People can't believe what they're seeing after real distance between Earth and Moon is laid bare

A photo capturing the true scale of the distance between the Earth and the Moon has blown people's minds.

A viral Reddit post has reminded us once again just how tiny and ultimately insignificant our lives are. And if you're prone to existentialism, maybe take a deep breath before scrolling any further...

We know, of course, that space is vast - but a particular photo captured by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft really puts it into perspective.

On September 8 2016, the US space agency launched the spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The distance between our planet and the Moon is astonishing (NASA/NASA/AFP via Getty Images)

And a little more than a year later, on September 25 2017, it captured an eerie photo which is has people astonished.

The spacecraft's NavCam 1 - one of three cameras that comprised its 'Touch-and-Go' camera system - snapped the photo 804,000 miles (1,297,000 kilometers) from Earth and 735,000 miles (1,185,000 kilometers) from the Moon.

OSIRIS-REx captured this image not just to impress us, but as a way to test its cameras and navigation systems on its way to the asteroid Bennu.

Yep, this spacecraft had bigger plans - like scooping up a piece of an asteroid and sending it back to Earth - which it did, successfully, in 2023.

Anyway, along the way, it gave us this mind-boggling photo, showing the Earth and the Moon some 249,000 miles (401,200 kilometers) apart.

Feeling small yet? (NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

And while you might think you could visualize that distance, in reality, it's probably a lot further away than you were expecting.

One social media user re-posted the photo to Reddit's four million-strong SpacePorn community, where it's racked up 8,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments.

"The actual Earth-Moon distance seen by OSIRIS-REx probe," they wrote.

"That is insanely cool," one Redditor commented, as a second pondered: "How small Earth is compared to everything else in space... truly makes you wonder how insignificant it all is but how miraculous it all is too."

NASA says the seven other major planets can 'just about' fit between the distance between Earth and the Moon (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

A third agreed: "This made me feel so insignificant in the best way possible."

A fourth added: "I already knew my irrational fear of the moon crashing into the Earth was well… irrational, but now I just feel ridiculous."

Others shared their amazement that the rest of the solar system could fit into the distance.

And they're right - NASA explained that the seven other planets of the solar system - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - could 'just about' bridge the gap.

The more you know!