image credit: NASA; image source; larger image

Exploring the Moon: Apollo 8 Mission

This month we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 8, the first manned-mission in orbit around the Moon. To learn more about the famous "Earthrise" photograph, visit Exploring the Moon: Apollo 8 Mission.

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Build a Solar System

Here are two ways you can make a model of the solar system.  
-- Build a Solar System from the Exploratorium, includes a calculator to help you select the sizes of your models.  
-- And if you have enough space, The Thousand Yard Model, from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, gives you all the dimensions and sizes you'll need.

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image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute; image source; larger image

Pale Blue Orb

For a different perspective on Earth and the moon, here is the view from Saturn as seen by the Cassini spacecraft.
-- Earth is the blue speck on the right side of the image above the center, and is shown with greater magnification in the inset.
-- To learn more about this image, see Pale Blue Orb.

Secret Worlds

Visit Secret Worlds, from Florida State University, for a slide show/animation starting far out in the universe and progressively moving in--along the way you'll get a great view of the solar system at different scales. For a related video, see the Eames Office video Powers of Ten.

(This feature was updated on August 10, 2013.)