Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2023 May 13
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                        Apollo 17: The Crescent Earth
       Image Credit: [3]Apollo 17, [4]NASA; Restoration - [5]Toby Ord

   Explanation: [6]Our fair planet sports a curved, sunlit crescent
   against the black backdrop of space in this stunning photograph. From
   the unfamiliar perspective, [7]the Earth is small and, like a
   [8]telescopic image of a distant planet, the entire horizon is
   completely within the field of view. Enjoyed by [9]crews on board the
   International Space Station, only much closer views of the planet are
   possible from low Earth orbit. Orbiting the planet once every 90
   minutes, a spectacle of clouds, oceans, and continents [10]scrolls
   beneath them with the partial arc of the planet's edge in the distance.
   [11]But this digitally restored image presents a view so far only
   achieved by 24 humans, [12]Apollo astronauts who traveled to the Moon
   and back again between 1968 and 1972. The original photograph,
   [13]AS17-152-23420, was taken by the homeward bound crew of Apollo 17,
   on December 17, 1972. For now it is the last picture of Earth from this
   [14]planetary perspective taken by human hands.

                       Tomorrow's picture: free space
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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [30]Specific rights apply.
              [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2305/AS17-152-23420_Ord.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo17.html
   4. https://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
   5. http://www.tobyord.com/earth
   6. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/index.html
   7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57CDqSh5HXc
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180728.html
   9. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210423.html
  11. http://www.tobyord.com/earth
  12. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/890/who-has-walked-on-the-moon/
  13. https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=AS17&roll=152&frame=23420
  14. https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2023/04/03/nasa-names-astronauts-to-next-moon-mission-first-crew-under-artemis/
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230512.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230513
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230514.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/