The Earthrise Story

"Colour photograph of the Earth rising above the Moon's horizon. Taken during the Apollo 8 mission, 1968"

I stumbled across the official story behind the famous "Earthrise" photograph taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. Not only was it humanity’s first view of Earth from another planetary body, but it also played an important role in the growing environmental awareness in the late 1960s and '70s. The image was used as the cover photograph for the Spring 1969 issue of the Whole Earth Catalog and US Nature photographer Galen Rowell later described it as "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken". [¹][²]

The Wikipedia entry contains additional information, including interesting details about the camera and film development process used as well as the image's impact and legacy.

Fifty years later, Bill Anders, the astronaut who took the photograph, observed "We set out to explore the moon and instead discovered the Earth."