Monthly Archives: September 2010

Our Planet Home

The earliest pictures of Earth from above the atmosphere were taken on October 24, 1946. The photographs were shot from an altitude of 65 miles over the New Mexico desert by a V-2 missile that was launched from the White Sands Missile Range. The blurry, black and white photos clearly revealed the curvature of the Earth, though from that low altitude only a partial view of the Earth’s surface was possible.

It was not until 1961, with the beginning of NASA manned missions into space, that we could see stunning photographs of the Earth from space –- photographs that changed everything.

To see the Earth from space meant gaining a perspective never before available to mankind. From space no arbitrary boundaries, no borders, no ethnic homelands are visible. Instead we see that our planet is a shining blue ball hanging in utter darkness.

Even from afar, the evidence of ever-present life is clear: 77% of the planet is covered with sparkling blue water; white-cloud weather patterns swirl around the planet; and the infinite textures of green alert any observer to the presence of photosynthesis-based plant life.

On December 24, 1968 NASA crew member William A. Anders took a famous photograph through the window of the Apollo 8 spacecraft in lunar orbit as it came around the far side of the Moon. NASA commander Frank Borman exclaimed, “Oh my God, look at that picture over there! Here’s the Earth coming up!”

Earthrise, as this photo came to be called, is certainly one of the most powerful and evocative images ever taken of the Earth from Space. We can clearly see the watery abundance of our life-filled planet contrasting with the sterile moon’s surface below, set against the backdrop of vast and empty Space.

Noted wilderness photographer Galen Rowell has called this image “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.”

Perhaps we are habituated, after all these years. A space agency website catalogs some 745,000 photos of the planet from space. Yet these photographs give rise to feeling a sense of place in a way that language cannot. They can call up again that experience of wonder we experienced when we first saw Earthrise –- and to powerfully help us remember how vast and beautiful and vulnerable is this Earth.

Artist Lance Hidy says that the photographs of the planet from Space changed things forever. We can no longer ignore the fragility of Earth, nor the need to cooperate to effectively care for the environment.

About the Author

David Yarian, Ph.D. http://www.DavidYarian.com recommends books and resources on nature and the environment at http://www.SavingtheEarth.net. Also visit The Guide to Self-Help Books at http://www.Books4SelfHelp.com.

Nine Planets Pooja

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Marvin the Martian & K-9: 50 Years on Earth [VHS] $9.98 Collection of classic cartoons including “Haredevil Hare”, “Mad as a Mars Hare”, “Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 1/2th Century”, “Spacedout Bunny”, “Lumber Jack Rabbit”, and “Hyde and Go Tweet”….

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Dragon Ball Z: Season Seven (Great Saiyaman & World Tournament Sagas) $20.99 Seven years have passed since the tournament in which Gohan defeated Cell. Goku remains in the Next World, rather than risk attracting more evil beings to Earth, but he cheerfully trains under the watchful eye of King Kai (and the other Kais). After years of studying under his mother’s tutelage, Gohan enters high school. Although he’s awkward around his fellow students, he uses his incredible powe…

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The Planets $4.99 This edition does not include illustrations. After the huge national and international success of "Longitude" and "Gallileo"s Daughter", Dava Sobel tells the human story of the nine planets of our solar system. This groundbreaking work traces the "lives" of each member of our solar family, from myth and history, astrology and science fiction, to the latest data from the modern era’s robotic space probes. Whether revealing what hides behind Venus’s cocoon of acid clouds, describing Neptune’s complex beauty, or capturing first-hand the excitement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the first pictures from Cassini at Saturn were recently beamed to earth, Dava Sobel’s unique tour of the solar system is filled with fascination and beauty. In lyrical prose interspersed with poems by Tennyson, Blake and others, "The Planets" gives a breathtaking, intimate view of those heavenly bodies that have captured the imagination since humanity"s first glimpse of the glittering night skies. Timely and timeless, "The Planets" will engage and delight as it unravels the mysteries of the cosmos. It is of infinite relevance to this age in which new planets are being discovered elsewhere in our galaxy.

The Nine Planets $6.39 This book is in Used condition

Planets $6 Planets

3-D Planets $7.98 Give your solar scene new dimension! This set features the nine planets of our solar system. All of these colorful, glow-in-the-dark orbs are ready to give your room a big bang. String them to your ceiling and learn more about the worlds beyond our own. Comes with nine glowing planets, 25 feet of string and adhesive putty.

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Solar System $5.24 Simple text and pictures explain the characteristics of the nine planets of the solar system, the sun, and the moon.

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Nine Planets – Or How the Interrelationships Also Could Be $150 Wolfgang laib coined a phrase at the opening of one of his exhibitions in France that can be taken as a description of his oeuvre: L’ephemere, c’est I’eternite (The ephemeral is eternal). The present volume of photographs Laib took on his travels is his attempt to somehow grasp this fleeting and almost intangible essence. Silent photographs that often pre-empt ideas are than manifested in sculptures or installations he creates many years later. Aspects that particularly fascinate Wolfgang laib in this context are the non-European notions of spirituality, one example being how religion is embedded in everyday life, as in India, not to mention the way that, for all their historical nature, various ancient monuments, temples and tombs still exert a force in the present, engendering numerous associations. His photographs thus often show us people who live in a timeless relationship with these stone archetypes. Laib’s almost meditative pictures capture the aura as it were of such everyday vistas and allow us to glimpse the deeper eternal meaning, I’ eternite, in them. A temple tower comes to represent the middle of the world, the mountain that symbolizes the entire world, and a heap of straw before it alludes to Laib’s pollen mountains – a sun that again references fundamental issues.

The Planets $133.58 THE PLANETS is Dava Sobel’s sweeping look at our heavenly galaxy. In the spirit of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter, Sobel once again brings science and history deftly to life as she explores the origins of the planets and reveals the exotic environments that exist in each of these fascinating alien worlds. After the huge national and international success of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter, Dava Sobel tells the human story of the nine planets of our solar system. THE PLANETS tells the story of each member of our solar family, from their discovery, both mythic and historic, to the latest data from the modern era’s robotic space probes and images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Whether revealing what hides behind Venus’ cocoon of acid clouds, describing Jupiter’s ‘Technicolor lightning bolts and shimmering sheets of auroras, ‘ or capturing first-hand the excitement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the first pictures from Voyager were beamed to earth, Dava Sobel’s unique tour of the solar family is filled with fascination and poetry. In lyrical prose THE PLANETS gives a breathtaking, close-up perspective on those heavenly bodies that have captured the imagination of humanity since that first glimpse at the glittering night skies. This is an extraordinary book of science, history, biography and storytelling. Timely and timeless, THE PLANETS will engage and delight as it unravels the mysteries of the cosmos.