The Day the Earth Smiled

During an eclipse of the Sun, the spacecraft turned to image Saturn and most of its visible ring system, as well as Earth and the Moon as distant pale dots.

[1] Conceived by the planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, the imaging team leader for Cassini, the concept called for the people of the world to reflect on their place in the universe, to marvel at life on Earth, and, at the time the pictures were taken, to look up and smile in celebration.

[2][3] The final mosaic captured on July 19, processed at the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS), was released to the public on November 12, 2013.

[6] NASA revealed that this imaging marked the first time four planets – Saturn, Earth, Mars, and Venus – had been captured at once in visible light by the Cassini craft.

[3] NASA's official release of the final The Day the Earth Smiled mosaic on November 12, 2013, was met with much fanfare in news media outlets around the world.

The fully processed composite photograph of Saturn taken by Cassini on July 19, 2013
Earth can be seen as a blue dot underneath the rings of Saturn.
The photomosaic from NASA's "Wave at Saturn" campaign. The collage includes some 1,600 photos taken by members of the public on The Day the Earth Smiled.