Image Credit: NASA
This is the image that started it all, an image taken of the Earth from 240,000 miles away by the crew of the Apollo 8.
It was taken during Christmas Eve, 1968, but wasn't released for a couple of weeks later, 40 years ago this week. The late adventure photographer Galen Rowell called it "the most influential environmental photograph every taken" and it moved millions around the world to consider, for the first time, just how thin and fragile the the atmosphere is. It was a major catalyst for the formation of the environmental movement.
It's because of this photograph that I have a job as an environmental blogger. I'd probably be an accountant if the green movement hadn't sprung up. Thank the FSM that the Apollo 8 crew took the shot, I would have made a sucky accountant.
Here's an updated twist, a high definition video of an Earthrise and Earthset, shot by the Japanese just last year.