You're Invited To Pose For Space Photo At Fernbank Science Center

Sure, you have dozens of iPhone photos of yourself. But you probably don't have a picture like this. Go to Fernbank Science Center at 156 Heaton Park Drive on Friday afternoon. This invitation was issued by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Solar System.

Earth is having her portrait taken for the third time in history and you can be a part of it.

On Friday, July 19th, the Cassini spacecraft – currently orbiting Saturn – will turn her lenses toward our planet for a 'portrait'. To commemorate the occasion, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Solar System Ambassador Ginny Mauldin-Kinney have organized an event with Fernbank Science Center's director, Douglas Hrabe.

Starting at around 5:30 p.m. NASA will take a picture of Earth – and all of you – from about 898 million miles (1.44 billion kilometers) away. The Earth will appear to be just a pixel.

Opportunities to image Earth from the outer solar system are few and far between. There have been only two images of Earth from the outer solar system in all the time humankind has been venturing out into space.

The first and most distant image was taken 23 years ago by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft from 4 billion miles (6 billion kilometers away), showing Earth as a pale blue dot. The other opportunity was Cassini's image in 2006 from 926 million miles (1.49 billion kilometers).

North America and part of the Atlantic Ocean are expected to be illuminated when NASA's Cassini spacecraft takes a snapshot of Earth.

Cassini's July image is a special opportunity for Earthlings to wave at the photographer in the Saturn system and learn more about the planet, its rings and moons.

The Cassini portrait session of Earth will last about 15 minutes from 5:27 to 5:42 p.m. EDT. The public is encouraged to join NASA – JPL and Fernbank Science Center in this historic occasion. Please plan on arriving to the science center at 5:00 p.m.