Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 August 9 IFRAME: [2]https://www.youtube.com/embed/rFDjAfwmWKM?rel=0 Leaving Earth Video Credit: [3]NASA/[4]JHU Applied Physics Lab/[5]Carnegie Inst. Washington Explanation: What it would look like to leave planet Earth? Such an event was [6]recorded visually in great detail by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it swung back past the Earth in 2005 on its way in toward the [7]planet Mercury. Earth can be seen rotating in [8]this time-lapse video, as it recedes into the distance. The sunlit half of Earth is [9]so bright that background [10]stars are not visible. The [11]robotic MESSENGER spacecraft is now in orbit around [12]Mercury and has recently concluded the first [13]complete map of the surface. On occasion, [14]MESSENGER has continued to [15]peer back at its home world. MESSENGER is one of the few things created on the [16]Earth that will [17]never return. At the end of its mission MESSENGER crashed into [18]Mercury's surface. Tomorrow's picture: stars of dust __________________________________________________________________ [19]< | [20]Archive | [21]Submissions | [22]Index | [23]Search | [24]Calendar | [25]RSS | [26]Education | [27]About APOD | [28]Discuss | [29]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [30]Robert Nemiroff ([31]MTU) & [32]Jerry Bonnell ([33]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [34]Specific rights apply. [35]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [36]ASD at [37]NASA / [38]GSFC, [39]NASA Science Activation & [40]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://www.youtube.com/embed/rFDjAfwmWKM?rel=0 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/ 5. https://carnegiescience.edu/ 6. https://messenger.jhuapl.edu/Explore/Videos.html 7. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mercury/in-depth/ 8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFDjAfwmWKM 9. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RYrGwwZZh3w/UY6H01FhfuI/AAAAAAAADCc/RJPqAsNoVfg/s400/Dogs-Wearing-Sunglasses-Drinking.jpg 10. http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html#stars 11. http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/About/Spacecraft-and-Instruments.html#spacecraft 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110331.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190428.html 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MESSENGER 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130723.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220206.html 17. http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/About/Mission-Design.html#final-extended-mission 18. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-completes-messenger-mission-with-expected-impact-on-mercurys-surface 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220808.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 28. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220809 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220810.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 33. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 35. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 36. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 39. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 40. http://www.mtu.edu/