Moon Pictured Alongside International Space Station In Stunning Picture By Laura Harnett (PICTURES)

Our Two Moons, Side-By-Side In Space

Photographer Lauren Harnett has taken an astonishing picture of the International Space Station side-by-side with the Moon.

In reality the two orbiting bodies - one man-made, the other natural - are not next to each other but thousands of miles apart. The Moon orbits Earth at roughly 250,000 miles, while the ISS is just 250 miles away.

But seen from Earth they are companions as they continue their journey around the Earth.

The stunning picture was taken at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre on 4 January 2012.

It was pointed out to us by Slate, who in turn issued a tip-of-the-hat to astronaut Ron Garan on Twitter.

The ISS was at a 30-degree angle from the zenith at the time of the picture, meaning it was 290 miles away from her when she took the photograph.

In the pic it's about 36t times smaller than the Moon, but clearly visible - and a humbling reminder that we are at the very beginning of our adventures in space.

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