Hanging a dizzying 384,400 km (238, 606 miles) above us, the Moon has stood like a silent sentinel throughout our species' short existence. It has enticed some to visit and inspired others to look to the universe beyond. The Russian space agency Roscosmos recently released series of videos shot from the perspective of Earth, showing us what it would look like if other planets and stars took the place of our Moon and Sun.

In many ways the Moon has encouraged the most noble part of the human spirit, that which drives us to exploration and inspires us to push back the boundaries of human understanding. On the other hand, Roscosmos has taken a less philosophical view, recognizing that the moon is a massive rock in the sky that we've all just got a bit used to, and asks, what would it look like if it was something else?