USA Today
Kathleen Rogers, Opinion contributor
Published 7:00 a.m. ET Dec. 24, 2018
Earthrise instilled urgency for those already on the front lines battling pollution and making the case that our health and planet were in danger.
(Photo: NASA)
Christmas Eve marks the 50th anniversary of “Earthrise,” one of the first photos ever taken of our entire planet. Shot by the crew of the Apollo 8, the first manned mission to orbit the moon, it was a stunning and unexpected holiday present. Even the crew of the space craft, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders, were unprepared for what they witnessed. They had spent the better part of the day taking photos of the moon’s surface when Borman turned the spaceship to look at the horizon. The astronauts’ reaction was awe. Anders shouted, “Oh my God, look at that picture over there. Here’s the Earth coming up,” and they grabbed their cameras to take those first remarkable shots, first in black and then quickly in color.
The world’s reaction was also awe. Set against a vast and never-ending backdrop of darkness, the photo of our little blue-and-green planet confirmed something different for each person who viewed it: For some, it confirmed that the Earth was actually round, for others their notion of infinity, and for others still it confirmed the existence of God.
It also became a blinding confirmation that our Earth, floating in a sea of stars, was vulnerable and needed protecting. The Earth looked so perfect, so radiant, so small. As Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell said, “The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.”
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