Photo of the Day

Earth and Moon in one frame, for the first time

Friday 18 September 2026

Voyager 1 took this photo on 18 September 1977.

Earth and the Moon as two thin crescents in black space, the blue-and-white Earth near the bottom and the small grey Moon near the top — Spacecraft image · 18 September 1977

The first photograph ever to show the Earth and the Moon together in a single frame, taken by Voyager 1 on 18 September 1977 from about 11.7 million kilometres away, thirteen days after launch. The Moon is at the top, on the far side of Earth from the spacecraft.

Fun facts

Because the Moon is much darker than Earth, it was brightened about three times in processing so it would show up. source ↗
The Earth shows eastern Asia, the western Pacific and part of the Arctic. source ↗
Voyager 1 was on its way to Jupiter, which it reached in 1979. source ↗
Twelve and a half years later, the same narrow-angle camera took the "Pale Blue Dot" photo of Earth from beyond Neptune's orbit. source ↗

Image: NASA/JPL
Licence: Public domain
Source: Wikimedia Commons