Stunning photos capture Space Station passing moon

Talk about a perfect photo op. A lucky photographer recently snapped breath-taking images on the International Space Station cruising through the cosmos, according to information from NASA and Space.com .

NASA photographer Lauren Harnett captured images of the ISS moving across the moon on Jan. 4 from her post at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

For more photos, check out the online NASA gallery .

Harnett was able to take a series photos of the station in transit as it passed the face of the moon. She then combined the images into a composite picture, showing the path the ISS travels as it rotates.

"She had to struggle with a window of visibility limited by fog and clouds, and I think she got some excellent results," NASA spokesman Mike Gentry said, according to Space.com .

Think you need a special telescope to take similar images? According to a recent NASA news release, amateur photographers can snap pictures of the space station from their own backyards. Sightings times and information from NASA's SkyWatch website can help you determine when the space station will be in view.

Though Harnett used a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera with a 600mm lens, she asserts that even a point-and-shoot will work. According to NASA, Harnett set her camera's shutter speed to 1/1600 of a second, aperture at f/8 and ISO to 2500 to take these photos, but you may require different settings based on the light where you are.

NASA invites photographers to share their images on Facebook by tagging the International Space Station's page in their uploaded images or on Twitter by using hashtag #ISS.