The probe is first used to take pictures of the planet Earth. Later, the second picture of the alien planet is actually one of the shots of Earth used during the opening credits.
Contrary to what Commander Sraker (Ed Bishop) explains at the IAC (International Astrophysical Commision) about a so-called 'electron TELE-scope' - being able to not only take pictures of Earth from '5-hundred miles above, with extreme clarity, and therefore, being able to take 'high definition' images of the alien planet, by the very nature of electrons, it would be impossible.
Electrons can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light (photons), which makes them terrific in MICRO-scopes, where they have a higher resolving power than (standard, visible) light microscopes, and can reveal the structure of very small objects.
But, the very thing which makes them terrific at small distances, would make them utterly impractical at long distances (such as s a telescope), in general, and utterly useless at being able to resolve objects at distances measured in light-years.
Electrons can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light (photons), which makes them terrific in MICRO-scopes, where they have a higher resolving power than (standard, visible) light microscopes, and can reveal the structure of very small objects.
But, the very thing which makes them terrific at small distances, would make them utterly impractical at long distances (such as s a telescope), in general, and utterly useless at being able to resolve objects at distances measured in light-years.
The International Astrophysical Commission is repeatedly referred to erroneously as the Astro Space Commission.