157. [Apollo 8] THE DISK OF EARTH SEEN BY HUMANS FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME William Anders, 21-27 December 1968 Printed 1968. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS8-16-2588]. Numbered "NASA AS8-14-2588" in red in the top margin, with "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context About 3 hours and 30 minutes after launch, the crew of Apollo 8 had already travelled farther from Earth than any humans before them—far surpassing Gemini XI's altitude record. From 6,500 nautical miles away, they witnessed a never-before-seen sight: their home planet beginning to shrink into a distinct, glowing disk. Commander Frank Borman reported: "We see the Earth now, almost as a disk. [...] Tell Conrad he lost his record." This historic photograph, taken by William Anders with an 80mm lens, captures the Atlantic Ocean and the west coast of Africa in stunning clarity. From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 003:35:44 Borman: We see the Earth now, almost as a disk. 003:35:49 Collins (Mission Control): Good show. Get a picture of it. 003:35:51 Borman: We are. 003:35:54 Borman: Tell Conrad he lost his record. 003:35:59 Lovell: We have a beautiful view of Florida now. We can see the Cape, just the point. 003:36:05 Collins: Roger. 003:36:06 Lovell: And at the same time, we can see Africa. West Africa is beautiful. I can also see Gibraltar at the same time I'm looking at Florida. 003:36:20 Collins: Sounds good. Get a picture of it. What window are you looking out? 003:36:29 Lovell: The center window. 003:36:30 Collins: Roger. [Pause.] 003:36:39 Collins: Are your windows clear so far? [Long pause.] 003:36:39 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): This is Apollo Control, Houston. The crew seems to be pretty settled down after their Translunar Injection burn and they are getting some time on the window. We just heard Jim Lovell report he could see Florida perfectly. By the way, they are at about 6,500 [nautical] miles [12,000 km] above the Earth now. He said he had a beautiful view of Florida and then his gaze roamed a little bit to the other side of the window and he could also see Gibraltar. The crew reminded the Control Center here that Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon would have to step aside. Their altitude record (1,368 km on Gemini 11) has been exceeded. 003:38:00 Lovell: Roger. Well, Mike, I can see the entire Earth now out of the center window. I can see Florida, Cuba, Central America, the whole northern half of Central America, in fact, all the way down through Argentina and down through Chile. 003:38:25 Collins (Mission Control): They picked a good day for it. Literature LIFE, 10 January 1969, pp. 22-23 The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography, 1962–1972, Schick and Van Haaften, p. 94 Airborne Camera: The World from the Air and Outer Space, Newhall, p. 123 Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Reynolds, p. 106