# Earthset

> **TL;DR.** Earthset is the moment Earth slips behind the Moon's lunar limb as seen from a spacecraft — the mirror image of the 1968 Apollo 8 [Earthrise](https://en.

- **Category:** Science / Space / Consumer Tech
- **Stage:** validating
- **Age:** 71 days
- **Origin date:** 2026-04-06
- **First detected:** 2026-04-21
- **Canonical URL:** https://earlyterms.com/term/earthset
- **Sources:** 8 primary URLs

## Definition

Earthset is the moment Earth slips behind the Moon's lunar limb as seen from a spacecraft — the mirror image of the 1968 Apollo 8 [Earthrise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthrise). The word names both the event and the photograph / video of it, and entered mainstream usage with NASA's [Artemis II](https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/earthset/) flyby in April 2026.

Commander Reid Wiseman filmed the first Earthset ever captured on a phone on April 6, 2026 from Orion's docking-hatch window, roughly 252,000 miles from Earth, using an [iPhone 17 Pro Max at 8x zoom](https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/20/astronauts-astounding-iphone-17-pro-max-video-shows-earthset-from-space/). NASA released stills on April 7; the uncut video went viral on April 20 after Wiseman posted it to X.

## Example

In Wiseman's clip, a partially sunlit Earth with visible cloud systems drifts slowly to the right until the Moon's cratered edge eats the last sliver of the planet. No music, no edit, autofocus visibly hunting — a plain phone capture from 252,000 miles out that former astronaut Chris Hadfield called "coolest video ever taken with an iPhone."

## Analogy

Like watching sunset at the beach, except the horizon is the Moon and the sun that sets is your home planet.

## Why it's emerging now

NASA's Artemis II crew photographed Earth setting behind the Moon on April 6, 2026 — the first time the phenomenon has been given a name and captured on video. Commander Reid Wiseman's uncut iPhone 17 Pro Max clip, released April 20, collapsed the boundary between space-agency imagery and consumer photography.

## Related terms

- *parent:* earthrise
- *related:* Artemis II
- *related:* Orion spacecraft
- *related:* Reid Wiseman
- *related:* lunar limb
- *related:* Apollo 8
- *related:* Blue Marble
- *related:* Pale Blue Dot
- *related:* Shot on iPhone
- *related:* iPhone 17 Pro Max

## Sources

1. [NASA — Earthset image article](https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/earthset/)
2. [Wikipedia — Earthset](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthset)
3. [The New York Times — 'Earthset' Is Captured on Video for First Time](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/science/reid-wiseman-earthset-photo-artemis-2.html)
4. [Scientific American — Artemis II Earthrise and Earthset](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/in-an-echo-of-apollo-8-nasas-artemis-ii-astronauts-witness-stunning/)
5. [9to5Mac — iPhone 17 Pro Max Earthset video](https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/20/astronauts-astounding-iphone-17-pro-max-video-shows-earthset-from-space/)
6. [National Geographic — Artemis II's jaw-dropping Earthset](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/artemis-ii-new-earthrise-earthset-eclipse)
7. [The Conversation — Earthset vs Earthrise](https://theconversation.com/how-artemis-iis-earthset-photo-compares-with-the-iconic-earthrise-image-from-1968-279966)
8. [Reid Wiseman's original post](https://twitter.com/astro_reid/status/2046009031613907029)

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