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Two Views of Earth Show How Far We Have Come

space.com — SPACE.com wishes all its readers a great Earth Day with two photos that show how far mankind has come while riding Spaceship Earth. The left photo of Earth was the first taken from the weather satellite TIROS-1, on April 1, 1960.

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  • expatcatalyst, on 04/28/2008, -2/+135No matter how much turmoil is going on down here, it still looks so peaceful from out there!
    • MrTankJump, on 04/28/2008, -16/+7Well, if a nuclear bomb gets dropped, it wouldn't look quite as peaceful. I think that's something we should all take to heart when someone says, "Just nuke the bastards".
      • Nougat, on 04/28/2008, -2/+12Actually, it would probably look about the same.
      • demodawid, on 04/28/2008, -3/+33Guy 1: "Just nuke the bastards"
        Guy 2:"Wait, have you thought how BAD that would look like from space?"
      • vat0r, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2If enough nukes were dropped Earth wouldn't just appear peaceful. It would actually be peaceful. Minus the unique chaos called life of course. Just like any other planet out there.
      • MrTankJump, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1Well, if you took away the brownish atmosphere completely covered in clouds, then you would see a barren landscape, with no green at all, and perhaps a brown ocean.
    • wild, on 04/28/2008, -1/+9"The Earth will be fine. Its the people that are *****."
      -Carlin
    • inajeep, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3Yep, can't hear the screams from up there.
    • Chode2235, on 04/28/2008, -3/+2Was that a haiku?
    • ElAssoWipo, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1I still prefer this one: http://ouchadjones.blogspot.com/2006/02/this-past- ...

      I look at it everytime I feel important.
  • vroom101, on 04/28/2008, -2/+391. Large version for the photo on the right -- sunburst over Earth as seen from NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-77 mission, May 1996: http://chamorrobible.org/images/photos/gpw-2006102 ...
    via 23 at http://chamorrobible.org/gpw/gpw-20061021.htm

    STS-77: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-7 ... (science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-77/mission-sts-77.html)


    2. Thunderclouds + sunset over the Western Pacific Ocean, July 21, 2003: http://chamorrobible.org/images/photos/gpw-200702- ...
    via 49 at http://chamorrobible.org/gpw/gpw-200702.htm
    • isunktheship, on 04/28/2008, -2/+2looks great for a 12 year old pic!
  • diabolicdiablo, on 04/28/2008, -6/+95For the record: anyone that thinks NASA is a wast of money, I would like to point them in the direction of http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/spinoffs2.shtml !!! Spending $700 billion + on war is not conducive to a well balanced economy.
    • KiwiRocket, on 04/28/2008, -3/+3what about tang?
      • toecutter169, on 04/28/2008, -1/+1and Vecro!
      • displacednomad, on 04/28/2008, -0/+5Remember this: Tang was not a NASA invention. Tang was made before NASA took it into space- NASA merely popularized it. Much the same way Spielberg's ET popularized Reese's candies.
    • NSResponder, on 04/28/2008, -1/+10It does not follow that because bigger wastes of money exist, that NASA is not a waste of money.

      If we want to get off this planet, we've got to get the government out of the space business.

      -jcr
      • DrCyclops, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2"A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies! The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure!"
    • NoobSaibot, on 04/28/2008, -1/+9while I agree, you cannot deny that many, many new things have also been invented due to wars.
      just a shame that as a race, we seem to be at our most inventive when planning new ways to shoot the hell out of each other.
    • MrSlumberjack, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2A ***** more: http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html
  • bamafun, on 04/28/2008, -3/+9Over 40 non friends voted it up and after 24 hours of being at the top of images it still didnt go - gotta love that one =) and I didnt shout it or share it with one person lol
    • ligyron, on 04/28/2008, -5/+2Bet you will be able to sleep well tonight
  • yellowfish04, on 04/28/2008, -0/+45as cool as that second shot is, imagine how amazing it would have been to see that first image back in 1960.
  • Hobbes24, on 04/28/2008, -2/+34i had no idea the world was so grey and fuzzy in the 1960s!
    • mijelh, on 04/28/2008, -0/+7You can bet in the 60's all the world felt fuzzy
    • erkokite, on 04/28/2008, -0/+13Don't feel bad. They say if you remember the 60's, then you weren't there.
    • Sabretou, on 04/28/2008, -1/+8It's because of global warming!
    • NSResponder, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3It was the drugs. Apparently, quality has improved in the meantime. ;-)

