

<p>But for a time, nothing seemed more important than "The Space Race." This photo was captured during the Golden Years of NASA and America's Space Program. I associate the image with the pride that we felt, not just as Americans but as members of the human race, for taking those first bold steps toward realizing mankind's dream of extraterrestrial travel.</p>