ralpha-assets/benchmark/references/space/blue-marble/metadata.md

Blue Marble — Earth from Apollo 17

Scene Characterisation

Property	Value
Environment	Space
Domain	SPACE
Setting	Low Earth orbit, ~29,400 km altitude
Time of Day	N/A (sunlit hemisphere)
Weather	Cloud systems visible (Antarctic ice cap, cyclone patterns)
Mood	Awe, overview effect, fragility

Key Elements

1. Earth — full disk, sunlit, Africa and Arabian Peninsula facing camera
2. Cloud systems — swirling cyclones, Antarctic ice sheet, equatorial clouds
3. Oceans — deep blue, Indian Ocean dominant
4. Continents — Africa (Sahara tan, sub-Saharan green), Madagascar, Arabian Peninsula
5. Antarctica — bright white ice cap at bottom
6. Black space — pure black background, no stars (exposure for sunlit Earth)
7. Atmospheric limb — thin blue haze at Earth's edge

Brain Config

python -m brain \
    --reference benchmark/references/space/blue-marble/nasa-apollo17-blue-marble.png \
    --domain SPACE \
    --llm claude --tier opus \
    --max-iterations 20

What Success Looks Like

• Full Earth disk against black background
• Correct continent shapes and colours (Africa centred)
• Realistic cloud patterns with depth
• Thin atmospheric haze at limb
• Correct blue ocean colour gradient

Licensing

• Category: public-domain
• License: Public Domain (US Government work)
• Attribution: NASA/Apollo 17 crew (Harrison Schmitt or Ron Evans), December 7, 1972
• Attribution Required: No (public domain), but credit NASA by convention
• Source: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_329.html
• Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20160112123725/http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001138.html
• Original Filename: GPN-2000-001138 / File:The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg
• Location: 26°19'49"S, 37°25'13"E (camera position)
• Notes: One of the most reproduced photographs in history. South Pole originally at top; this is the widely-distributed rotated version.