How the Photo Was Taken

This chart from the 1960’s shows the context of the newly restored Lunar Orbiter 1 image. This image was taken on 23 August 1966 and restored by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project at NASA Ames Research Center. The orientation of Earth was slightly off and shows a terminator about an hour off from what is actually in the image.Larger image. Credit: NASA/LOIRP

This graphic shows the actual orientation of Earth at the time the photo was taken. It was possible to match the outlines of north Africa in the newly restored image. Larger image. Credit: NASA/LOIRP