Earth Rise

With all the activity around Christmas I didn't get to posting about the 40th anniversary of the Earth rise photo which was taken on Christmas Eve 1968 as part of the Apollo 8 space mission.

From NPR...

On Christmas Eve in 1968, Americans turned on their TV sets to watch something unprecedented: a live broadcast from outer space.

Never before had humans left Earth to circle another celestial body, one that was more than 200,000 miles away. The Apollo 8 mission changed the way that earthlings saw themselves and their world.

I don't remember this particular space mission, I was only four at the time, but I do recall that even as a child space travel grabbed my attention and I was completely fascinated by it...some things never change.

Here's the photo...


and here's the live, albeit a bit melodramatic, Christmas Eve broadcast from Apollo 8.