[APOLLO 8] EARTH VIEW. VINTAGE NASA "RED NUMBER" PHOTOGRAPH, DECEMBER 1968.

The Vintage NASA Photo Collection of Philip Kulpa

[APOLLO 8]

EARTH VIEW. DECEMBER 1968.

Vintage NASA “Red Number” chromogenic color photograph, 10 by 8 inches, “A Kodak Paper” watermark, press captions in purple to verso. NASA image ID “NASA AS8-15-2561” printed in upper left margin in red.

This view of Earth, captured by the Apollo 8 crew on their return from the Moon, offers a glimpse of India, with the sun reflecting in the Indian Ocean. It would be difficult to overstate the historical importance of the Apollo 8 mission. These striking photographs of the Earth represent the first time that humans had taken such images while behind the camera, drawing into sharp focus our planet's place within the universe. Achieving this sort of new perspective through the present imagery has been credited as one of the inspirations of the first Earth Day in 1970, sparking a larger environmental movement.