Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 November 23
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                            Interplanetary Earth
   Image Credit: [3]Cassini Imaging Team, [4]SSI, [5]JPL, [6]ESA, [7]NASA
     & [8]NASA / [9]JHU Applied Physics Lab / Carnegie Inst. Washington

   Explanation: In an interplanetary first, on July 19, 2013 Earth was
   photographed on the same day from two other worlds of the Solar System,
   innermost planet Mercury and ringed gas giant Saturn. [10]Pictured on
   the left, Earth is the [11]pale blue dot just below the rings of
   Saturn, as captured by the robotic [12]Cassini spacecraft then orbiting
   the [13]outermost gas giant. On that same day people across [14]planet
   Earth snapped many [15]of their own pictures of Saturn. On the right,
   the [16]Earth-Moon system is seen against the dark background of space
   as captured by the sunward [17]MESSENGER spacecraft, then in Mercury
   orbit. MESSENGER took its image as part of a search for small natural
   satellites of Mercury, moons that would be expected to be quite dim. In
   the [18]MESSENGER image, the brighter Earth and Moon are both
   overexposed and shine brightly with reflected sunlight. Destined not to
   return to their home world, both [19]Cassini and [20]MESSENGER have
   since retired from their missions of Solar System exploration.

                  Tomorrow's picture: interstellar journey
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [36]Specific rights apply.
              [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC,
                         [41]NASA Science Activation
                           & [42]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2411/earth_cassinimessenger_1799.jpg
   3. https://ciclops.org/
   4. https://www.spacescience.org/
   5. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
   6. https://www.esa.int/
   7. https://www.nasa.gov/
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/
   9. https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/
  10. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17038
  11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_blue_dot
  12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini–Huygens
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_giant
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100713.html
  15. http://www.flickr.com/groups/wave_at_saturn/pool/
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130722.html
  17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MESSENGER
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100901.html
  19. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/index.html
  20. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/messenger
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241122.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241123
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241124.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  41. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  42. http://www.mtu.edu/