宇航员杰夫·威廉姆斯在国际空间站拍摄到的地球 Earth from the International Space Station, photographed by astronaut Jeff Williams (© Jeff Williams/NASA)

宇航员杰夫·威廉姆斯在国际空间站拍摄到的地球 Earth from the International Space Station, photographed by astronaut Jeff Williams (© Jeff Williams/NASA)

In orbit for Yuri's Night

Sixty years ago today at around 9 AM Moscow time, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to get a view of Earth from space (like this one captured from the ISS by astronaut Jeff Williams). With the famous utterance 'Poyekhali!' ('Off we go!'), Gagarin launched into low Earth orbit in his Vostok 3KA spacecraft, making history in less than two hours with a complete trip around the planet. Landing in rural Russia, he became an instant worldwide celebrity—that is, after convincing puzzled locals he was a comrade and not a space alien.

Of course, with elation came deflation: Gagarin's flight dashed NASA's hopes of making an American the first person in space. But the Soviets' success kicked the Space Race into high gear, setting the stage for a spate of US spaceflights and eventually that first trip to the moon. Now that competition in spaceflight is less bitter, 'Yuri's Night' is observed today by astronomy lovers of all nationalities, celebrating how space exploration can unite the world. It's even a double holiday now: The first US Space Shuttle mission coincidentally launched on Yuri's Night in 1981.

在尤里之夜的轨道上

60年前的今天，莫斯科时间上午9点左右，尤里·加加林成为第一个从太空看到地球的人（就像宇航员杰夫·威廉姆斯从国际空间站拍到的这张照片）。用著名的“Poyekhali！”（‘出发！’）年，加加林乘坐他的vostok3ka飞船进入近地轨道，在不到两个小时的时间内完成了绕地球的完整旅行，创造了历史。在俄罗斯农村登陆后，他立刻成为了世界名人，也就是说，在说服困惑的当地人他是同志而不是外星人之后。

当然，随之而来的是通货紧缩：加加林的飞行粉碎了美国宇航局让美国人成为太空第一人的希望。但苏联的成功将太空竞赛推向了高潮，为美国的一系列太空飞行以及最终的首次月球之旅奠定了基础。如今，航天领域的竞争已不那么激烈，各族天文爱好者今天都在庆祝太空探索如何团结世界。现在甚至已经是双休日了：1981年尤里之夜，美国第一次航天飞机任务巧合地发射升空。