In many genres of photography, it's often advisable to get as close as possible to the object you are hoping to capture. Sometimes, this is however difficult to achieve. Especially if you are orbiting earth in a space station.

This did however not discourage an astronaut on board the International Space Station (ISS). Along for the ride, he had his trusty Nikon D4 camera with an 1150 millimeter lens. As they were passing the islands of Bahamas, he decided to take some snapshots.

The photos themselves are beautiful, but without knowing it he did however also capture something else in the photo. Can you see it?

©NASA

Alright, we'll take a closer look.

©NASA

When zoomed in, you can actually see a small aircraft against the blue water. The astronaut didn't use a tripod, but thanks to his steady hands, you can even see the condensation trails behind the aircraft. The distance to the plane from where the photo was taken is 250 miles (400 km). Photos like these, that depicts human activity on earth, have previously only been taken by advanced satelite cameras.