Far From Home

  • Released Tuesday, September 10th, 2013
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:51PM
  • ID: 11348
Nearly everyone has seen iconic photographs of Earth shot by astronauts in orbit or on the surface of the moon. But every now and then NASA releases an image that helps us all take an even greater step back to see the big picture of our place in the universe. While headed off to distant moons and planets, robotic spacecraft are occasionally commanded to look back toward home. It's tricky business because light from the sun can destroy cameras designed to observe in low-light conditions. From one million miles away, or about four times the distance from Earth to the moon, the planet's bright blue disk fills the frame. However, beyond the inner solar system, a few hundred million miles out, Earth is a mere pixel or two amidst the darkness of space. Step through the video and images for views of our planet at progressively farther distances.
See images of Earth taken from deep space.

See images of Earth taken from deep space.

The Galileo spacecraft was 1.3 million miles from Earth in December 1990 when it snapped the 500 frames for this time-lapse video.

While circling the Red Planet in 2007, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of Earth and the moon from 88 million miles away.

While circling the Red Planet in 2007, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of Earth and the moon from 88 million miles away.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft spied Earth—898 million miles away—and Saturn's rings in July 2013.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft spied Earth—898 million miles away—and Saturn's rings in July 2013.

Called “Pale Blue Dot,” Voyager 1 took this image of Earth in February 1990 from a distance of 4 billion miles. The planet is just 0.12 pixels.

Called “Pale Blue Dot,” Voyager 1 took this image of Earth in February 1990 from a distance of 4 billion miles. The planet is just 0.12 pixels.

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Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Earth Observatory
Cover image courtesy of NASA Johnson Space Center/Image Science & Analysis Laboratory
Video courtesy of NASA/JPL
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image courtesy of NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Cassini image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Voyager image courtesy of NASA/JPL