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Lot 156
[Apollo 8] HUMANITY ENTERS DEEP SPACE FOR THE FIRST TIME: Earth-based telescope view of the Saturn V leaving Earth orbit for the Moon Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 21-27 December 1968
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €435.20 inc. premium
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[Apollo 8] HUMANITY ENTERS DEEP SPACE FOR THE FIRST TIME: Earth-based telescope view of the Saturn V leaving Earth orbit for the Moon
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 21-27 December 1968
Printed 1968.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper.
With AVIATION WEEK magazine archival reference "# 4" in red pencil on the reverse (issued by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Hawaii).
25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.)
Historical context
This exceptionally rare photograph, originally published in Aviation Week magazine, captures Apollo 8 leaving Earth with astronauts James Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders on board. The image was taken through the telescope of the Smithsonian Observing Station in Maui, Hawaii, during the S-IVB stage burn for translunar injection—the critical manoeuvre that propelled humanity toward the Moon for the first time.
"The moment of humankind's first voyage to the Moon and back was captured in a series of photos taken at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observing Station in Maui, Hawaii. They show the trans-lunar injection rocket burn which sent Apollo 8 hurtling out of Earth orbit toward the Moon on December 21, 1968–perhaps the only such images that exist."
David Le Conte, Royal Astronomical Society Fellow
Printed 1968.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper.
With AVIATION WEEK magazine archival reference "# 4" in red pencil on the reverse (issued by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Hawaii).
25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.)
Historical context
This exceptionally rare photograph, originally published in Aviation Week magazine, captures Apollo 8 leaving Earth with astronauts James Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders on board. The image was taken through the telescope of the Smithsonian Observing Station in Maui, Hawaii, during the S-IVB stage burn for translunar injection—the critical manoeuvre that propelled humanity toward the Moon for the first time.
"The moment of humankind's first voyage to the Moon and back was captured in a series of photos taken at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observing Station in Maui, Hawaii. They show the trans-lunar injection rocket burn which sent Apollo 8 hurtling out of Earth orbit toward the Moon on December 21, 1968–perhaps the only such images that exist."
David Le Conte, Royal Astronomical Society Fellow
Footnotes
Literature
TIME, 10 January 1969, p. 40 (variant)
National Geographic, May 1969, p. 611 (variant)
LIFE, 10 January 1969, p. 23 (variant)
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 8's Orbit Toward the Moon
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