Earthrise: A Video Reconstruction

Earthrise: A Video Reconstruction
Video Credit: NASA, SVS, Apollo 8 Crew;
Lead Animator: Ernie Wright; (USRA); Music: C Major Prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach
Explanation: About 12 seconds into this video, something unusual happens.

The Earth begins to rise.

Never seen by humans before, the
rise of the Earth
over the limb of the Moon occurred about
55.5 years ago and surprised and amazed the crew of
Apollo 8.

The crew immediately
scrambled to take still images of the
stunning vista caused by
Apollo 8‘s orbit around the Moon.

The
featured video is a modern reconstruction of
the event as it would have looked were it recorded
with a modern movie camera.

The colorful orb of
our Earth stood out as a familiar
icon rising above a distant and
unfamiliar moonscape,
the whole scene the conceptual reverse of a
more familiar moonrise as seen from Earth.

To many, the scene also spoke about the unity of humanity: that big
blue marble –
that’s us – we all live there.

The
two-minute video is not time-lapse –
this is the real speed of the Earth rising through the windows of
Apollo 8.

Seven months and three missions later,
Apollo 11 astronauts would not only circle Earth’s moon, but
land on it.