      -jcr
  • cillwote, on 04/28/2008, -6/+2...in outer space camera technology?
  • abben, on 04/28/2008, -12/+0mirror, just in case: http://tinyurl.com/494ss7
  • doyoumrjones, on 04/28/2008, -0/+9Beautiful.
  • Crossmenjeff, on 04/28/2008, -6/+1circuit city ad covered the pictures. lame.
  • 1807, on 04/28/2008, -1/+4for other instances of how far we've come...see the documentary Planet Earth In 1080p HD
  • helraizr, on 04/28/2008, -7/+1Lens flare FTW
    • MrSlumberjack, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1A lens flare is kinda neat, but I wouldn't say it's something that wins.
  • jaxontyler, on 04/28/2008, -2/+18Just imagine how far we could be if we spent all that money in that useless war on space programs. We could establishing colonies and floating towards other solar systems.
    • desuexmachina, on 04/28/2008, -1/+13Just to be the Devil's advocate, the cold war certainly helped us get up there in the first place. It would be nice if we had that kind of competition again, maybe not adversarial but certainly if somebody was competing with us again.
      • Diderotten, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2And China's suing us. Well, actually it's CNN, but they feel like they're suing us.
  • RevoFM, on 04/28/2008, -6/+7Dugg for being on the front page and not having host issues.
    • def47, on 04/28/2008, -1/+1Do you really think they can't afford better than dreamhost with a.. what?.. $500k DN?
  • Mansellisme, on 04/28/2008, -3/+9War, famine, poverty, mass death, murder, greed, adultry. And yet anyone could pass by and comment on how damn good we look.
    • lolinyerface, on 04/28/2008, -2/+3What Mansellisme meant to say, "I R TEH ANGRY I CANT PRESHEATE BOOTIFUL IMAGE! LIFE IZ CRAPPY AN I HATE MYSELF."
      • Atomic05, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3You aren't helping.
      • Mansellisme, on 04/28/2008, -0/+0Hmm yes, i am evidentally the CAPS weilding angry idiot here.
    • timothycrash01, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1I like how you threw adultery into the mix with murder, war, mass death, etc.
    • tigger04554, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1Yeah, what's wrong with adultery?
  • Pake, on 04/28/2008, -0/+10Wish they had a picture showing the differences between 1996 and 2008. Even better would be ~10 year intervals between the pictures from 1960 till now. Definitely cool as crap though to see how far we've come.
  • Synrak, on 04/28/2008, -11/+0It's amazing how much technology has advanced in the past century. But yeah I agree with the above, NASA is spending just a little too much.
    • mijelh, on 04/28/2008, -1/+0Maybe they do expend some money, but from a general point of view I think that NASA is not one of the big holes on the American budget nowadays
    • maybeishould, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3"They spend too much."

      We don't spend enough on NASA! We spend more on video games and bottled water every year for crying out loud!
  • shyboy2008, on 04/28/2008, -17/+1Yes, the Earth is beauitful and it didnt happen because a bunch of ***** just stuck together, it was made by the hands of God.
    • mijelh, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3In any case, it was either God or the Flying Spaghetti Monster
    • desuexmachina, on 04/28/2008, -1/+3Have you ever thought that maybe your God created the processes which enabled these systems to evolve, rather than just creating them out of nothing? At least this method enables us to understand the processes rather than just shrugging and saying "Well, God did it in 6 days"
    • OneLess, on 04/28/2008, -0/+5I think you've got that switched around. God happened because a bunch of ***** just stuck together.
      • SLAM22, on 04/28/2008, -4/+0yes,the intelligent response of a pathetic human being. you know if it all didnt look so beautiful, i might believe that there was no God and evolution was true, i mean that would explain your existence. How could somthing so pathetic exist?

        but since im not a low substance like you, i choose to believe that God without a shadow of a doubt created all that we see, if your retarted enough to believe in somthing called evolution and that this all happened by accident, you my friend, are a grade A, first class, raging *****. that is all i will waste on a pathetic waste of time like you.
        • gwellington, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2"your retarted"
          That was a nice touch.
          • SLAM22, on 04/28/2008, -1/+0same difference, a retard wont understand anyway :)
        • mojo31979, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1Well, I'll be sure to reserve a place in hell for you...right next to me! I bet "God" really appreciate's someone such as yourself judging people in his place. But since you feel that we are "pathetic, retarded human beings" and "God" created all things equal I suppose you are in the same boat as us. But please, continue with your selfish and arrogant remarks, I seem to have forgotten that you are so far above us humans.
        • OneLess, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1So then God didn't create all of the things in the Universe that don't look beautiful? Mercury is kind of barren and ugly, so I suppose Thor created that one? Or how about any one of thousands of weird, potato-shaped asteroids floating around out there? Empty space isn't that aesthetically pleasing either and it makes up the vast majority of the Universe. I suspect you're no Brad Pitt- did God not create you?
        • kurtu5, on 04/29/2008, -0/+1If God is not just a bunch of ***** thrown together as stated above, then where did he come from?
  • erkokite, on 04/28/2008, -0/+34This photo is even older:
    http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/16045 ...
    Taken from a V2 in 1946.
    • funkyjunk3, on 04/28/2008, -0/+4I am just itching to find the photo archives from those missions
      • lintmonkey, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2Maybe you have chicken pox. Or the clap.
    • chambana, on 04/28/2008, -7/+1Take your Nazi rocket pics with you and git' out.
      • erkokite, on 04/28/2008, -0/+5It was an American launch. Despite whatever you may think, the space programs of the Americans (and the Russians too) owe a lot to the Nazis. The Nazis were still awful and did horrific things. History is what it is. Let's not try to politicize or sanitize it.
      • Onyxblaze, on 04/28/2008, -1/+2I understand you were joking. Please die.
    • dimplemonkey, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2That was a great article. Props to you erkokite for digging that one out. Too bad that didn't make FP.
  • airwalkery2k, on 04/28/2008, -0/+17Yep. Camera technology has come a long way.
  • bmystry, on 04/28/2008, -0/+6I don't think we've come all that far in certain areas unless you focus on our picture abilities. If there was a war with aliens but it was a picture war then we would be pretty damn good.
    • cam503, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2That totally sounds like something that would come out of the mouth of one Demitri Martin.

