“The Pale Blue Dot,” a photo showing Earth as a tiny speck 3.7 billion miles away, recently celebrated its 36th anniversary. Taken on Feb. 14, 1990, on the Voyager 1 space craft, Earth is seen as less than one pixel, with nothing but a blue-gray expanse of space surrounding the tiny speck.
During an unveiling of the image with The Planetary Society, American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator Carl Sagan discussed the thoughts it evoked for him.
“On that blue dot, that’s where everyone you know and everyone you’ve ever heard of, and every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives,” Sagan said. “It’s a very small stage in a great cosmic arena. Just speaking for myself, I think this perspective underscores our responsibility to preserve and cherish that blue dot, the only home we have.”
Allegheny Environmental Science & Sustainability Professor Rich Bowden saw the photo shortly after it was released.
“I don’t remember if I saw it immediately when it came out, but obviously it was everywhere,” Bowden said. “It was a part of my journey because I was born an environmentalist, natural science kind of a person, so it just fit into who I am.”
Bowden believed the photo was important for prompting people to reflect on how they treated the planet. The photo makes him think about Earth as a “home base,” since it is the only home base that we have.
“When you look at that photo, you think where do you want to live?” Bowden said. “We only have one choice. That’s our only home and there’s no choice, so why would you mess up your own home? It makes sense to keep your home tidy.”
The photo provides a sense of the limitations of the planet.
“People look up and talk about an infinite sky, saying sky’s the limit,” Bowden said. “Well, sky is limited.”
“The Pale Blue Dot” reminded Bowden of several faces of the progression of environmental science, including Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson.
“These people have written so much about the integrity of this planet, but this picture sort of encapsulates that,” Bowden said.
“The Pale Blue Dot” was not the only impactful photo that touched people’s emotions and brought to mind humanity’s place in the universe. More than 50 years ago, another photo was taken during the Apollo 8 mission carrying astronauts Bill Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman. This crew of three orbited the moon 10 times before returning back to Earth. They were the first group of people to ever see the back surface of the natural satellite.
On Christmas Eve in 1968, the crew was in their fourth orbit of the mission. According to NASA’s website, an on-board tape recorder captured Anders saying “Oh my God! Look at that picture over there! Isn’t that something?” They had finally discovered the picturesque moment in space they had their backs turned to, facing away from the Earth until that moment. Anders asked his fellow crewmate “You got a color film, Jim? Hand me a roll of color, quick, would you?”
The vision was truly out of this world, showing the Earth rising over the Moon’s surface in what’s been described as a lunar horizon. Anders captured the photo that would then become known as “Earthrise.”
18 months after the picture was taken, there was a surge in urgency to bring awareness to preserving the planet’s health. EARTHDAY.ORG Founder Dennis Hayes organized the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Hayes called on the American people to engage in helping protect humanity’s home against permanent damage.
President of the Earth Day Network Kathleen Rogers believes “Earthrise” played a key role in driving the environmental progress of the 1970s, according to the Living Globes Society.
“Once the photo was published, members of Congress and global leaders all started talking about how fragile the Earth was,” Rogers said. “‘Earthrise’ highlighted the uniqueness of Earth in that big black universe and it drove home to millions of people how dirty our planet was.”
Anna Westbrook contributed to this story.
