Celebrating 30 years of the anniversary of the iconic image of our Earth taken by the spacecraft Voyager-1, on February 14, 1990, which is known as “A Pale Blue Point” we wish to emphasize the great educational, emotional and cultural value that this and other images have meant for humanity.
The image taken by Voyager-1 from about 6 billion kilometers away, despite being very popular, is not the best nor was it the first or last image taken from Earth. The significant thing is that here the earth can be distinguished as a pale blue dot submerged in the immensity of space.
Inspired by this photograph, the American astronomer, Carl Sagan, published a book in 1994 precisely called “The Pale Blue Point: A Vision of the Human Future in Space.” Perhaps the best description of the meaning of the position of the earth in the context of The immensity of space was presented by Carl Sagan as part of his book.
This description included a poetic reflection of the position and meaning of our pale blue dot: “Look again at that point. The one here. That is the home. That is us. In it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you’ve heard, every human being that ever lived, lived their lives there.
The set of our joy and suffering; thousands of religions, ideologies and economic doctrines; every hunter and gatherer, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization; every king and farmer, every young couple in love, every mother and father; Hopeful son, inventor and explorer.
“Every moral teacher, every corrupt politician, every ‘superstar’, every ‘supreme leader’, every saint and sinner in history of our species lived there, in a speck of dust suspended in a sunbeam. “
All the photos of our planet earth from space have impacted humanity. One of the first images taken of the land from space it was captured by the astronauts of the Apollo 8 spacecraft on Christmas Eve, on December 24 in 1968. This image was called “the Earth’s Exit.”
Carl Sagan with a model of the Viking probe, which explored the planet Mars.
Even this view of the earth impressed the same crew of the Apollo 8 ship; in fact, the pilot of the command module, Jim Lovell, after seeing the exit of the Earth, informed the mission control: “The earth from here is a great oasis in the great immensity of space.”
The photo was not only recorded in the minds of astronauts, but in the following days and weeks it was published in newspapers, magazines and television programs throughout the world.
The following year the American postal service used this image to create a stamp and it was thus that it became the most influential photograph in the environmental movement, as it served to raise awareness about the fragility, smallness and limited dimensions of the earth, and it was so that in only 16 months later, the first Earth Day was celebrated, which was held on April 22, 1970.
Many of the movements of conservation, care and protection of the environment began in a short time, around this date, since the global consciousness of the planet seemed to wake up due to the magic and power of that instant.
Other photos he portrayed to our planet was taken on July 19, 2013, by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, which orbited Saturn and was able to capture the distant image of the earth next to Saturn’s rings.
In Cassini-Huygens’ images, the Earth and the Moon appear as simple points: the Earth of a pale blue and the Moon of a pure white, visible between the rings of Saturn.
This take also marked the first time that people on Earth noticed in advance that the portrait of their planet was being taken from interplanetary distances. NASA invited the public to celebrate by finding Saturn in its part of the sky, greeting the ringed planet and sharing images online.
More than 20,000 people participated in these events around the world and this image has been called “The day the Earth smiled.”
Ironically, by going to space and taking these photographs of our planet we have been able to better understand and appreciate the value and uniqueness of the home of humanity, rather than space itself. Apollo 8 astronaut, William Anders, has repeatedly repeated: “We came to explore the Moon and what we discovered was Earth.”
The spatial perspective of our planet teaches us that there are no visible national boundaries; we are only one humanity, under the same and unique sky. This is how we all become global citizens of planet earth. This global and unified vision of the earth shows us that there is no place that is better or more important than another.
Therefore, we must have an open mind to all cultures and show solidarity in order to live together in peace. Despite more than 4,000 planets or exoplanets that have been found so far outside our solar system, even the earth remains the only planet that harbors life and that invites us to protect the environment, on which we all depend for The survival of our species.
We invite you all to unite, reflect and celebrate this February 14 with activities of service to our planet, taking care of our environment, and that as global citizens we appreciate and protect this, the only Earth we know and that we call our home.
We conclude these reflections, with the wise words of Carl Sagan: “It has been said that astronomy moves us to humility and the development of our character. Perhaps there is no better demonstration of the validity of human concepts than this distant image of our little world. For me, it underlines our responsibility to treat us more kindly to each other, and of preserving and appreciating the pale blue point, the only home we have ever known (taken from the book ‘The Pale Blue Point: A Vision of the Human Future in Space’, 1994) “.
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