December 3, 2008
1745 utc
Western Hemisphere Satellite Photo
Michael's Message is at title to entry. The sparcity of Earth's cloud cover is no joke. NASA released a photo recently (kindly note at the bottom of the entry) the first picture of Earth as a sphere hung in a background of black space from Apollo 8. The globe was healthier and noted to have huge cloud banks surrounding Earth, with plenty of water vapor. The cloud cover is so dense it is nearly impossible to see the continents.
We are drying up our planet.
It has to stop !
...And I care about what happens with the Big 3 because they are more responsible than almost anyone for the destruction of our fragile atmosphere and the daily melting of our polar ice caps....
Before humanity ventured to the Moon, our view of our home planet consisted of what we could see from horizon to horizon. It was not until this stunning photo (along with many others) came back to Earth with the Apollo 8 astronauts in late December 1968 that we saw Earth as a vibrant, delicate, blue and white globe framed by the velvety blackness of space. From the great distance of the Moon, nearly the entire Western Hemisphere is visible. Clouds cover much of North America in the upper left, but the distinctive coastline of the southeastern United States and the Florida peninsula are clearly visible. A break in the clouds in the far north provides a glimpse of eastern Canada and the mouth of the St. Lawrence River....
