17 Jaw-Dropping Photos of Space That Show Us Just How Small We Really Are

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It's a big universe out there, and we're just some little critters scurrying around on a rock as it hurtles through space — the only thing that stands between us and the infinite realms of outer space is a delicate bubble of atmosphere. Fun! Here are some photos of space that really capture that stomach-swooping feeling of tininess.

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This photo of the moon and Earth taken from the International Space Station.

A dwarf galaxy, about 11 million light-years away from us.

Earth as seen from the moon in 1968.

A cluster of stars, 20,000 light-years away from Earth.

The first flower grown in the International Space Station, photographed by astronaut Scott Kelly.

Saturn, seen through an infared filter.

These visible "loops" on the surface of the sun can reach up to 15 times the diameter of Earth in height.

The Northen Lights just North of Chicago, viewed from the International Space Station.

The Quintuplet Cluster, located 100 light-years from the center of our galaxy.

Pluto and one of its moons, Charon.

The Great Pyramids of Giza, seen from space.

Astronaut Bruce McCandless maneuvering, untethered, above Earth in 1984.

Galaxy NGC 6240, 400 million light-years away from Earth.

Palomar 12, a cluster of stars on the outskirts of the Milky Way.

The remnants of an exploded star.

New York City, seen from the International Space Station.

The remains of a supernova whose explosion may have been seen almost 2,000 years ago by Chinese astronomers.