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]