Was the “Earthrise” witnessed by Apollo 8 the first available “full” photo of the Earth?
Was the video/photos taken during the earth-rise on the Apollo 8 flight the first "blue marble"-esque photo? I've heard the image equated to the "earth's first selfie" and question the technical accuracy of that premise.

*Note to pedants:
Seeing other similar type questions on the site, please understand the concept of what I'm asking, if not the accuracy. Yes, you can only take, at best, a photo of only half the earth at a given time, and yes, during Apollo 8 the Earth was partially in shadow....
history photography earth
|
show 1 more comment
Was the video/photos taken during the earth-rise on the Apollo 8 flight the first "blue marble"-esque photo? I've heard the image equated to the "earth's first selfie" and question the technical accuracy of that premise.

*Note to pedants:
Seeing other similar type questions on the site, please understand the concept of what I'm asking, if not the accuracy. Yes, you can only take, at best, a photo of only half the earth at a given time, and yes, during Apollo 8 the Earth was partially in shadow....
history photography earth
4
those people are "pedants" ;)
– Hobbes
Nov 29 '18 at 18:17
damn autocorrect!! @Hobbes
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:18
2
Hmmm, pedantic? That doesn't seem like the best fit. Perhaps donnish is better.
– Don Branson
Nov 29 '18 at 18:32
1
Russel's answer is excellent, but it still is customary to wait 24 hours before clicking the accept checkmark, so other people (no, not me) have a chance to post answers.
– Dr Sheldon
Nov 29 '18 at 21:40
1
as an aside - I love questions like this - they always result in lots of interesting and pretty images.
– Baldrickk
Nov 30 '18 at 9:41
|
show 1 more comment
Was the video/photos taken during the earth-rise on the Apollo 8 flight the first "blue marble"-esque photo? I've heard the image equated to the "earth's first selfie" and question the technical accuracy of that premise.

*Note to pedants:
Seeing other similar type questions on the site, please understand the concept of what I'm asking, if not the accuracy. Yes, you can only take, at best, a photo of only half the earth at a given time, and yes, during Apollo 8 the Earth was partially in shadow....
history photography earth
Was the video/photos taken during the earth-rise on the Apollo 8 flight the first "blue marble"-esque photo? I've heard the image equated to the "earth's first selfie" and question the technical accuracy of that premise.

*Note to pedants:
Seeing other similar type questions on the site, please understand the concept of what I'm asking, if not the accuracy. Yes, you can only take, at best, a photo of only half the earth at a given time, and yes, during Apollo 8 the Earth was partially in shadow....
history photography earth
history photography earth
edited Nov 29 '18 at 18:18
NKCampbell
asked Nov 29 '18 at 18:05
NKCampbellNKCampbell
33839
33839
4
those people are "pedants" ;)
– Hobbes
Nov 29 '18 at 18:17
damn autocorrect!! @Hobbes
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:18
2
Hmmm, pedantic? That doesn't seem like the best fit. Perhaps donnish is better.
– Don Branson
Nov 29 '18 at 18:32
1
Russel's answer is excellent, but it still is customary to wait 24 hours before clicking the accept checkmark, so other people (no, not me) have a chance to post answers.
– Dr Sheldon
Nov 29 '18 at 21:40
1
as an aside - I love questions like this - they always result in lots of interesting and pretty images.
– Baldrickk
Nov 30 '18 at 9:41
|
show 1 more comment
4
those people are "pedants" ;)
– Hobbes
Nov 29 '18 at 18:17
damn autocorrect!! @Hobbes
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:18
2
Hmmm, pedantic? That doesn't seem like the best fit. Perhaps donnish is better.
– Don Branson
Nov 29 '18 at 18:32
1
Russel's answer is excellent, but it still is customary to wait 24 hours before clicking the accept checkmark, so other people (no, not me) have a chance to post answers.
– Dr Sheldon
Nov 29 '18 at 21:40
1
as an aside - I love questions like this - they always result in lots of interesting and pretty images.
– Baldrickk
Nov 30 '18 at 9:41
4
4
those people are "pedants" ;)
– Hobbes
Nov 29 '18 at 18:17
those people are "pedants" ;)
– Hobbes
Nov 29 '18 at 18:17
damn autocorrect!! @Hobbes
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:18
damn autocorrect!! @Hobbes
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:18
2
2
Hmmm, pedantic? That doesn't seem like the best fit. Perhaps donnish is better.
– Don Branson
Nov 29 '18 at 18:32
Hmmm, pedantic? That doesn't seem like the best fit. Perhaps donnish is better.
– Don Branson
Nov 29 '18 at 18:32
1
1
Russel's answer is excellent, but it still is customary to wait 24 hours before clicking the accept checkmark, so other people (no, not me) have a chance to post answers.
– Dr Sheldon
Nov 29 '18 at 21:40
Russel's answer is excellent, but it still is customary to wait 24 hours before clicking the accept checkmark, so other people (no, not me) have a chance to post answers.
– Dr Sheldon
Nov 29 '18 at 21:40
1
1
as an aside - I love questions like this - they always result in lots of interesting and pretty images.
– Baldrickk
Nov 30 '18 at 9:41
as an aside - I love questions like this - they always result in lots of interesting and pretty images.
– Baldrickk
Nov 30 '18 at 9:41
|
show 1 more comment
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
No; the first full views of Earth from high-altitude satellites predate Apollo 8 by at least two years.
This web page has a nice progression of pictures of Earth from space from 1959 on.
A Soviet satellite (possibly Molniya-1-3) took this crude picture on May 30, 1966:

