Venus, Earth and Mars were observed by NASA-ESA Solar Orbiter (Solo) on November 18, 2020. The image was captured from a distance of about 155.7 million miles (250.6 million km). Which is the opposite of our Sun about 93 million miles (150 million km) from Earth. In this image, the sun is located on the right, outside the image frame. Image by ESA / NASA / NRL / Solar Orbiter / Solohi.
How does the earth look from space? And How far are we from the earth and can we still see it with our own eyes?
To find the answers to these questions, let’s take an imaginary trip through the solar system. The spacecraft exploring our solar system has given us a spectacular view of the Earth. Continue reading and check out the photos on this page, to see what the Earth looks like from our other different places in space.
First, imagine being about 200 miles (300 km) away from the eruption and the surface of the earth. It is about the height of the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS). From the window of the ISS, the surface of the earth looms large. During the day, you can clearly see large landforms. At night, from Earth’s orbit, you will see the lights of the Earth’s cities.
Earth in daily light from the International Space Station in 2012. The North American Great Lakes will shine in the sun. Read more about this image.
Earth at night, from ISS in 2012. Ireland is in the background, and the United Kingdom is behind and to the right. A bright sunrise is in the background. Greens and purples show arora boralis along the rest of the horizon.
Let’s say, the distance of the moon’s orbit.
As we pass the moon – a few quarters of a million miles (about 380,000 km) away – the Earth looks like a bright ball in space. That moon is not very different from the way it looks at us.
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The first images of the Earth from the moon came from the Apollo mission. In 1968, Apollo 8 was the first human spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit. It was the first Earth spacecraft to be captured and escaped from the field of eclipse by the moon in the sky.
It was the first voyage in which humans visited another world and returned to Earth.
Earth by Apollo 8 astronauts from the moon in 1968. Image by NASA.
In the decades since Voyager first began outer travel, lunar exploration has become more common. In 2007, the robotic Kagua spacecraft orbited the Earth’s moon. Launched by Japan, and officially named Selenological and Engineering Explorer (Selene), Kaguya studied the origin and evolution of the moon. The bottom frame is of Kaguya’s onboard HDTV camera.
Earth was observed from the moon by Kaguya in 2007. Image by Selene Team JXA / NHK.
Another image of Caguya, who found the footage and the conditions of the Earth’s alignment. Remember, if you were on the moon, you would not see the earth rise or set. But the spacecraft in orbit around the moon experiences this scene. Image by JAXA.
Let’s move on to the outside until we can see both the Earth and the Moon in space. The next picture was on my mind when it was first released. It shows a crescent-shaped Earth and Moon on September 18, 1977 – the first of its kind taken by a spacecraft.
This image of the crescent-shaped Earth and the Moon – its first ever taken by a spacecraft – was recorded by Voyager 1 on September 18, 1977, at a distance of 7.25 million miles (11.66 million km) from the Earth. The moon is seen by Voyager at the top of the picture and outside the Earth. Image by NASA.
Since 1977, many robotic spacecraft have set out into our solar system. Below the mosaic are images of the moon captured by a multispectral imager on Earth and the nearby Earth asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft (NER) on January 23, 1998, 19 hours after the spacecraft flew by Earth on its way to Asteroid 433 Eros. Images of the two were taken from a range of 250,000 miles (400,000 km), which is approximately equal to the distance between the two bodies.
In 1998, Earth and the Moon were spotted by a nearby spacecraft.
At external speeds from the Earth and Moon system, you pass through the orbits of the planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Out of all these worlds, the earth looks like a star, which breaks as it goes away.
Earth and the Moon, as seen by NASA’s Curiosity rover from Mars on January 31, 2014. Read more about this image.
Look bigger. | Earth appeared behind Saturn’s rings. See us right below? Mars and Venus are on the upper left. July 19, 2013, Image by Cassini spacecraft.
This is the famous image known as Pel Blue Dot. That Earth was photographed on February 14, 1990, by a Voyager 1 space probe at a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles). The earth is a blue-and-white speck with a part just below the brown band.
The images above are of Saturn, the sixth outer planet in orbit around the Sun. I have never seen an image of Earth with any other body beyond the orbit of Uranus or Neptune or Saturn. Only five Earth spacecraft – two Voyager spacecraft, two Pioneers and the New Horizons spacecraft that passed Pluto in 2015 – have been able to venture so far. Those crafts are not made to look back at the Earth, and to the best of my knowledge, they did not take images of the Earth from a distance outside Saturn.
But, now theoretically speaking, can the Earth be seen from a distance outside Saturn?
Speaking only in terms of the earth Brightness, The answer is yes. At a distance of about 9 billion miles (14 billion km) from our home, Neptune’s orbit is not obscured by the naked eye. Now consider the orbit of Pluto. It is very elliptical, measuring just 2.7 billion miles (4.4 billion km) from the Sun. Spread over billion billion miles (.3..3 billion km). Pluto is within a limited distance – if we consider only the brightness alone, no other factors – we should see the earth with a single eye.
Even there Is The second factor. As you move out of the earth, our world appears closer and closer to the glowing sun. As you walk away, the sun’s glare begins to flood the earth’s view. From Pluto – even if it were Earth Bright Enough to see – you probably didn’t see it in the glare of the sun.
So that’s the answer On the question of how far you can be from the earth, and still see it with your own eyes. Although no one knows for sure because no one has tried it (and because human vision is different from one person), Earth will not be able to see with the naked eye somewhere outside Saturn’s orbit.
Let’s change the game now. Let’s say To be able to Use instruments, and not just the eye. Suppose a fearless astronaut-Astronomers Pluto went. Suppose they have taken all the equipment the earth needs to see the sun shine. Will they be able to use telescopes, obscure disks and other techniques to get a glimpse of the Earth? Maybe!
But it’s still not easy.
Read more: Wikipedia has a long article on the sky of the outside world
Bottom line: What does the earth look like from space? How far can you see the earth in space with a single eye? Take into consideration Only The answer, about the distance from Neptune or Pluto, is about 9 billion miles (14 billion km) away. In practice, however, seeing it from that distance would be a challenge as the sun’s glare would flood the Earth’s view.
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