When orbiting hundreds of kilometres above the earth, familiar landscapes take on a haunting appearance.
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet has described the moment he captured New Zealand's Taranaki volcano from aboard the International Space Station, according to the Daily Mail.
![Mt Taranaki, which is well overdue to blow its top, looms large over New Zealand's Egmont National Park. Photo / ESA/NASA](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/JLKIB6I4A442REU3UOPMFCMTWE.jpg?auth=df74bc19059cdfcbc24ce79e93d2aa8b3958aba051b42300df70a96e329dff7c&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
The 2500-metre-high volcano, which looms large over Egmont National Park, appears small and otherworldly from the lofty heights.
"The Taranaki volcano in New Zealand is a perfect circle emerging from the green forest," the 38-year-old wrote to his 1.2 million Facebook followers.