      “I like fruit baskets because it gives you the ability to mail someone a piece of fruit without appearing insane. Like, if someone just mailed you an apple you’d be like ‘Huh? What the hell is this?’, but if it’s in a fruit basket you’re like ‘This is nice!.’”

      Random humor at it's best--since Mitch Hedberg, that is.

      /Sort of off-topic
  • pyrotix, on 04/28/2008, -2/+10Buried as inaccurate, the earth is flat :P
  • BlazinEurasian, on 04/28/2008, -6/+1Its not that amazing that in 50 years we went from a crap photo to a sweet photo.
  • johanm, on 04/28/2008, -6/+1breaking news! new stuff better than old stuff!
  • DJSPin047, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3Earth just gets better looking with age.
  • HumanRecall, on 04/28/2008, -4/+4yup i see the difference -it's the CANADIAN ARM :)
  • RSS14, on 04/28/2008, -1/+5The human race is ***** epic!
  • ultralights, on 04/28/2008, -2/+3and yet, people in positions of power within some religions, will swear blindly, and truly believe the earth is still FLAT!
  • Thrilltone, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3I remember a few years ago when Lou Dobbs bought space.com and quit his job on MSNBC.
    He thought he was gonna be the next Google.
  • WRXFiles, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3It's the Canadian arm in the second picture, and a picture of Eastern Canada (Nova Scotia) in the first
  • banido, on 04/28/2008, -0/+8My God, It's full of lens flare!
    • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1I really wish there was a way to avoid lensflare.....
  • Blablah01, on 04/28/2008, -1/+2"Soon" we'll have ridiculously detailed models of the earth, with complete cloud and erosion simulations, etc, all available to the public for free. Google Earth in 2020, perhaps? :D
  • misterteenwolf, on 04/28/2008, -0/+5some days i just wanna go chill in space
  • limpits, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2i never knew the equator was so visible..

    but seriously, what is that line in the second picture?
    • Setari, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1A continent?
    • shadowfoxmi, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1all the latitudes and longitudes are imaginary lines; just in case, if you weren't being sarcastic
  • vurt911, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1drugs take me there
  • spikespikespike, on 04/28/2008, -0/+3eh, this was taken in 1961 (by a goshdarn commie no less), looks pretty damn good to me:
    http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080412.html
    • Dystisis, on 04/28/2008, -1/+0What's wrong with being a communist, jesus...

      Anyways, nice find... really makes this story obsolete I guess.
      • timothycrash01, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2Fluoridation - that's what's wrong with commies. You ever see a commie drink a glass of water Mandrake?
    • active1x0, on 04/28/2008, -0/+2Wrong - picture was taken by ISS Expedition 7 Crew. ISS stands for International Space Station, which wasn't built until *long* after Gagarin's death.
      • spikespikespike, on 04/28/2008, -1/+1oops, right you are. i got suckered by the text.
        • active1x0, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1Actually I did too, at first; spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out where that picture came from. Confusing ass page. Those goddamn commies!
  • pedo, on 04/28/2008, -1/+3uh, the pics are nice, but how does this show "how far we have come" other than the fact that we can take better pictures now?
    • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 04/28/2008, -1/+1"Other than the technological improvements, how does this show we got better?"
      • pedo, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1"wow, you mean we have better cameras now than we did in 1960??? i had no idea humanity had come so far!!"
  • mgithens, on 04/28/2008, -1/+2really this is just an example for all you photographer wannabe's... USE BACKLIGHTING... see how the backlight gently illuminates the subject... typically you wouldn't want the backlight visible in the frame, but it seems to really work for this subject.
  • adale1, on 04/28/2008, -0/+050 years later....we have better picture taking capabilities.....lol
  • Providence, on 04/28/2008, -1/+10"Look the pale blue dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. "The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. "Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. "The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. "It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. "

    -Dr. Carl Sagan
  • 1timeuser, on 04/28/2008, -1/+1that is so photoshopped!
    • Providence, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1Yeah man, don't you know?

      We never went to the moon!!!11! And the earth is FLAT!
  • ktk1336, on 04/28/2008, -0/+1Space may be the final frontier
    But it's made in a Hollywood basement
    Cobain can you hear the spheres
    Singing songs off station to station
    And Alderon's not far away
    It's Californication
  •  

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