4.1.7 - Day 7: December 27, 1968

Day 7 sees a return to magazine 16 for our image sources, as no other magazines contain images after 21:00 on the 26th.  The first one under consideration is AS08-16-2619, shown below in figure 4.1.7.1, and analysed in figure 4.1.7.2.

Figure 4.1.7.1: AS08-16-2619. High quality source here: AFJ

Figure 4.1.7.2: ESSA-7 (top eft) and ATS-1 (left) images compared with AS08-16-2619 and SkySafari time estimate. Left: Digital 3D reconstruction using recovered ESSA data from the NSIDC superimposed on an Earth map in Blender3D.

The Earth has rotated around to hide all but the very tip of south America in darkness, bringing the large swirl of cloud (red arrow) visible in the previous image towards the terminator. This same swirl of cloud is actually referred to in the mission transcript during a TV broadcast, when at 20:53 GMT the crew describe:

128:02:38 Lovell: At the tip of South America, there is a great swirl of clouds down there. It looks like a great storm…And then up to the left hand side, or towards the north, we can see the light waters around the West Indies, and we can actually see Florida. I'm looking through Bill's monocular, and I can see the various land masses, South America and the central part and southern part of the United States.

which matches well with the suggested time for the previous image of around 21:00.

Other features visible on the previous image include the feature identified by the yellow arrow, where two streams appear to cross. This can also be seen in figure 4.1.6.17, where the curl of cloud is also visible, but there is less cloud between the main bands in that image.

SkySafari suggests a time for AS08-16-2619 as midnight on the 27th, and the remaining images on the magazine are a regular marking of the mission's progress towards re-entry at 15:27 GMT on that date.  ESSA's terminator orbit is number 1658 (track 4), which was commenced at 21:04, while ATS' image was taken at 00:45 on the 27th.

A short while later we have AS08-16-2626, which can be seen in figure 4.1.7.3 below, and analysed  in figure 4.1.7.4. There are relatively few differences between this image and AS08-16-2619, but it does at least bring those weather patterns visible in ATS-1 more clearly to the fore.

Figure 4.1.7.3: AS08-16-2626. High quality source here: AFJ

Figure 4.1.7.4: ESSA-7 (top left) and ATS-1 (left) images compared with AS08-16-2626 and SkySafari time estimate. Left: Digital 3D reconstruction using recovered ESSA data from the NSIDC superimposed on an Earth map in Blender3D.

The blue, yellow and green arrows point to the same weather systems as they do in figure 4.1.7.2, although for the latter two most of the weather system they are part of are now beyond the terminator.

ATS-1's time, as before is 00:45, while ESSA's nearest terminator orbit was started at 23:09 (track 5, orbit 1659), which compares well with SkySafari's estimate of 02:00.

The next images showing different views of Earth (AS08-16-2632 & 2634) show only a small change, and there is little to be gained from analysing them. For the sake of completeness they are shown below in figure 4.1.7.5, together with the zoomed and cropped Earths from them.

Figure 4.1.7.5: AS08-16-2632 original and zoomed (far left and left, high quality source here:  AFJ) and AS08-26-2634 original and zoomed (right and far right, high quality source here:  AFJ). Suggested times shown by SkySafari.

The slow emergence of Australia suggests roughly half hour intervals between the photographs.

The next image to be examined in detail is AS08-16-2637, shown below in figure 4.1.7.6, and analysed in figure 4.1.7.7.

Figure 4.1.7.7: ESSA-7 image compared with AS08-16-2637 and SkySafari time estimate. Left: Digital 3D reconstruction using recovered ESSA data from the NSIDC superimposed on an Earth map in Blender3D.

Figure 4.1.7.6: AS08-16-2637. High quality source here: AFJ

SkySafari estimates the terminator (based on the position of Australia) at 04:00 on the 27th, and the blue, yellow, red and purple arrows point to weather systems visible on the other images of the Pacific shown previously. The blue arrow in particular points to a swirl of cloud that can be seen progressing from west to east in figure 4.156. On the opposite horizon, the magenta and green arrows identify weather patterns that have been a common feature over Australia, but will be discussed in more details when the continent is more squarely in the frame.

ESSA's orbit is somewhere between track 6 and 7 for the terminator line, which is around 01:02 for the earlier of the two (orbit 1660).

The next two sets of images (represented by AS08-16-2647 & 2650) show Australia gradually progressing westwards, and these are shown in figure 4.1.7.8 to illustrate their connection with the final image that will be analysed, where Australia occupies the same position as other images throughout the mission. AS08-16-2658 is shown in figure 4.1.7.9, and analysed in figure 4.1.7.10.

Figure 4.1.7.8: AS08-16-2647  original and zoomed (far left and left, high quality source here: AFJ) and AS08-26-2650 original and zoomed (right and far right, high quality source here:  AFJ)

Figure 4.1.7.9: AS08-16-2658. High quality source here: AFJ

Figure 4.1.7.10: ESSA-7 image compared with AS08-16-2658 and SkySafari time estimate. Left: Digital 3D reconstruction using recovered ESSA data from the NSIDC superimposed on an Earth map in Blender3D.

For what is probably the final photograph taken on the mission, we have the return of a familiar view, and a continuing evolution of the weather systems around Australia. The elongated curl of cloud that was west of Australia has continued its eastward progression from South Africa and now lies mostly to the south of the continent (blue arrow). The plume of cloud (cyan arrow) has also moved eastward, and what was two separate plumes is now much more consolidated.

The long, broad band of cloud above Australia (yellow arrow) still extends over the equator and still curls round to the east coast, but has now joined with a small area of cloud that was over the Melbourne area. In short, all of the images of Australia show a consistent development of weather patterns over time, and in order to assist in the reader's recollection, this development is shown below in figure 4.1.7.11. This development is, as usual, matched by the satellite record.

Figure 4.1.7.11: AS08-15-2535 (left) AS08-15-2554 (centre left) AS08-15-2562 (centre right) and AS08-16-2658 (right) zoomed and cropped to Australia.

One final note about this set of photographs is that the system identified by the purple arrow is very likely to be Tropical Cyclone Bettina (see figure 4.1.7.12). Another nascent cyclone (Cheri), is concealed in the mass of cloud north of Australia

To complete this section covering still images, ESSA's orbit covering the Australia terminator is track 8, orbit number 1662, which was commenced at 05:05. This compared with SkySafari's estimate of the time for the image of around 08:00.

Start to finish for Apollo 8, with not a single image contradicting the satellite record. Let’s see how they compare with the meteorological synopses of the day.

Figure 4.1.7.12: Location of Tropical Cyclone Bettina (Source).