DODGE took this picture in September of 1967; this is believed to be the first full-color, full-Earth picture:

ATS-III sent this photo in November of 1967, which famously became the cover image for the first edition of the Whole Earth Catalog (Apollo 8's much prettier Earthrise photo adorned later editions):

1
thanks! I suspected as much
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:47
3
The Whole Earth Catalog invented the internet before Al Gore did i.stack.imgur.com/30aHe.jpg This was a great book for certain "sitting rooms".
– uhoh
Nov 29 '18 at 23:52
4
What part of Earth is depicted in the first photo? I have a hard time identifying any continents or oceans on it.
– d-b
Nov 30 '18 at 0:03
1
@d-b Most likely the contrast is mostly cloud versus surface, not land versus water (squint at the other pictures to see what I mean). Assuming it’s in a Molniya orbit and near apogee, I’d expect it to be over the middle of greater Russia, but I don’t know which way the image is oriented.
– Russell Borogove
Nov 30 '18 at 0:07
fyi I've just asked What are damper booms and how did they "get out of DODGE"?
– uhoh
Nov 30 '18 at 0:30
|
show 5 more comments
Although not a blue marble as it's in black and white, Lunar Orbiter 1 took an earlier Earthrise photo on August 23, 1966. This is the first picture of the Earth from Lunar orbit.

In 2008, the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project produced a higher-quality version of this image by reanalyzing the original data.

Lunar Orbiter 1 also took a second Earthrise picture on Aug. 25, 1966 (restored version shown.)

3
Thank you so much for this. This is the first time I heard of LOIRP and the restored images quite literally made me shudder and get goosebumps... it is amazing to see the high-res images and to realise that Nancy Evans's decision rescued this treasure of data. This for me ranks with the Prokudin-Gorsky image bank.
– MichaelK
Nov 30 '18 at 14:50
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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active
oldest
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
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votes
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oldest
votes
No; the first full views of Earth from high-altitude satellites predate Apollo 8 by at least two years.
This web page has a nice progression of pictures of Earth from space from 1959 on.
A Soviet satellite (possibly Molniya-1-3) took this crude picture on May 30, 1966:

DODGE took this picture in September of 1967; this is believed to be the first full-color, full-Earth picture:

ATS-III sent this photo in November of 1967, which famously became the cover image for the first edition of the Whole Earth Catalog (Apollo 8's much prettier Earthrise photo adorned later editions):

1
thanks! I suspected as much
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:47
3
The Whole Earth Catalog invented the internet before Al Gore did i.stack.imgur.com/30aHe.jpg This was a great book for certain "sitting rooms".
– uhoh
Nov 29 '18 at 23:52
4
What part of Earth is depicted in the first photo? I have a hard time identifying any continents or oceans on it.
– d-b
Nov 30 '18 at 0:03
1
@d-b Most likely the contrast is mostly cloud versus surface, not land versus water (squint at the other pictures to see what I mean). Assuming it’s in a Molniya orbit and near apogee, I’d expect it to be over the middle of greater Russia, but I don’t know which way the image is oriented.
– Russell Borogove
Nov 30 '18 at 0:07
fyi I've just asked What are damper booms and how did they "get out of DODGE"?
– uhoh
Nov 30 '18 at 0:30
|
show 5 more comments
No; the first full views of Earth from high-altitude satellites predate Apollo 8 by at least two years.
This web page has a nice progression of pictures of Earth from space from 1959 on.
A Soviet satellite (possibly Molniya-1-3) took this crude picture on May 30, 1966:

DODGE took this picture in September of 1967; this is believed to be the first full-color, full-Earth picture:

ATS-III sent this photo in November of 1967, which famously became the cover image for the first edition of the Whole Earth Catalog (Apollo 8's much prettier Earthrise photo adorned later editions):

