Earth Rise

“Forty years ago today, the Apollo 8 astronauts, the first humans to orbit the Moon, were taken by surprise. After three orbits spent photographing the lunar surface, Frank Borman shifted the orientation of the capsule to see the horizon. Suddenly, Bill Anders realized he was seeing the home planet hovering over the lunar horizon in what was, in essence, the first human-witnessed “Earthrise.” “

Link HERE to read the rest of this article in the NY Times Dot Earth column and to see a beautiful video of earth rise and earth set from the moon.

Andrew Revkin is the journalist for this column and he writes about the balance of “human affairs and the planet’s limits”.

As a full-fledged sci-fi fan, I’ve read many novels about the earth being visited by aliens who are here to help stop us being destructive little parasites.  But perhaps, the truth is, the ‘aliens’ are simply waiting for us to grow up and become true caretakers of our planet.  Once we’ve achieved that next level of maturity – then we’ll be welcomed into the broader community of beings … yes, out there and hoping we’ll figure it out … this time.

I have faith that we’re moving in the right direction …