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How Astronauts Took the Most Important Photo In Space History
The Bad Astronomer writes "On December 24, 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts saw the Earth rising over the limb of the Moon. The photo they took of this moment — dubbed Earthrise — has become an icon of our need to explore, and to protect our home world. NASA has just released a video explaining how the astronauts were able to capture this unique moment, which included a dash of both coincidence and fast teamwork."
It's the same reason no stars. The camera exposure is set for daylight ( the moon surface in the foreground) the day side of the earth. The pictures of night earth including artificial lights require longer exposures.
Atlas stands on the earth and carries the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
In the video, there wasn't actually a disagreement about taking the picture. It's clear from Borman's tone that he was kidding with Anders about whether or not that photo was scheduled, and Anders responds with a chuckle and keeps taking the pictures.
It's also worth pointing out that this was at the height of the space race. They didn't really need any more PR at that point. They just needed to win.
Also, as I understand it, the reason they missed it previously (and on subsequent orbits) was because the capsule was simply oriented in the wrong direction. It was only because they were in the middle of the roll maneuver that the windows turned for awhile in a direction that allowed them to capture the shot. Prior to and after the maneuver they were not oriented in such a way that they could capture the shot.