Sometimes a photograph is more than an image. It is a work of art, and once in a blue moon, one picture can raise the awareness of an entire generation. Such is the case with an image called “Earthrise,” which was taken on Christmas Eve in 1968 by Apollo 8 Astronaut Bill Anders during the first manned orbit of the Moon.
His camera was a Hasselblad 550 EL with a 250 mm lens. Anders and fellow Astronaut Frank Borman had been photographing the lunar surface with black and white film when they saw the gorgeous blue/green Earth rising over the horizon of the Moon. Quickly reloading with Kodak Ekta chrome -that’s color film for you cell-wielding young people-- Anders started snapping pictures.
We are jaded now. We’ve seen pictures of the Earth, we’ve thrilled to the images from the Hubble telescope, and we are amazed with the early transmissions from the James Webb, but “Earthrise” was the first color image we had seen of the Earth and to quote Lovell, "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth."
And those of us back on Earth were in awe, suddenly realizing how fragile and how very precious the Earth really is. The image appeared on television, in magazines, posters on our dorm room walls, postage stamps, and according to former Vice President Al Gore "That one picture exploded in the consciousness of humans. It led to dramatic changes. Within 18 months of this picture the environmental movement had begun."
That led to the celebration of Earth Day in 1970, which in turn resulted in the passage of landmark environmental laws, including the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.
This week marks the 51st observance of Earth Day… and the words of the photographer are more true than ever. “People realized that we lived on this fragile planet and that we needed to take care of it.” Happy Earth Week.
