On February 14th, 1990, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft captured a photo of Earth from 3.7 billion miles away, creating an iconic image known as the “Pale Blue Dot.” This picture changed how we see our planet and has become a symbol of human existence.
NASA astronomer Carl Sagan played a crucial role in the development of the Golden Records that ride aboard the Voyager probes, carrying messages of peace to any hypothetical aliens that may encounter them. He also suggested taking a picture of Earth on its journey to the outer solar system.
The image took a decade to plan and captured using sensitive cameras, overcoming significant technical challenges. After snapping the photo, Voyager 1 stored it on its tape recorder and beamed it back to Earth over three months.
Sagan’s famous description of the image is still powerful today: “Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.” The image represents humanity, from kings and peasants to heroes and cowards, all living out their lives on a small planet suspended in space.
Thirty-five years later, Voyager 1 is over 15.5 billion miles away from Earth, but it still transmits science data back to us from interstellar space. As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, let’s spare a little love for the spacecraft that helped us see our fragile and beautiful planet from a new perspective.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/planets/pale-blue-dot-the-iconic-valentines-day-photo-of-earth-turns-35-today-and-youre-probably-in-it