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The Cassini
spacecraft captures Saturn's rings and Earth and its
moon in the same frame
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/AFP)
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WASHINGTON
— The US space agency has released a rare photo of the Earth and moon taken
from the vantage point of the outer solar system, with Saturn's rings in the
shot.
The color
images were taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft at a distance of nearly 900 million
miles (1.4 billion kilometers) away, NASA said.
After
calling on Earthlings to wave at Cassini for the picture last week, NASA said
the chance to "photobomb" another planet drew 20,000 participants,
even though the Earth appears as just a tiny speck in the final image.
"The
July 19 Earth-imaging event marked the first time Earthlings had advance notice
that their portrait was being taken from interplanetary distances," NASA
said.
"It
was the also the first time Cassini's highest resolution camera captured the
Earth and its Moon as two distinct objects."
The unusual
angle was possible because the Sun had moved behind Saturn from the
spacecraft's point of view, blocking out most of the light that would otherwise
have damaged the camera's detectors.
"We may
not be able to see individual continents or people in this portrait of Earth,
but this pale blue dot is a succinct summary of who we were on July 19,"
said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist, based at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.
"Cassini's
picture reminds us how tiny our home planet is in the vastness of space."
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