Is it possible to be a million miles away

Source: NASA. This side gave you the beautiful picture. If the Earth is this large at 1 million miles away why was it so small in pictures from the Moon at , miles away? It was the size the Moon from Earth is and that is impossible. The cameras used by our astronauts at the moon were general purpose Hasselblads modified for gloved hands IIRC made for taking images within that cramped capsule, and each other on the moon.

As such they were much wider angle. Apparently this instrument was designed specifically for this distance, so it is a kind of telephoto lens. Why incorporate more sky than necessary for the whole earth scientific purpose? It was through the imputes of Al Gore that this satellite was originally conceived and built. Originally published on Space. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more!

And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community space. During the voyage, astronaut Bill Anders took an unscheduled photo of the Earth partly in shadow, with the moon in the foreground.

No sooner did the Earth become wholly visible than it sparked the rapid growth of the environmental movement, marked by the formation of the environmental charity Friends of the Earth in and the first UN Earth Summit in Stockholm in This view of a watery globe, centred on Madagascar rather than on a Western country, appeared as a photographic manifesto for global equality.

With a human eye behind the lens, humankind found itself face to face with Mother Earth in an image that has become one of the most reproduced pictures of all time.

Actually travelling to space to see this transformative sight in person is, of course, impossible for the vast majority of the population. As a result, groups such as the Overview Institute and the Center for Planetary Identity have since come up with imaginative schemes to spread the environmental consciousness created by viewing the Earth from a distance to the wider population, including the use of virtual reality.

As a historian and an environmentalist, I have a more modest proposal. In December , the Earth will be in a similar position relative to the sun as it was in December