Planets : Earth

The famous photo now known as "The Big Blue Marble" is a view of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew traveling toward the moon. This translunar coast photograph extends from the Mediterranean Sea area to the Antarctica south polar ice cap.

This is the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the south polar ice cap. Note the heavy cloud cover in the Southern Hemisphere. Almost the entire coastline of Africa is clearly visible. The Arabian Peninsula can be seen at the northeastern edge of Africa. The large island off the coast of Africa is the Malagasy Republic. The Asian mainland is on the horizon toward the northeast.

Photo : NASA - Apollo 17 Mission - 7 Dec 1972

NASA Earth Observatory
NASA Johnson Space Center
Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth

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