131. [Gemini XII] SPECTACULAR SUNLIT EARTH OVER THE BAHAMAS Buzz Aldrin or James Lovell, 11-15 November 1966 Printed 1966. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-66-63418]. With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context In this breathtaking southward view, bathed in harsh sunlight, the southern half of Florida, the Bahamas (Andros, Grand Bahama, Bimini), and Cuba—featuring both industrialized and untouched landscapes—unfold beneath Gemini XII docked to the Agena. Captured with the Super-Wide Hasselblad camera and its 38mm lens, this luminous image beautifully showcases Earth's natural splendour from space. As the astronauts orbited Earth, they repeatedly passed over their starting point above Florida's east coast, each revolution offering new lighting and a fresh perspective on the world below. "Since the girdle that the Gemini program threw around the world did not extend as far north as south of Cape Kennedy, the astronauts' photographs are predominantly views of the southern coast of the United States around the Gulf of Mexico. This is a region in which people have been quick to develop the resources available to them, and parts of it are now highly industrialized. Even so, when seen from space its beauty still rivals that of many undeveloped regions. [...] Above Florida's east coast, they (the astronauts) saw their starting point again and sped east again and again to see more of the world." —NASA SP-171, p. 227 Literature Earth Photographs from Gemini VI through XII (NASA SP-171), p. 7