NASA’s MESSENGER is their mission to study the surface of Mercury. However back in 2005 as it hurtled away from good old planet Earth, it took a series of photographs. Intrepid researchers have since then stitched those photographs together to make a rather pretty farewell video.
Comprising 358 frames taken over 24 hours, the movie follows Earth through one complete rotation. The spacecraft was 40,761 miles (65,598 kilometers) above South America when the camera started rolling on Aug. 2. It was 270,847 miles (435,885 kilometers) away from Earth – farther than the Moon’s orbit – when it snapped the last image on Aug. 3.
