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They Saw Earth From Space. Here's How It Changed Them.
The majesty of our planet can be difficult to describe. But these astronauts will try.Source: National Geographic
For the bulk of human history, its been impossible to put Earth in cosmic perspective.
Bound by gravity and biology, we cant easily step outside it, above it, or away from it. For most of us, Earth is inescapably larger than life. Even now, after nearly six decades of human spaceflight, precious few people have rocketed into orbit and seen the sun peeking out from behind that curved horizon. Since 1961, a mere 556 people have had this rarefied experience. Fewer, just 24, have watched Earth shrink in the distance, growing smaller and smaller until it was no larger than the face of a wristwatch. And only six have been completely alone behind the far side of the moon, cut off from a view of our planet as they sailed in an endlessly deep, star-studded sea.
Its an inherently unnatural thing, spaceflight. After all, our physiology evolved specifically to succeed on this planet, not above it. Perhaps thats why it can be difficult for astronauts to describe the experience of seeing Earth from space.
Italian space traveler Luca Parmitano says that we havent yet developed the words to truly convey the realities of spaceflight. The building blocks of modern human communication, words are necessarily constrained by meaning and connotation, no matter which language you choose (Parmitano speaks five). And until the mid-20th century, there was no need to express what it means to see our planet in the fiercely primeval essence of space. We just dont think in terms of spaceflight, he says.
More: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/03/astronauts-space-earth-perspective/
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They Saw Earth From Space. Here's How It Changed Them. (Original Post)
demmiblue
Feb 2018
OP
lapfog_1
(29,213 posts)1. to see how truly insignificant we really are
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,651 posts)2. Ah yes...Carl Sagan's pale blue dot. This is the perfect image! n/t
lapfog_1
(29,213 posts)4. Pretty sure I won't see another photo like that in my lifetime.
given how long it takes to reach beyond the orbit of Neptune
Cirque du So-What
(25,952 posts)3. Kinda blurry
Somebody must've moved.
Marcuse
(7,495 posts)5. I can see my house!
AZ8theist
(5,477 posts)6. Sarah the Stupid..
can see Russia from there...
BigmanPigman
(51,613 posts)7. The Flat Earth nuts will say their typical BS
explanation..."they are all in on the conspiracy along with all airplane pilots, airplane manufactures, photographers, camera manufacturers, etc" I met one at the park while he was training his turtle to walk on a leash and this is the crap he kept saying when I used logic.