The Blue Marble

Rare card · No. 60960

The Blue Marble is a photograph of Earth taken on December 7, 1972, by one of the astronauts aboard the Apollo 17 spacecraft on its way to the Moon. Viewed from around 29,400 kilometers (18,300 mi; 15,900 nmi) from Earth's surface, a cropped, rotated, and processed version has become one of the most reproduced images in history. In the original NASA image, named AS17-148-22727 and centered at about 26°19′49″S 37°25′13″E with the South Pole facing upwards, The Blue Marble shows Earth from the Mediterranean Sea to Antarctica. This was the first time the Apollo trajectory and seasonal timing made it possible to photograph the south polar ice cap, despite the Southern Hemisphere being heavily covered in clouds. In addition to the Arabian Peninsula and Madagascar, almost the entire coastline of Africa and most of the Indian Ocean are clearly visible, a cyclone in the Indian Ocean is also visible, the South Asian mainland and Australia are on the eastern limb, and the eastern part of South America...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Harrison Schmitt / Apollo 17, Public domain