pale blue dot
Our world, faraway
Pale blue dot refers to Earth as seen from a great distance in space—specifically, the famous 1990 photograph taken by Voyager 1 from nearly 4 billion miles away, in which Earth appears as a tiny speck against the vastness of space.
The phrase, popularized by astronomer Carl Sagan, evokes human insignificance and the fragility of our planet: Everyone you've ever known lived on that pale blue dot.
Vehicle for outer space
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- Voyager 1Interstellar NASA spacecraft
- interstellarBetween celestial bodies
- space probeRobotic interplanetary research vessel
Carl Sagan · 1990 · photograph · mission · exploration · Saturn · image · portrait
Open to attack
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- preciousHighly esteemed, greatly valued
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- tenuousLacking solid foundation
precarious · transient · fleeting · perishable · finite · mortal · endangered · threatened
People as a whole
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- biosphereAll life on Earth
- atmosphereGaseous layer around planets
- oceansVast saltwater bodies
continents · ecosystems · climate · cultures · nations · society · flora · fauna
Freedom from arrogance
- insignificanceLack of consequence or weight
- speckMinute visible particle
- moteTiny airborne particle
- pixelSmallest display unit
grain · minuscule · infinitesimal · tiny · small · diminutive · microscopic · pinpoint
Complete system or domain
- galaxyGravitationally bound stellar mass
- cosmosOrderly totality of existence
- spaceUnoccupied area or interval
- astronomyScience of celestial objects
celestial · interstellar · vastness · starfield · cosmology · astrophysics · nebula · dark matter
spacecraft
Vehicle for outer space
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- Voyager 1Interstellar NASA spacecraft
- interstellarBetween celestial bodies
Carl Sagan · space probe · 1990 · photograph · mission · exploration · Saturn · image · portrait · legacy
vulnerable
Open to attack
tenuous · precarious · transient · fleeting · perishable · finite · mortal · endangered · threatened · irreplaceable
humanity
People as a whole
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- biosphereAll life on Earth
- atmosphereGaseous layer around planets
oceans · continents · ecosystems · climate · cultures · nations · society · flora · fauna · geography
humility
Freedom from arrogance
- insignificanceLack of consequence or weight
- speckMinute visible particle
- moteTiny airborne particle
pixel · grain · minuscule · infinitesimal · tiny · small · diminutive · microscopic · pinpoint · remote
universe
Complete system or domain
- galaxyGravitationally bound stellar mass
- cosmosOrderly totality of existence
- spaceUnoccupied area or interval
astronomy · celestial · interstellar · vastness · starfield · cosmology · astrophysics · nebula · dark matter · space-time
- Earth namesterra, home planet, third rock
- famous quoteseureka, one small step, e equals mc squared, knowledge is power, survival of the fittest
- iconsapp icon, home icon, settings icon, search icon, share icon
- Voyager MissionVoyager 1, Voyager 2, Grand Tour, interstellar space, heliopause
- Voyager-relatedVoyager 1, Voyager 2, interstellar space, Janeway, Seven of Nine
pale blue dotclose-up
Near-range photograph
Earthrise · street view · satellite imagery · zoomed in · macro photography
pale blue dotcrown of creation
anthropocentrism · geocentrism · human exceptionalism · divine purpose · manifest destiny
pale, paler, palest, palely, paleness, blue, bluer, bluest, blues