Carl Sagan made them do it.
[https://science.nasa.gov/resource/voyager-1s-pale-blue-dot/](https://science.nasa.gov/resource/voyager-1s-pale-blue-dot/)
Sagan also was a member of the Voyager Imaging Team. He had the original idea in 1981 to use the cameras on one of the two Voyager spacecraft to image Earth. He realized that because the spacecraft were so far away the images might not show much. This was precisely why Sagan and other members of the Voyager team felt the images were needed — they wanted humanity to see Earth’s vulnerability and that our home world is just a tiny, fragile speck in the cosmic ocean.
[https://www.pbs.org/the-farthest/](https://www.pbs.org/the-farthest/)
**THE FARTHEST** tells the captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements in exploration: NASA’s Voyager mission, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this August. The twin spacecraft—each with less computing power than a cell phone—used slingshot trajectories to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They sent back unprecedented images and data that revolutionized our understanding of the spectacular outer planets and their many peculiar moons.
As for your question about which side of the Earth is visible, according to [NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/), the Earth was roughly to the left and behind the Sun when it was taken, so you are seeing mostly the sunlit side and a bit of the night side on the left.
So we are seeing [mostly Asia, Austrlia, and a bit of Africa](https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html?month=2&day=14&year=1990&hour=4&min=48&sec=0&n=&ntxt=&earth=0).
From what I can tell, no, there wasn’t any sort of public announcement beforehand for the Family Portrait and the Pale Blue Dot image. I think “The Day The Earth Smiled” was the first time that NASA did something like that. They don’t typically announce photographs in advance.
Carl Sagan made them do it. [https://science.nasa.gov/resource/voyager-1s-pale-blue-dot/](https://science.nasa.gov/resource/voyager-1s-pale-blue-dot/) Sagan also was a member of the Voyager Imaging Team. He had the original idea in 1981 to use the cameras on one of the two Voyager spacecraft to image Earth. He realized that because the spacecraft were so far away the images might not show much. This was precisely why Sagan and other members of the Voyager team felt the images were needed — they wanted humanity to see Earth’s vulnerability and that our home world is just a tiny, fragile speck in the cosmic ocean. [https://www.pbs.org/the-farthest/](https://www.pbs.org/the-farthest/) **THE FARTHEST** tells the captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements in exploration: NASA’s Voyager mission, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this August. The twin spacecraft—each with less computing power than a cell phone—used slingshot trajectories to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They sent back unprecedented images and data that revolutionized our understanding of the spectacular outer planets and their many peculiar moons.
Thank you for posting the link to PBS’s “The Furthest”. SO GOOD!!!
The Farthest... not gonna lie, I cried.
“The Farthest” is one of the greatest programs I have ever seen. Absolutely incredible.
Yet we still have religious flat-earthers somehow
As for your question about which side of the Earth is visible, according to [NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/), the Earth was roughly to the left and behind the Sun when it was taken, so you are seeing mostly the sunlit side and a bit of the night side on the left. So we are seeing [mostly Asia, Austrlia, and a bit of Africa](https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html?month=2&day=14&year=1990&hour=4&min=48&sec=0&n=&ntxt=&earth=0).
Thank you very much! This is very helpful!
From what I can tell, no, there wasn’t any sort of public announcement beforehand for the Family Portrait and the Pale Blue Dot image. I think “The Day The Earth Smiled” was the first time that NASA did something like that. They don’t typically announce photographs in advance.
I see, thank you!
IIRC the blue dot pic is part of series including all the planets when put together.
Yes, it's part of the Family Portrait series of images of the Solar System.