There’s no better thing to remind us how insignificant we humans are in the gargantuan scheme of things, than a photo taken from space.
This one was taken by NASA’s Cassini probe on 19 July, while the spacecraft’s orbit took it into the shadow of Saturn.
Do you see the blue dot on the right side of the pic? That’s us.
Boom.
Cassini, on the orbit since 2004, was able to spot Earth only once before, in 2006 but that one was taken with ultraviolet and infrared sensors. This is the first time Cassini has taken a picture of our blue dot in its true glory. To see our beautiful planet from Saturn, one would have to wait for the rare occasions when the Sun has just set or is about to rise and the Earth happens to hover just above the horizon.
Just like seeing Mercury from Earth: the planet is usually hidden in the Sun’s glare. To see it, we have to catch it shortly after sunset or shortly before sunrise.
Don’t you just feel MORTAL?
N.
Via: SciAm