                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2024 June 30

                      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.

     NASA Administrator Remembers Earthrise Photographer William Anders
                       Tomorrow's picture: time spiral
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

