A tiny speck called Earth, as seen from Saturn

The shot from NASA's Cassini spacecraft is a humble reminder of our place in the universe

Saturn

(Image via: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

That we're even looking at this image is quite fortuitous: Photos typically taken from that distance and direction are usually obscured by the sun, which, luckily, is hidden behind Saturn. And while we've grown accustomed to images of Earth taken from space, swirling with white clouds over deep blue oceans, Cassini's distant portrait of home is a humbling reminder that we live in a great big universe — and that we're all really, really puny.

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.