I’m so used to Hollywood movies that I thought this video was a 3D rendering when I first saw it. But it’s the real Earth, our home planet as seen from NASA’s Messenger spacecraft on its way to Mercury.
Comprising 358 frames taken over 24 hours, the movie follows Earth through one complete rotation. The spacecraft was 40,761 miles (65,598 kilometers) above South America when the camera started rolling on Aug. 2. It was 270,847 miles (435,885 kilometers) away from Earth – farther than the Moon’s orbit – when it snapped the last image on Aug. 3.
Like Chris Mascari just said after seeing it: “I love this planet.” [NASA Messenger]
Video is bounced to give you more time to see it.