40th Anniversary of First "Earthrise"

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first earthrise witnessed by humans (astronauts Lovell, Borman, and Anders aboard Apollo 8). Click the links below to see the first photograph ever taken of an earthrise, along with the now-iconic color photo:

First photo:

http://history.nasa.gov/ap08fj/photos/e/as08-13-2329.jpg

This is not the photo most people are used to seeing. According to NASA:

This is the first photograph taken of Earthrise taken by a human as he watched the event unfold. Interestingly, it is not the image that has become iconic over the years by virtue of the fact it is monochrome. Two color photographs taken in a minute or so will become the images that are favorite of photo editors around the world.

Color image can be seen here:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1249.html

The story/audio transcript of orbits 4-6, which include that event, can be found here:

http://history.nasa.gov/ap08fj/14day4_orbits456.htm