This NASA Reconstruction Of The Historic Apollo 8’s Earthrise Is Simply Beautiful

This NASA Reconstruction Of The Historic Apollo 8’s Earthrise Is Simply Beautiful


One December 24, 1968, Frank Borman, Will Anders and Jim Lovell experienced one of the most amazing moments in history, the first Earth-rise ever witnessed by humans.

Now, NASA has reconstructed the entire moment so you can see exactly what the astronauts saw.

Created by NASA animator Ernie Wright using high-resolution topography data from LRO’s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, photos from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on the Terra satellite, and orbital information from the Apollo 8 mission, the video shows the entire earthrise:

Apollo 8 was at 11 degrees south latitude and between 118 and 114 east longitude, with a westward view. The floor of Pasteur crater is visible in the foreground of the photograph.

What I love about this video is not only watching the Earth-rise, but listening to the excitement of the crew of Apollo 8 as Earth appeared in such a dramatic way. [NASA]


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