8 thoughts on “Merry Christmas Earthlings!”

  1. Pingback: gr.yet.anotherblog.net » Blog Archive » Planet earth is blue

  3. cope

    Well, I assume that the orbital plane of Apollo 8 was close to the plane of the eclliptic which would be approximately perpendicular to the terminator which would explain the orientation.

    I think the more common orientation gives the impression of the earth “rising” above the lunar surface rather than appearing from around the back side and for whatever reasons, that orientation has become preferred.

  4. Abbas Raza

    Dear Sean,

    Merry Christmas to you to. Cosmic Variance is on its way to becoming as good as Preposterous Universe once was (I know that nostalgia seems an odd thing on as ephemeral a medium as the net, but what do you know, it’s there!). I just had a baddish Christmas, which doesn’t matter much to me, since as a Muslim (I know you know I am an atheist, but there is also the matter of cultural identity), it was never a part of my childhood or anything like that, but I feel bad for my wife. (It wasn’t I who made it bad.)

    Anyhow, all the best for the new year. I shall remain,

    Very respectfully yours,

    Abbas

  6. Dissident

    Pointless remark of the day: but William Anders was floating around in 0g, so he could really have been oriented any way he fancied when he took that picture.

  8. spyder

    words from my friend John Perry Barlow–
    Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
    Dizzy with eternity.
    Paint it with a skin of sky,
    Brush in some clouds and sea,
    Call it home for you and me.

    A peaceful place
    or so it looks from space,
    A closer look reveals the human race.
    Full of hope, full of grace
    Is the human face,
    But afraid
    we may lay
    our home to waste.

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