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Far Out Photo: Earth As 'Evening Star' Over Mars

By Mark Memmott
Published February 7, 2014 at 1:09 PM EST
Trust us, there is a tiny dot over the Mars horizon and it is Earth. The next slide will make it easier to see what the Curiosity rover captured with its camera from 99 million miles away.
1 of 8  — Trust us, there is a tiny dot over the Mars horizon and it is Earth. The next slide will make it easier to see what the Curiosity rover captured with its camera from 99 million miles away.
Trust us, there is a tiny dot over the Mars horizon and it is Earth. The next slide will make it easier to see what the Curiosity rover captured with its camera from 99 million miles away.
There it is. NASA adds a pointer to Earth.
2 of 8  — There it is. NASA adds a pointer to Earth.
There it is. NASA adds a pointer to Earth.
Our old eyes aren't much good on this one, but NASA's also pointed to Earth's moon.
3 of 8  — Our old eyes aren't much good on this one, but NASA's also pointed to Earth's moon.
Our old eyes aren't much good on this one, but NASA's also pointed to Earth's moon.
In July 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft was about 1 billion miles from Earth — which is the bright spot toward the bottom right of the photo, below Saturn's rings — when it took this image.
4 of 8  — In July 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft was about 1 billion miles from Earth — which is the bright spot toward the bottom right of the photo, below Saturn's rings — when it took this image.
In July 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft was about 1 billion miles from Earth — which is the bright spot toward the bottom right of the photo, below Saturn's rings — when it took this image.
Taken in 1990 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, the "pale blue dot" photo shows what Earth looks like from 4 billion miles away.
5 of 8  — Taken in 1990 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, the "pale blue dot" photo shows what Earth looks like from 4 billion miles away.
Taken in 1990 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, the "pale blue dot" photo shows what Earth looks like from 4 billion miles away.
The "Blue Marble" photo taken by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972. It ranks high among NASA's most famous images.
6 of 8  — The "Blue Marble" photo taken by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972. It ranks high among NASA's most famous images.
The "Blue Marble" photo taken by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972. It ranks high among NASA's most famous images.
Taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders on Dec. 24, 1968, the "Earthrise" photo gave humans a view of their home unlike any they'd ever seen. On average, the moon is about 240,000 miles from Earth.
7 of 8  — Taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders on Dec. 24, 1968, the "Earthrise" photo gave humans a view of their home unlike any they'd ever seen. On average, the moon is about 240,000 miles from Earth.
Taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders on Dec. 24, 1968, the "Earthrise" photo gave humans a view of their home unlike any they'd ever seen. On average, the moon is about 240,000 miles from Earth.
A chart of the solar system.
8 of 8  — A chart of the solar system.
A chart of the solar system.

Seeing a new photo taken by NASA's Curiosity rover of Earth in the night sky over Mars sent us through The Two-Way's back pages in search of other images of home taken from space.

Earth, the tiny bright spot above the Mars horizon, is so hard to see that it helps to also look at the version of the photo in which NASA has embedded a handy pointer. But perhaps Earth being just a tiny spot puts in perspective what it's like to be 99 million miles away.

According to NASA, "a human observer with normal vision, if standing on Mars, could easily see Earth and the moon as two distinct, bright 'evening stars.' "

We'll put the new image and NASA's helpful illustrations in a gallery with other famous shots of Earth from far away.

Related Earth-from-far-away posts:

-- On Anniversary Of Apollo 8, How The 'Earthrise' Photo Was Made.

-- 'Blue Marble 2012': NASA's 'Most Amazing' High Def Image Of Earth So Far

-- An Alien View Of Earth (the "pale blue dot" photo).

-- LOOK: Cassini's Version Of 'The Pale Blue Dot'.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
See stories by Mark Memmott