By the way, taking pictures from spacecraft is not an easy task. The spacecraft is generally faster than the speed of a bullet, or five miles per second. It is not easy to take as many pictures as you can with concentration and skill.

When And How Was The First Image Of Earth Captured?

On October 24, 1946, about a year after the end of World War II, a group of scientists and soldiers gathered at the desert of New Mexico to launch the V-2 Rocket. The rocket had assembled from the things got after surrendering of Germany. This was the first time when modern technology developed by the Nazis was being used for any good purpose other than war.

With this rocket, they tied a 35 mm motion picture camera. The engine turns on and the rocket goes straight up at a very high speed. Meanwhile, the camera used to take one photo every one and a half seconds and store them on an old-fashioned film reel. This was the first part of the mission and hence the launch of the rocket was successful. Now they had to go to the desert to find the remnants of the rocket and remove the film roll from it.

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When they reached the landing site of the rocket, they got the first photographs of the Earth drawn from the outer space. The camera was completely destroyed when it hit the earth, but the film kept in a steel cassette was safe. These photos were developed by the developers, who were granulated (granular) and low-quality but it was clear that they were taken from space. We could see the earth under the clouds and its curvature or roundness clearly. This was a major achievement for that time.

Collection Of Photographs Capture In 14 Years

Donald Roy Pettit of America is a chemical engineer and NASA's astronaut. He has taken many pictures of the Earth from the International Space Station. Donald Roy Pettit first traveled to space in 2002 with the spacecraft Endeavour. So far, he has spent more than a year of his life in the International Space Station. His 12 lakh photographs captured are similar to the scientific evidence collected in space for 14 years. Recently 'SmugMug Films' has released a video on Donald Pettit's photography in space.

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Pictures Of Earth's Events From Space

The way Pettit has taken pictures of Earth's events from space, it is reflected in the light of the Northern Lights, track of the stars and the light of the cities of the Earth at night. Pettit also captured Earth's outer atmosphere in his camera, Which scientists call 'airglow', and humans can't see it with eyes on the Earth. Pettit says, "If you look at the right time from space, the green glow looks quite light."

Picture Can Be Used As Useful Information

During his presence in the International Space Station, Pettit found better ways to take pictures of the Earth, not only that he also identified things from space that are possible to see from space. This information can be used in the programming of the satellite so that more pictures can be taken by them. Pettit's photographs can be viewed together with the data obtained from other spacecraft, and with the help of photographs taken from Earth, scientists can also investigate different events.

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Difficulties In Capturing Pictures In Space

Taking a photo from the International Space Station is a difficult challenge. There are some windows in the ISS where pictures can be taken but most of the places are used for technical equipment and solar panels. There is so much space in the Cupola window that six to eight cameras can be placed in it. The good thing is that they don't need a tripod. Pettit says, you are running at 8 km per second, which is faster than the speed of a bullet. The speed of the Earth is also fast. According to Pettit, the Earth looks very beautiful from space. Don says you can see half a continent at a time.