Astronaut's view of a sleeping giant: Incredible image from International Space Station shows Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples

Italy's Mount Vesuvius as never seen before, with an new image from NASA, taken from space. The mouth of the active volcano can clearly be seen in the bottom portion of the image

NASA has released an incredible image, taken from the International Space Station, giving a new perspective on one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world - Mount Vesuvius in Italy.
The image was taken from the observatory module of the International Space Station (ISS) on New Year's Day.

The image shows just how close the active volvano is to the densely populated city of Naples.

Located 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) east of Naples, the core of the volvano can be seen in the photograph, and resembles a nipple.

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman city of Pompeii. 

That eruption spat out stones and ash over a 20 mile radius, killing an estimated 16,000 people.

Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby.

It has erupted many times and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. 

The picture was taken onboard The International Space Station on New Year's Day