Earth and Moon from a Stunning Perspective!!!!!!

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THIS IS NOT A COMPUTER SIMULATION. IT IS ABOUT A DOZEN PHOTOGRAPHS, TAKEN 2 HOURS APART, FROM 1 MILLION MILES AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
You're also seeing the far side of the moon--the one you NEVER see from Earth!
         By NASA/EPIC - http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth (image link), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42115030

Friends,

It's not everyday that I come across astronomical footage that absolutely floors me (well, maybe it is, actually...). Regardless, I discovered something just now that completely blew my mind. Read on:

Back in 2015 SpaceX launched a satellite called the "Deep Space Climate Observatory" (aka DSCOVR) from Florida. Unlike most satellites, which go into Low Earth Orbit ~1000 miles up, this one went 1 million miles away (about 4 times further than the moon!) to a special place in space called the Lagrangian 1 (L1) point. There are five Lagrangian points (for the earth/sun system) and they're basically "parking spots" in the middle of space. Gravity from the Earth and Sun balance at at the Lagrangian points, so if you put something there, it stays. It doesn't move toward the Earth or Sun, but just co-revolves with them. (If you never knew about Lagrangian points before, you're welcome. They are one of the coolest natural phenomena I know of.)

Anyway, the DSCOVR satellite has been at L1 for over four years now, taking photos every two hours, and has a view of the earth/moon system that provides a whole new perspective. And that's what blew me away. I've never seen this perspective on the world before. It was utterly new and powerful. It's far enough that you can see the whole earth AND the whole moon. But it's close enough that you can see details of both. An absolutely stunning perspective.

If you scroll down on the Wikipedia page you can see more of them.

Enjoy!!!!!

Elan

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