The first manned spacecraft leaving Planet Earth: "Firefly phenomenon" around the expended S-IVB rocket stage jettisoned in deep space, 21-27 December 1968

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based paper, printed 1968,(NASA AS8-16-2583), with "Tucker" collection credit stamp and "A KODAK PAPER" watermark on verso, (NASA/North American Rockwell), 20,3 x 25,4 cm

The expended third stage of the giant Saturn V rocket, which allowed the Apollo 8 crew to escape Earth’s gravity for the first time in human history, is seen against the black sky of deep translunar space. Sunlight reflected from small particles ejected following separation of the craft shows the stunning “firefly” phenomenon which was first reported by astronaut John Glenn.

This photograph was taken soon after translunar injection, separation and jettison of the empty S-IVB by James Lovell after the Command Module revolved to examine the S-IVB.
Attached to the SIVB is the Lunar Module Test Article (LTA) which simulated the mass of a Lunar Module (LM) on the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. The 29-feet panels of the Spacecraft LM Adapter (SLA) which enclosed the LTA during launch have already been jettisoned and are out of view.

Literature:
National Geographic, May 1969, p. 610.