Footage shows Neil Armstrong beautifully describe what the Earth looked like from the moon

"Pale Blue Dot," "Blue Marble," and "Island in the Cosmos" are just a few of the poetic phrases used to describe Earth from space. But one iconic figure, whose name is etched in the history of space travel, revealed that words alone can't capture the planet's beauty. It was none other than Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, who shared his awe of Earth in vintage footage shared by @historyinmemes on X.

The clip, from a rare 1970 interview with Armstrong by the BBC, shows the American astronaut revealing what he saw during his voyage to the moon. When the host of the show "The Sky at Night," Sir Patrick Moore, asked the then 39-year-old aeronautical engineer about his experience, the latter’s response was priceless. Armstrong began by talking about the sky, “It is deep black when viewed from the Moon, as it is when viewed from cislunar space, the area between the Earth and the Moon.”

“The Earth is the only visible object, other than the Sun, that can be seen, although there have been some reports of planets being visible,” Armstrong continued. Following this, the interviewer pressed him further, and the Apollo mission’s astronomer revealed that he did not see any other planets. However, Armstrong suspected them to be visible, just like Earth.

“I myself did not see planets from the surface, but I suspect they might be visible. The Earth is quite beautiful from space, and from the Moon, it looks small and remote,” shared the world’s most celebrated space expert, one year after completing the lunar journey. Armstrong added, “It (Earth) is very blue and covered with white lace from the clouds.” The astronaut further shared that he saw continents hundreds of thousands of miles away from the sky.

Emphasizing the details of his expedition, the former NASA engineer remarked, “The continents are clearly seen, although they have very little color from that distance.” Upon hearing this, the British anchor raised an inquisitive question about the Sun, "Do we see any trace of the corona?" to which Armstrong replied that, despite the extreme glare from the Sun, they did manage to have a peek at it.

“The only time we could see the corona was during a solar eclipse from the Moon; that is when we were flying through the Moon's shadow and could observe the solar atmosphere,” observed Armstrong. The video excerpt of the late astronomer’s interview has gone viral on the microblogging platform, with scrollers reliving the memories. The entire 30-minute conversation also has him talking about the challenges of space travel and his thoughts on the future of space exploration.

The incredible footage has garnered 5.7 million views since being posted. @zaqrider commented, “Neil Armstrong described it amazingly. So fascinating!” Adding to it, @Ryan_Turner_01 wrote, “Amazing! Astronomy is a grand venture.” “It's a surreal feeling to be on the Moon. I wish I could witness it in my lifetime,” @Meme_Merchant said. After landing on the Moon, Armstrong reportedly famously expressed, “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” which later turned out to be revolutionary for space exploration.