2023-07-18 04:48:13
Space
The Earth and the Moon as you’ve never seen them
Two small dots, one revolving around the other, which is brighter: this is the image of our world and its satellite taken from Mars orbit.
Posted18 July 2023, 06:48
This animated montage shows the Moon orbiting the Earth.
ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
In 1990, the Voyager 1 spacecraft, on its way out of the solar system, took a picture of the Earth 6 billion kilometers away. Nicknamed “the pale blue dot”, this image made the famous astronomer Carl Sagan think regarding the fragility of our planet and the responsibility of man towards it.
23 years later, it’s the Mars Express spacecraft, whose orbiter is still orbiting Mars 20 years following its arrival, to take another stunning image. The spacecraft of the European Space Agency has turned its lens towards us and shows us the movement of the Moon in orbit around the Earth. A very small point turning to another slightly larger and brighter point.
There is no planet B
“On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Mars Express since its launch, we wanted to bring Carl Sagan’s reflections back to the present day where the worsening climate and ecological crisis makes them more valid than ever,” said Jorge Hernández Bernal, researcher at the University of the Basque Country, reports Space.com.
“In these simple Mars Express snapshots, the Earth is the size of an ant seen from a distance of 100 meters, and we are all there. Even though we have seen images like these before, it is always humble to stop and reflect: we have to deal with the pale blue dot, there is no planet B.”
Show comments
1689660304
#Earth #Moon #youve
