A new image shared by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance image has given scientists a breathtaking view of Earth and its moon, as seen from Mars. The composite image combined four sets of pictures acquired late last year, taken using the orbiter’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE).
NASA says each imaged was processed separately in order to get the best possible composite.
“The moon is much darker than Earth and would barely be visible at the same brightness scale as Earth,” NASA wrote in a post. “The combined view retains the correct sizes and positions of the two bodies relative to each other.”
That’s us from about 127 million miles away
The reddish blob you see on Earth is Australia, which you can barely make out. Southeast Asia also appears as a reddish blob near the top. Meanwhile, you can also make out Antarctica at the bottom-left.
The HiRISE camera takes images in three wavelength bands: infrared, red, and blue-green, which is displayed in the image as red, green, and blue. NASA said when the images were taken, Mars was about 127 million miles (205 million kilometers) from Earth.