Which Apollo 8 astronaut took the famous Earthrise photograph from lunar orbit?

William Anders took the famous Earthrise photograph during Apollo 8’s mission around the Moon.

Anders served as the lunar-module pilot on Apollo 8, alongside commander Frank Borman and command-module pilot James Lovell. On 24 December 1968, the crew saw Earth rising above the lunar horizon while orbiting the Moon.

The image showed a blue-and-white Earth suspended above the barren lunar surface. It became one of the most influential photographs of the Space Age, helping many viewers understand Earth as a small, shared world.

The phrase “Earthrise” can cause confusion because the Moon was tidally locked to Earth, so Earth did not rise and set for a stationary observer on the lunar surface in the same way the Moon does in Earth’s sky. Apollo 8’s moving spacecraft made the photographed horizon event possible.