IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT: The colors of Earth appear extra muted in newly launched photos due to a distinction in digital camera expertise and lighting in comparison with photos taken throughout the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. Viral claims that the muted colors had been attributable to local weather change have been debunked by NASA scientists.As the Artemis II spacecraft made its method across the moon, NASA launched new photos of Earth that left some social media customers grumbling about how the blue planet had aged in 54 years. Above video: This is the trail of Artemis II”The visible shifts in cloud patterns, ocean coloration and land degradation reflect rising global temperatures, biodiversity loss and environmental stress,” one consumer wrote, sharing side-by-side photos of the Artemis II photos and one taken throughout the Apollo 17 flight in 1972.NASA launched the juxtaposed Earth photos in its personal April 3 X publish, with the easy caption “1972 2026 Apollo 17 Artemis II.” The 1972 mission was the final time people set foot on the moon.The colors in the current photograph are noticeably extra muted — the blues extra grey, the whites much less crisp — than they appear in the 1972 picture.Other social media commenters provided explanations that turned out to be extra aligned with the information: The variations had been due to digital camera high quality and lighting, they mentioned.NASA spokesperson Lauren Low informed PolitiFact that one of many causes Earth seems duller is as a result of the new photograph was taken at night time, with solely moonlight lighting the planet. The 1972 photograph was taken in direct daylight. The two photos had been additionally processed in a different way, she mentioned. This story was initially printed on PolitiFact. Read it right here.NASA makes use of knowledge collected from house to measure indicators of local weather change, corresponding to land and ice protection. But the colour distinction in these photos “is not caused by climate change,” Low mentioned in an electronic mail. The 1972 photograph was taken with a movie digital camera and the 2026 photograph was made with a digital digital camera. Modern digital cameras are typically extra color-accurate and fewer stylized, making photos appear “less vivid straight out of camera,” mentioned Matt Kendall, an Alabama-based photographer. “Film — especially what was used during the Apollo missions — naturally boosts saturation and contrast, which makes images appear more vibrant right out of the camera,” Kendall mentioned. “It also has a different response to light, often emphasizing blues and warm tones in a way that feels more ‘punchy.’”
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT: The colors of Earth appear extra muted in newly launched photos due to a distinction in digital camera expertise and lighting in comparison with photos taken throughout the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. Viral claims that the muted colors had been attributable to local weather change have been debunked by NASA scientists.
As the Artemis II spacecraft made its method across the moon, NASA launched new photos of Earth that left some social media customers grumbling about how the blue planet had aged in 54 years.
Above video: This is the trail of Artemis II
“The visible shifts in cloud patterns, ocean coloration and land degradation reflect rising global temperatures, biodiversity loss and environmental stress,” one consumer wrote, sharing side-by-side photos of the Artemis II photos and one taken throughout the Apollo 17 flight in 1972.
NASA launched the juxtaposed Earth photos in its personal April 3 X post, with the easy caption “1972 2026 Apollo 17 Artemis II.” The 1972 mission was the final time people set foot on the moon.
The colors in the current photograph are noticeably extra muted — the blues extra grey, the whites much less crisp — than they appear in the 1972 picture.
Other social media commenters provided explanations that turned out to be extra aligned with the information: The variations had been due to camera quality and lighting, they mentioned.
NASA spokesperson Lauren Low informed PolitiFact that one of many causes Earth seems duller is as a result of the new photograph was taken at night time, with solely moonlight lighting the planet. The 1972 photograph was taken in direct daylight. The two photos had been additionally processed in a different way, she mentioned.
This story was initially printed on PolitiFact. Read it here.
NASA makes use of data collected from house to measure indicators of local weather change, corresponding to land and ice protection. But the colour distinction in these photos “is not caused by climate change,” Low mentioned in an electronic mail.
The 1972 photograph was taken with a movie digital camera and the 2026 photograph was made with a digital digital camera.
Modern digital cameras are typically extra color-accurate and fewer stylized, making photos appear “less vivid straight out of camera,” mentioned Matt Kendall, an Alabama-based photographer.
“Film — especially what was used during the Apollo missions — naturally boosts saturation and contrast, which makes images appear more vibrant right out of the camera,” Kendall mentioned. “It also has a different response to light, often emphasizing blues and warm tones in a way that feels more ‘punchy.’”
