This is where I live.

Oct 2, 2007 at 12:10 PM
24 comments

This is where everybody lives. (And ever has.)

This photo, released today, is from Japan's Kaguya probe on its way to the moon. It's the first HD image of the Earth from space, one frame of a not-yet-released video sequence. (This image is not HD format here.)

It was taken from a distance of 110,000 miles. A little less than halfway to the moon.

Even at that distance, a lot to us but absolutely nothing in planetary scale, the geographical features of our planet begin to haze over and fade into the general blue tone of the oceans and the swirls of the clouds. All traces of humanity – nations, borders, cities, structures, everything we have ever made or done – are unresolvable. Halfway to the moon, and you could probably hold out your hand and blot out the view of our entire planet. From the moon, and maybe it would only take your thumb.

And yet....there it all is. All of us. A "group shot."

I think I blinked.

It's just a reminder of how close we all are to each other....how contained our world is, and also how easily we and all our daily lives can disappear into the entirety of things. And this, in even bigger perspective, is a zoom-in of a macro shot of a detail of a inset ad infinitum. It just....keeps going. It's a lot to imagine. It's actually impossible to.

But.....I still try.

(There's one way to not get any work done. ^__^)

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Comments

[this is good]

"All traces of humanity – nations, borders, cities, structures, everything we have ever made or done – are unresolvable."

Isn't it beautiful that way?

[esto es genial]

I love that you have a big brain and enjoy watching the Discovery Channel!

How very "big picture" of you. :-)

[this is good]

*gasp* i think they caught me in the loo!

There were some HD shots from orbit taken for Discovery's Planet Earth, but obviously not of the whole planet.

I can't wait to see HD video of Earthrise from the lunar surface. That will be something. And hopefully the Japanese will land close enough to one of the U.S. landing sites to photograph it and put the silly moonshot conspiracies to rest.

[this is good]

thank you

[this is good]

Makes ya feel all warm and happy doesn't it?

Makes me too.

RP: It is....don't get me wrong, I do love the things we've made....New York City, the Coliseum, the pyramids, Dunkin' Donuts....all marvels of man's ingenuity. But even the biggest structures, dwarfing us as we stare up in awe, is inconsequential to the whole of it all.

Latte: Hee. I do love my DiscoveryHD. ^__^

Idadi: Spare a square?

Jeff: I think this is the first HD of the entire globe. I guess that specification matters. And yes, it will be great to see hi-res images of the moon and of the Earth from there. Which reminds me.....I went to go see a great film, In The Shadow of the Moon, last Friday. With commentary by many of the Apollo program astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, it was an amazing insight to the moon landings by the guys who were there.

lauo: Welcome.

Suga: Actually, it's kind of sobering and a bit unnerving. To know that the existence of life as we know it relies upon everything you see there working perfectly together. I mean, it wouldn't take much, relatively, to shake things up, would it? Sure doesn't seem so.

[c’est top]

i love your post! very simple words, very strong ideas.... thank you...

[this is good]

wonderful post, jay.

[this is good]

Lovely. Just lovely.

[this is good]

Always nice to have things put into perspective.

i love the idea of a 'group shot'! and a photo like that really does put things in perspective.

now how do we publicize your brilliance??

You don't. It's enough that a few of you enjoyed this little lesson in scale and perspective. ^__^

(At least I'm not talking to myself over here. Well......not just.)

TIG yay!!! Congrats, this is a great post.

[this is good]

Stunning! A great TIG choice. There we are... all revolving together... hopefully evolving... Spaceship Earth... if she goes down we go down with the ship.

[this is good]

Awesome post.

Wow....yeah, yay! :)

MarsV: Yep. There we are (including everyone on the other side too.) But you know...she's been there way before us and she'll be there way after, I'm betting. She'd taken care of herself long before we showed up, and here we are making a glorious mess of things, like some overactive toddler at a birthday party. And we'd better mature past this phase quickly or else I don't think we're going to like the consequences.