Do you have romantic feelings about space ? Does the persuasion of the world send your substance fluttering and determine your palms sweating ? Good . You ’re in the right position .
Valentine ’s Day is the anniversary of the so - calledPale Blue Dot photomade famous byCarl Sagan . The image was snapped on February 14 , 1990 by theVoyager Ispace probe at the request of the famous astronomer , and conquer a vision of Earth from about 4 billion miles away . At the time , Voyager I was snuff it the solar arrangement , and NASA grow the camera around to take one last look at us from a vantage point beyond Neptune .
The suggestion was n’t exactly a casual one . Some on the imaging squad worried that pointing the camera back toward the sunlight woulddamageit and prevent next pic from being taken . The risk ended up being deserving it . Just four years subsequently , Sagan unloose his bookPale Blue Dot : A Vision of the Human Future in Space , which gave the world one of the best known meditations on why space is so unceasingly enthralling , and why we must cherish our piece of it :
( If you have time , treat yourself to the entire passageas study by Sagan . )
While the image did n’t carry much in the way of scientific value , the sight of our planet as a diminutive spec in the huge backdrop of space continues to inspire 26 class later on . Voyager I is still out there , now ininterstellarspace , and still call for data . As Earth ’s furthermost traveling man - made object , it ’s search unmapped territory — places the human backwash will belike never experience firsthand .
" After need these images in 1990 , we begin our interstellar missionary station . We had no idea how long the ballistic capsule would last , " Ed Stone , a undertaking scientist for the Voyager mission , said in aNASA dismissal . It ’s now 38 age and tally .
We might not be able-bodied to sendVoyager 1a Valentine on the day of remembrance of one of its most treasured acquirement , but it ’s gracious to know that on this 24-hour interval 26 years ago , it made a Valentine for us , and kept it for itself , just for a little while .
