Apollo 8 · 24 December 1968, 16:39 UTC
Earthrise
Bill Anders saw the Earth come up over the Moon's horizon on Apollo 8's fourth orbit and called for colour film. A 250 mm lens, through the right-hand rendezvous window, one of only two windows that were not fogged.
Slide between them
The original laid over the live view at the same scale, as the viewer does when you press Both or Original. Drag across the picture, or use the arrow keys.
Where it was taken from
Apollo 8 was 110 km above the Moon at 16:39 UTC on 24 December 1968.
The live view puts the viewer's camera right there. The clock goes to that moment, everything switches to true scale, and the camera sits where the spacecraft was, its position from NASA's 2013 reconstruction of Apollo 8's fourth orbit, which pinned the spacecraft to 110 km above 11.15 S, 113.80 E [3]. The lens matches the published picture, 12.6° from top to bottom, and the camera is turned to the picture's own orientation, so the original lies over the view at the same scale.
Where the two differ
The lunar horizon here is the Moon's smooth shape; the real skyline has the far side's hills. The published picture is the film frame turned a quarter turn, which is how it is shown here.
Everything in the live view comes from the viewer's own maps and its own light, drawn at one instant. The geometry comes from the spacecraft's position, the lens and the picture's orientation, so where everything was, how big it looked and which way it was lit should all line up with the original.
The facts
- NASA's reconstruction times the colour Earthrise, AS08-14-2383, at 16:39:39.7 UT on 24 December 1968. [1]
- A black-and-white frame, AS08-13-2329, was taken about a minute earlier, as Anders was asking the crew for colour film. [2]
- The spacecraft was 110 km above the Moon at about 11 S, 114 E. [3]
- The spacecraft was rolling, and it was this roll that brought the Earth into view in the windows. [1]
- NASA's 2013 reconstruction used Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter terrain and the mission's vertical stereo photos to pin down the timing and window. [1]
- Bill Anders took it on Apollo 8's fourth orbit of the Moon, with a 250 mm telephoto lens through the right-hand rendezvous window, which was not fogged. [2]
Open it live
In the viewer the clock runs on from the moment at real pace, so you can watch the scene move the way it did after the shutter closed. Press Both or Original to lay the original over it, or drag to look around from where Apollo 8 was.
Open it live in 3D → All eight as a Mac screensaver
The other seven
The Blue Marble
The Moon crossing the Earth
The Earth and Moon, together
Pale Blue Dot
The Day the Earth Smiled
In Saturn's Shadow
Pluto in true colour
All the famous photos, and how the views are made
Sources
- NASA Scientific Visualization Studio: Earthrise, the 45th anniversary
- Apollo 8 Flight Journal: day 4, the fourth orbit
- NASA Scientific Visualization Studio: Earthrise, the reconstruction
Original picture: NASA, from NASA (images.nasa.gov): As08 14 2383. NASA pictures are not subject to copyright in the United States; NASA asks for a credit and no suggestion that it endorses anything. NASA media guidelines. The live view is ours, rendered by the Our Solar System viewer.