Happy #EarthDay2020 The image shown is called “Earthrise”.Taken by Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders

Happy #EarthDay2020 The image shown is called “Earthrise”.Taken by Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders in 1968, it has been dubbed the “most influential environmental photograph ever taken”, as it was one of the first times that people saw, in true colour, just how beautiful our little planet is.Looking at this image on a screen is humbling enough, but just imagine seeing this with your own eyes. Some lucky people have gotten to experience this, some even multiple times, over the decades. However, regardless of frequency or timing, there is one common realization that is shared among these lucky few: the Earth is precious, life is precious, and we need to mind it.To demonstrate this, here are some quotes from the men and women who have broken through to the darkness of space and observed our planet from above:“[The Moon] was a sobering sight, but it didn’t have the impact on me, at least, as the view of the Earth did."— Frank Borman, Astronaut, Apollo 8."It truly is an oasis and we don’t take very good care of it. I think the elevation of that awareness is a real contribution to saving the Earth."— Dave Scott, Astronaut, Apollo 9 & 15."The view of earth is absolutely spectacular, and the feeling of looking back and seeing your planet as a planet is just an amazing feeling. It’s a totally different perspective, and it makes you appreciate, actually, how fragile our existence is.” —Sally Ride, Astronaut, STS-7 and STS-41-G missions.“As we got further and further away, it [the Earth] diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man – James B. Irwin, Astronaut, Apollo Program.“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small."— Neil Armstrong, Astronaut, Apollo 11, Gemini 8...and last but certainly not least,"You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a b**ch.” ― Edgar D. Mitchell, Astronaut, Apollo 14.While most of us will never experience Earth from space firsthand, we can listen to those who have and marvel at images like Earthrise.Earthrise reminds us that we are delicate, exceptional creatures living on a delicate and exceptional planet- it is our duty to protect it.JeanImage courtesy of NASA -- source link

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