Galileo: The Face of Home

Galileo: The Face of Home
Galileo: The Face of Home Seen through eyes other than our own, the planet Earth appears as a strange but beautiful place. The Galileo spacecraft on its way to Jupiter took this image of West Africa and the Mediterranean Sea from about 600,000 kilometers (400,000 miles) away. The spacecraft's camera was looking through infrared filters sensitive to light wavelengths unfamiliar to the naked eye. Images taken this way provide information about things such as the location and health of vegetation and the water content of clouds. Galileo's portraits of the planet could be valuable reference points for future Earth-monitoring spacecraft. Paul Geissler Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona