If life existed on Mercury, this is what it would see at night

mrk

mrk

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Those 2 dots lower left are Earth and Moon

So far, our planet-roaming spacecraft have taken tourist snapshots of Earth as seen from Mars, Saturn, and beyond Pluto’s orbit.

But this latest view from NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is a jaw-dropper.
So far, our planet-roaming spacecraft have taken tourist snapshots of Earth as seen from Mars, Saturn, and beyond Pluto’s obit.

But this latest view from NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is a jaw-dropper...

For the first time we see Earth -- in astronomical parlance -- as a fully illuminated superior planet 114 million mile outward from Mercury. Earth really looks like a double star because the moon is snuggled up next to it..

So far, our planet-roaming spacecraft have taken tourist snapshots of Earth as seen from Mars, Saturn, and beyond Pluto’s obit.

But this latest view from NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is a jaw-dropper.

Full article here

The other awesomely cool picture of Earth from 4 billion miles away is this one:


Earth as seen from 4 billion miles away

And a deep video


<3 Space
 
I seriously can't quite fathom space but I love it so much!

I really do wish to be travelling the stars like some kid reading a sci-fi novel.:(
 
is 4 billion miles not a bit of stretch? how far away is pluto?

Pluto is 4.2 billion miles away. Like someone said, they knew where to look. The Earth is a very bright object so although we cannot see Pluto or indeed Neptune (4.4billion) without the aid of a telescope, does not neccessarily mean the opposite is true.
 
is 4 billion miles not a bit of stretch? how far away is pluto?

Carl Sagan. In 1990, when Voyager 1 was some 4 billion miles from Earth, he persuaded NASA to point it's camera back at us and take this photo from the edge of the solar system...

Quite a distance!
 
i thought neptune was closer than pluto?

Not at it's furthest point, Neptune's orbit puts it outside of Pluto's for a significant part of it's solar cycle. Pluto has a wildly elliptical orbit.

If you take the mean average then Pluto is further away.
 
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4 billion is nothing, they have imaged a planetary system around the star HR8799, 39 parsecs away. That's 741 trillion miles. :cool:

Ah but not using Voyager 1 they haven't :p
Amazing picture.


Is the moon sized dot on the right just a star?

Yes all bright objects are stars and galaxies, the brighter ones being closer than the fainter, smaller ones.
 
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