The blue marble | How much has the Earth changed 50 years after the iconic photo?

50 years after the historic photo of the Earth known as the Blue Marble, NASA reproduces the image and draws attention to the environmental degradation that has occurred since then

In 1972, the astronauts of Apollo 17 took the iconic photo called The blue marble (or “blue marble”), which shows the Earth from space and becomes one of the most reproduced photos in history. The image also became a symbol of environmental activism in the 1970s and, half a century later, the NASA made a portrait of our planet similar to the original, revealing how much our world has changed since then.

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Besides being a historical record, Blue Marble has some particularities. This was the first time Antarctica appeared in any space photograph of our planet. Furthermore, the image deviated from the traditional priority of Europe and North America on the globe, emphasizing Africa and the Middle East.

Photographic history of the Earth seen from space

Since the 1940s we have photos of the Earth taken from space, the first ones taken on suborbital flights and still in black and white. Color images began to emerge in the early 1960s, but none captured the entire globe, until the ATS-3 satellite imagery did in 1967.

Other famous captures include those from the mission Apollo 8the first to carry astronauts into lunar orbit, in 1968. Among them is the legendary Rising of the Earth (“Earth Rise”, in analogy with Sunrise, which is “sunrise” in English).

With the great popularity of these records, NASA has decided to put an end to the Apollo program in a big way, asking the Apollo 17 crew to produce the image that later became known as the Blue Marble.

Blue marble, 50 years later

Five decades later, the Deep Space Climate Observatory (a space observatory located about 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth) reproduced the image from the same angle, allowing our planet to be compared back and forth.

The new photograph already shows the impacts of climate change, which have intensified in recent decades. It may be difficult to distinguish between ice and clouds in the image, but it is remarkable that Antarctica has lost a great deal of material in those 50 years. Snow is also no longer seen in the mountains of the Persian Gulf, although this can also be attributed to seasonal variations.

The most noticeable change, however, is the vast reduction in green cover across the tropics of the African continent. The forests of the region now begin hundreds of kilometers to the south, which is consistent with the desertification of the regionalready mentioned in several studies.

the island of Madagascar has undergone similar changes: what used to be predominantly green is now seen in brown, following land use changes in the area. The island is a huge biodiversity hotspot, home to many species of plants and animals that only exist there.

The result of the comparison would frustrate the environmental movements that adopted the Blue Marble as a symbol of the cause in the 1970s, when it was demolished. What remains for current times is the mission to end planetary degradation, so when the iconic image turns 100, who knows if the “blue marble” will be more colorful again.

Source: The conversation

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Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.