For Earth Day: Ten Stunning Views of Earth from Space Missions

Most people are probably familiar, even if not by name, with the iconic “Earthrise” and “Blue Marble” view of Earth taken by Apollo astronauts on their journeys to the Moon. Apollo 8’s Earthrise, taken on Christmas Eve in 1968, is often referred to as one of the catalysts that led to the environmental movement and the creation of Earth Day. Since then, many other space missions have captured photographs of Earth on their way to their final destinations across the Solar System. In honour of Earth Day, let’s take a look at ten of the most stunning views these spaceships have given us:

Juno Says Goodbye to Earth on its Way to Jupiter

As it flew past Earth, Juno’s JunoCam got its first opportunity to image a colorful planet. In this photo, taken at 12:12 on October 9, 2013, the Sun glints from the ocean off the east coast of South America. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt

The Juno mission headed off Earth on its 5-year-long journey to majestic Jupiter in August 2011. To get there though, it had to revisit its homeworld for a gravity assist in October 2013, during which time it snapped a view to say hello. The Junocam camera onboard the mission was designed as a public outreach tool, with the team calling on the general public to help process the imagery to create stunning results like the one above from Gerard Eichstädt. In fact, many of the amazing images of Jupiter you’ve likely seen from the mission were processed by amateur image processors! Check them out in the Junocam Image Processing Gallery.