Astronomy Picture of the Day—20181225

Discover the cosmos! Each day a differentimage or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a briefexplanation written by a professional astronomer.

2018 December 25

Image Credit: NASA, SVS, Apollo 8 Crew;

Lead Animator: Ernie Wright; (USRA); Music:C Major Prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach

Explanation: About 12 seconds into thisvideo, something unusual happens. The Earth begins to rise. Never seen byhumans before, the rise of the Earth over the limb of the Moon occurred 50years ago tomorrow and surprised and amazed the crew of Apollo 8. The crewimmediately scrambled to take still images of the stunning vista caused byApollo 8's orbit around the Moon. The featured video is a modern reconstructionof the event as it would have looked were it recorded with a modern moviecamera. The colorful orb of our Earth stood out as a familiar icon rising abovea distant and unfamiliar moonscape, the whole scene the conceptual reverse of amore familiar moonrise as seen from Earth. To many, the scene also spoke aboutthe unity of humanity: that big blue marble -- that's us -- we all live there.The two-minute video is not time-lapse -- this is the real speed of the Earthrising through the windows of Apollo 8. Seven months and three missions later,Apollo 11 astronauts would not only circle Earth's moon, but land on it.