On Christmas Eve in 1972, humanity received a gift: A portrait of the Earth as a vivid globe.Clouds swirl over the vast African continent and south polar ice cap, all set against the deep blue of our ...

“The Blue Marble” is the first fully illuminated photograph of Earth taken from outer space in 1972 by the Apollo 17 crew as they made their way to the moon. Though blurry and partial images of Earth, ...