New Earthrise Is a Stunner

Take a look at this image from a lunar orbiter on the 47th anniversary of the historic Apollo 8 “Earthrise” photo.

“Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter releases new high-resolution earthrise image” announces PhysOrg, and wow! What a beauty. It seems unreal. Portions of Africa and South America are clearly visible as the globe of Earth rises above the gray lunar landscape. Space.com calls it “Simply breathtaking”—who could disagree?

Earthrise from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, December 2015

The first color Earthrise photo was taken by the Apollo 8 astronauts. In their first-ever lunar orbit, they watched it time around, and decided to use one of the apparitions to send a memorable Christmas greeting to earthlings on Christmas Eve. They quoted from Genesis 1 before wishing everyone “a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you – all of you on the good Earth” (see 12/24/13).

This time, though, Al Gore is using it as an occasion to preach about environmentalism.

The country is probably too far down the path of political correctness to quote the Bible any more. Think of what the ACLU-type pressure groups would say. That shouldn’t stop anyone from meditating privately on Psalm 8:3-4, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Yet in a tiny corner of that globe, visible under a cloud north of Saudi Arabia, a babe was laid in a humble manger, unknown to the world leaders of the day. “Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight!”

Merry Christmas to all our faithful readers! We’ll be back, Lord willing, when the New Year 2016 begins.