1
thanks! I suspected as much
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:47
3
The Whole Earth Catalog invented the internet before Al Gore did i.stack.imgur.com/30aHe.jpg This was a great book for certain "sitting rooms".
– uhoh
Nov 29 '18 at 23:52
4
What part of Earth is depicted in the first photo? I have a hard time identifying any continents or oceans on it.
– d-b
Nov 30 '18 at 0:03
1
@d-b Most likely the contrast is mostly cloud versus surface, not land versus water (squint at the other pictures to see what I mean). Assuming it’s in a Molniya orbit and near apogee, I’d expect it to be over the middle of greater Russia, but I don’t know which way the image is oriented.
– Russell Borogove
Nov 30 '18 at 0:07
fyi I've just asked What are damper booms and how did they "get out of DODGE"?
– uhoh
Nov 30 '18 at 0:30
|
show 5 more comments
No; the first full views of Earth from high-altitude satellites predate Apollo 8 by at least two years.
This web page has a nice progression of pictures of Earth from space from 1959 on.
A Soviet satellite (possibly Molniya-1-3) took this crude picture on May 30, 1966:

DODGE took this picture in September of 1967; this is believed to be the first full-color, full-Earth picture:

ATS-III sent this photo in November of 1967, which famously became the cover image for the first edition of the Whole Earth Catalog (Apollo 8's much prettier Earthrise photo adorned later editions):

No; the first full views of Earth from high-altitude satellites predate Apollo 8 by at least two years.
This web page has a nice progression of pictures of Earth from space from 1959 on.
A Soviet satellite (possibly Molniya-1-3) took this crude picture on May 30, 1966:

DODGE took this picture in September of 1967; this is believed to be the first full-color, full-Earth picture:

ATS-III sent this photo in November of 1967, which famously became the cover image for the first edition of the Whole Earth Catalog (Apollo 8's much prettier Earthrise photo adorned later editions):

edited Nov 29 '18 at 19:12
answered Nov 29 '18 at 18:44
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
83.4k2281361
83.4k2281361
1
thanks! I suspected as much
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:47
3
The Whole Earth Catalog invented the internet before Al Gore did i.stack.imgur.com/30aHe.jpg This was a great book for certain "sitting rooms".
– uhoh
Nov 29 '18 at 23:52
4
What part of Earth is depicted in the first photo? I have a hard time identifying any continents or oceans on it.
– d-b
Nov 30 '18 at 0:03
1
@d-b Most likely the contrast is mostly cloud versus surface, not land versus water (squint at the other pictures to see what I mean). Assuming it’s in a Molniya orbit and near apogee, I’d expect it to be over the middle of greater Russia, but I don’t know which way the image is oriented.
– Russell Borogove
Nov 30 '18 at 0:07
fyi I've just asked What are damper booms and how did they "get out of DODGE"?
– uhoh
Nov 30 '18 at 0:30
|
show 5 more comments
1
thanks! I suspected as much
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:47
3
The Whole Earth Catalog invented the internet before Al Gore did i.stack.imgur.com/30aHe.jpg This was a great book for certain "sitting rooms".
– uhoh
Nov 29 '18 at 23:52
4
What part of Earth is depicted in the first photo? I have a hard time identifying any continents or oceans on it.
– d-b
Nov 30 '18 at 0:03
1
@d-b Most likely the contrast is mostly cloud versus surface, not land versus water (squint at the other pictures to see what I mean). Assuming it’s in a Molniya orbit and near apogee, I’d expect it to be over the middle of greater Russia, but I don’t know which way the image is oriented.
– Russell Borogove
Nov 30 '18 at 0:07
fyi I've just asked What are damper booms and how did they "get out of DODGE"?
– uhoh
Nov 30 '18 at 0:30
1
1
thanks! I suspected as much
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:47
thanks! I suspected as much
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:47
3
3
The Whole Earth Catalog invented the internet before Al Gore did i.stack.imgur.com/30aHe.jpg This was a great book for certain "sitting rooms".
– uhoh
Nov 29 '18 at 23:52
The Whole Earth Catalog invented the internet before Al Gore did i.stack.imgur.com/30aHe.jpg This was a great book for certain "sitting rooms".
– uhoh
Nov 29 '18 at 23:52
4
4
What part of Earth is depicted in the first photo? I have a hard time identifying any continents or oceans on it.
– d-b
Nov 30 '18 at 0:03
What part of Earth is depicted in the first photo? I have a hard time identifying any continents or oceans on it.
– d-b
Nov 30 '18 at 0:03
1
1
@d-b Most likely the contrast is mostly cloud versus surface, not land versus water (squint at the other pictures to see what I mean). Assuming it’s in a Molniya orbit and near apogee, I’d expect it to be over the middle of greater Russia, but I don’t know which way the image is oriented.
– Russell Borogove
Nov 30 '18 at 0:07
@d-b Most likely the contrast is mostly cloud versus surface, not land versus water (squint at the other pictures to see what I mean). Assuming it’s in a Molniya orbit and near apogee, I’d expect it to be over the middle of greater Russia, but I don’t know which way the image is oriented.
– Russell Borogove
Nov 30 '18 at 0:07
fyi I've just asked What are damper booms and how did they "get out of DODGE"?
– uhoh
Nov 30 '18 at 0:30
fyi I've just asked What are damper booms and how did they "get out of DODGE"?
– uhoh
Nov 30 '18 at 0:30
|
show 5 more comments
Although not a blue marble as it's in black and white, Lunar Orbiter 1 took an earlier Earthrise photo on August 23, 1966. This is the first picture of the Earth from Lunar orbit.

