Great Image: Another Earthrise

I will never tire of the lunar views of Earth. The recent image above comes from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2009.

NASA notes:

In this composite image we see Earth appear to rise over the lunar horizon from the viewpoint of the spacecraft, with the center of the Earth just off the coast of Liberia (at 4.04 degrees North, 12.44 degrees West). The large tan area in the upper right is the Sahara Desert, and just beyond is Saudi Arabia. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America are visible to the left. On the moon, we get a glimpse of the crater Compton, which is located just beyond the eastern limb of the moon, on the lunar farside.

The first Earthrise photo, shown below, was taken by NASA's Lunar Orbiter 1 in 1966.  What a difference with some color and clarity.

Recreating the Famous Earthrise

NASA has issued an interesting video that recreates the famous Apollo 8 “Earthrise” photography that occurred this Christmas week 45 years ago.  Updated images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter were critical to providing a precise capture of the same angles and shots.  This, plus the old audio clips of the banter between the three astronauts, provides us with a blow-by-blow retelling of the background to this forever-famous Earth image. Think of it as a remake of a great old film that never ceases to amaze.