Last week marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most well known photographs ever taken: Earthrise.

It was taken by the crew of Apollo 8, and wasn’t even planned for. When Apollo 8 emerged from the dark side of the moon, the crew just happened to look outside the window of the spacecraft. Scrambling for their cameras, they managed to snap a picture that changed how we see ourselves.

For me, that picture has always represented our place in the universe — not one of importance, but on a small, fragile planet in a vast cosmos. It’s part of the reason why I’m so interested in space and its exploration.

Fittingly, on New Year’s Day, New Horizions will visit the most distant object humanity has ever visited, while Voyager 2 could be nearing interstellar space.

Closer to earth, thanks to ESA’s Mars Express data, scientists created a picture of the snow-filled Korolev crater.

Looking Back

It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for retrospectives. Vox’s 2018, in 5 minutes gives you a quick overview, while The Verge reviews 2018 in photographs. And Ars Technica reviews their favorite (and least favorite) tech in 2018.

Desk Marathons

One of life’s great mysteries is how you can sit at a desk all day, and still feel exhausted at the end of it, without having lifted anything heavier than your coffee mug. The reason is definitely not physical, but psychological. But Psychologists are unsure what exactly is so damn exhausting about it.

📖 Weekly Longreads 📚

Amazon had a turbulent year: It went from a well liked company to one where the reality of its business started to sink in. Part of the reason is that it’s hard to escape Amazon’s long reach, due to it having inserted itself into anything we humans buy or use every day, resulting in a flourishing black market of Amazon hacks, seller extortions, and customer data

🦄 Unicorn Chaser 🦄

Relive the moment when Earthrise was taken: A Video Reconstruction