Take off with Natarajan

While testing his new telescope a Romanian astrophotographer managed to capture clear images of the International Space Station passing in front of the moon, in broad daylight.

And the snap makes Nasa’s space station look remarkably like the iconic USS Enterprise from TV show Star Trek.

Maximilian Teodorescu was testing the range of his new 150mm f/12 Maksutov telescope near the town of Dumitrana in Romania earlier this month when he took the shot.

This shot of the International Space Station as it crosses in front of the moon was taken by Romanian astrophotographer Maximilian Teodorescu. It bears a striking resemblance to the USS Enterprise ship from TV show Star Trek

The Starship Enterprise was one of the ships that featured in the Star Trek franchise. In the show, this NX-01 model was the first NX-class starship and was launched by the United Earth Starfleet in 2151

Teodorescu took the images on 15 June at around 6.17pm in Romania.

He posted the photos to his blog. Translated from Romanian, it reads: ‘A new ‘First-light’ or rather ‘First-photo’.

‘This time it’s a new instrument, a 150mm F/12 Maksutov.’

‘And what better topic for a first test if not the moon?’

He then adds he was surprised to see the International Space Station in transit so clearly.

He explains that the equipment used to capture the picture was Skywatcher 150mm Mak (F = 1800mm), Canon 550D, ISO 800, 1/1250s.

The angle of the International Space Station (ISS) in Teodorescu’s images bear a striking resemblance to the USS Enterprise starship from the TV show Star Trek.

The ISS first launched into space in 1998 and since the arrival of Expedition 1 in November 2000 the station has been continuously occupied.