25 years ago, a NASA astronaut captured this haunting photo of the 9/11 attacks — Earth from space

QUICK FACTS Where is it? New York City, NY [ 40.71113953, -74.01078602 ] What's in the photo? A massive plume of smoke blowing from Manhattan in the wake of 9/11 Who took the photo? NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson, on board the ISS When was it taken? Sept. 11, 2001 This iconic photo, captured by an American astronaut on board the International Space Station

The top 3

  1. Iconic Images of Earth's Natural Beauty: The 'Earthrise' photo from Apollo 8 in 1968, showing Earth peeking over the Moon's surface, and the 'Blue Marble' image from Apollo 17 in 1972, depicting a fully illuminated Earth, are among the most famous and widely distributed photographs of our planet.
  2. Key Astronauts Capturing Earth's Views: Astronaut Bill Anders of Apollo 8 famously captured the 'Earthrise' image in 1968, while the crew of Apollo 17 took the iconic 'Blue Marble' photograph in 1972, both images fostering a profound 'overview effect' among viewers.
  3. The "Pale Blue Dot" and Its Profound Message: The "Pale Blue Dot" is an iconic photograph of Earth taken by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft on February 14, 1990, from a record distance of 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometers), inspiring Carl Sagan's reflections on humanity's small and fragile place in the universe.

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