On this night in science
The Blue Marble
December 7, 1972
On this day in 1972, the Apollo 17 astronauts, on their way to the Moon, looked back and took a photograph of the whole Earth, round and lit by the sun. It showed blue oceans, swirling white clouds, Africa, and the ice of Antarctica at the bottom.
Why it mattered
It became one of the most famous pictures ever taken. Seeing the whole Earth at once, small and bright in the dark, helped many people care about looking after it.
Wonder together
If you could see the whole Earth at once, what would you look for first?