On Christmas Eve 1968, human beings orbited the moon for the first time. News of the feat of Nasa's Apollo 8 mission dominated the front page of The New York Times the next day. Tucked away below the fold was an essay by the poet Archibald MacLeish, a reflection inspired by what he'd seen and heard the night before.
Even after 50 years, his prescient essay speaks of the humbling image we now had of Earth, an image captured in a photograph that wouldn't be developed until the astronauts returned: "Earthrise", taken by William Anders, one of the Apollo crew members.
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