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NASA releases pictures of Earth waving at Saturn

From more than 40 countries and 30 U.S. states, people around the world shared more than 1,400 images of themselves as part of the Wave at Saturn event organized by NASA's Cassini mission. That event on July 19, 2013, marked the day the Cassini spacecraft turned back toward Earth to take our picture as part of a larger mosaic of the Saturn system. NASA/JPL-Caltech

If you stepped outside and snapped a photo of yourself waving to space on July 19, you might be famous. NASA on Wednesday released a collage of photos of people around the world who greeted the Cassini spacecraft.

NASA encouraged people to submit photos of themselves waving at the spacecraft from Earth on the same day Cassini took dramatic photos of Earth through Saturn's rings. The space agency has compiled those photos in a collage the depicts the planet from space.

"While Earth is too small in the images Cassini obtained to distinguish any individual human beings, the mission has put together this collage so that we can celebrate all your waving hands, uplifted paws, smiling faces and artwork," Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement.

Over 1,400 photos were shared through social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. The collage features pictures from 40 countries.

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