In 2008, the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project produced a higher-quality version of this image by reanalyzing the original data.

Lunar Orbiter 1 also took a second Earthrise picture on Aug. 25, 1966 (restored version shown.)

3
Thank you so much for this. This is the first time I heard of LOIRP and the restored images quite literally made me shudder and get goosebumps... it is amazing to see the high-res images and to realise that Nancy Evans's decision rescued this treasure of data. This for me ranks with the Prokudin-Gorsky image bank.
– MichaelK
Nov 30 '18 at 14:50
add a comment |
Although not a blue marble as it's in black and white, Lunar Orbiter 1 took an earlier Earthrise photo on August 23, 1966. This is the first picture of the Earth from Lunar orbit.

In 2008, the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project produced a higher-quality version of this image by reanalyzing the original data.

Lunar Orbiter 1 also took a second Earthrise picture on Aug. 25, 1966 (restored version shown.)

3
Thank you so much for this. This is the first time I heard of LOIRP and the restored images quite literally made me shudder and get goosebumps... it is amazing to see the high-res images and to realise that Nancy Evans's decision rescued this treasure of data. This for me ranks with the Prokudin-Gorsky image bank.
– MichaelK
Nov 30 '18 at 14:50
add a comment |
Although not a blue marble as it's in black and white, Lunar Orbiter 1 took an earlier Earthrise photo on August 23, 1966. This is the first picture of the Earth from Lunar orbit.

In 2008, the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project produced a higher-quality version of this image by reanalyzing the original data.

Lunar Orbiter 1 also took a second Earthrise picture on Aug. 25, 1966 (restored version shown.)

Although not a blue marble as it's in black and white, Lunar Orbiter 1 took an earlier Earthrise photo on August 23, 1966. This is the first picture of the Earth from Lunar orbit.

In 2008, the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project produced a higher-quality version of this image by reanalyzing the original data.

Lunar Orbiter 1 also took a second Earthrise picture on Aug. 25, 1966 (restored version shown.)

answered Nov 30 '18 at 7:17
David MoewsDavid Moews
3012
3012
3
Thank you so much for this. This is the first time I heard of LOIRP and the restored images quite literally made me shudder and get goosebumps... it is amazing to see the high-res images and to realise that Nancy Evans's decision rescued this treasure of data. This for me ranks with the Prokudin-Gorsky image bank.
– MichaelK
Nov 30 '18 at 14:50
add a comment |
3
Thank you so much for this. This is the first time I heard of LOIRP and the restored images quite literally made me shudder and get goosebumps... it is amazing to see the high-res images and to realise that Nancy Evans's decision rescued this treasure of data. This for me ranks with the Prokudin-Gorsky image bank.
– MichaelK
Nov 30 '18 at 14:50
3
3
Thank you so much for this. This is the first time I heard of LOIRP and the restored images quite literally made me shudder and get goosebumps... it is amazing to see the high-res images and to realise that Nancy Evans's decision rescued this treasure of data. This for me ranks with the Prokudin-Gorsky image bank.
– MichaelK
Nov 30 '18 at 14:50
Thank you so much for this. This is the first time I heard of LOIRP and the restored images quite literally made me shudder and get goosebumps... it is amazing to see the high-res images and to realise that Nancy Evans's decision rescued this treasure of data. This for me ranks with the Prokudin-Gorsky image bank.
– MichaelK
Nov 30 '18 at 14:50
add a comment |
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4
those people are "pedants" ;)
– Hobbes
Nov 29 '18 at 18:17
damn autocorrect!! @Hobbes
– NKCampbell
Nov 29 '18 at 18:18
2
Hmmm, pedantic? That doesn't seem like the best fit. Perhaps donnish is better.
– Don Branson
Nov 29 '18 at 18:32
1
Russel's answer is excellent, but it still is customary to wait 24 hours before clicking the accept checkmark, so other people (no, not me) have a chance to post answers.
– Dr Sheldon
Nov 29 '18 at 21:40
1
as an aside - I love questions like this - they always result in lots of interesting and pretty images.
– Baldrickk
Nov 30 '18 at 9:41