“Somewhere in that small, bright spot, I was sitting at my desk.“Candice Hansen.
It’s been 34 years since this stunning image of Earth, seen from one of the farthest corners of the solar system, was published, and no other image has caused as much of a stir in the world.
This picture is titled “pale blue dot“, the name given to it by the famous scientist Carl Saganwhich was later published in 1994. Literary worktitled in the same way, which was later made into a movie, and traveled all over the world.
«This is our home. This is us. Everyone I’ve ever loved, known, heard of, every human being who has ever existed, has lived in it.“Carl Sagan.
This image was taken on February 14, 1990, by the narrow-angle camera of the Voyager 1 space probeWhich was at a distance of 6050 million kilometers from Earth.
At the time, this was the highest resolution camera, with a small field of view, which used different filters, at exposure times of about 5 to 7 tenths of a second to be able to capture the image that has already captivated everyone for 34 years.
The Voyager 1 probe was sent into space on September 5, 1977 by NASA, with the aim of studying the boundaries of the solar system, as well as being able to visualize the planets that make it up.
It has undoubtedly given us stunning images of Jupiter and its moons, Saturn, Venus, Uranus, Neptune and of course our home Earth.
Planetary world, Candice HansenHe says one of his favorite moments in his career was seeing Jupiter’s ring for the first time in a Voyager image.
Despite being sent into space for 46 years, the probe is still able to continue receiving commands and sending back data, but not photographs.
It is estimated today to be leaving the solar system, in interstellar space, about 24 billion kilometers away, traveling at a speed of 61,000 kilometers per hour.
the a pot They estimate they have enough fuel and energy to operate until 2025 and beyond. After some time, they will no longer be able to communicate with Earth, because their thermal generators will stop providing power.
In 1980, when the probe completed its mission, Carl Sagan suggested to NASA that they point the camera at Earth and take a picture, but his request was rejected.
But he did not lose hope, and in 1989, when Voyager was still far away, he made the same request again to Richard Trury, who was then the administrator of NASA.
Torrey accepted Sagan’s suggestion and gave the order to point the probe toward Earth and take the picture that would show how small we are in the universe. At that time, the probe was located beyond Neptune, about 6,050 million kilometers from Earth.
«Really, that was the last chance.“Candy Hansen said,”
In this famous image we can see the Earth as a small blue dot, within a band of light, produced by sunlight, in a vast space.
«Nowhere in all this enormity is there any indication that we can get help to save ourselves from ourselves.“Sagan.
Carl Sagan, despite the passage of many years, still makes us reflect on how small our problems are compared to the vastness of space, as well as the importance and care we must give to our only home in the universe.Planet Earth“
“A thousand years from now, our era will be remembered as the time when we first turned away from Earth and looked at it from beyond the last of the planets, like a pale blue dot almost lost in a vast sea of stars.“Carl Sagan.
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