Top 18 most stunning photos taken from space in 2018
As 2018 comes to an end, Earth will soon complete the 940 million kilometres of its annual orbit around the Sun. Here are 18 stunning images taken in space in 2018.
The great journey
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst recorded the launch of the Soyuz MS-11 with Expedition 58 crewmembers on board, including Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. (Credit: ESA/A. Gerst)
The aurora hunter
On April 9, NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold took this breathtaking photo of Earth while a green aurora was covering a large part of the southern hemisphere. (Credit: NASA)
An explosion of colours
A great picture of the Lagoon Nebula was published for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's 28th anniversary. Located between 4,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth, the nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. (Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI)
The International Space Station in all its glory
After spending 197 days in space, Expedition 56 crewmembers, NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Ricky Arnold and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, executed a flyaround of the International Space Station (ISS) to take pictures before returning to Earth. (Credit: NASA/Roscosmos)
Beautiful airglow over Australia
On October 7, an astronaut aboard the ISS shot this photograph over Australia. The orange hue enveloping Earth is known as an airglow, which is light produced by photochemical processes in the upper atmosphere. The phenomenon typically occurs when molecules (mostly nitrogen and oxygen) are energized by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. (Credit: NASA)
Jupiter's cloudscapes
Colourful swirling cloud formations dominate Jupiter's northern temperate belt in this image captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/JunoCam)
Tormented Jupiter
This beautiful colour-enhanced image taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft shows a cloud system in Jupiter's northern hemisphere. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran)
Our Canadian robots in the spotlight
Amazing view of Canadarm2 stretched over Earth in this photo taken by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst aboard the ISS. (Credit: ESA/NASA/A. Gerst)
The devastating Hurricane Florence seen from space
Haunting image taken by NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold showing the scale of Hurricane Florence. (Credit: NASA)
Dragon watch
Here is the view that Alexander Gerst had of SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship before Canadarm2's cosmic catch. (Credit: ESA/A. Gerst)
Ship tracks in the Pacific
Long, narrow clouds, known as ship tracks, stood out against the backdrop of marine clouds blanketing much of the North Pacific Ocean. (Credit: NASA/Lauren Dauphin/Adam Voiland/Bastiaan van Diedenhoven)
Destination Moon
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst took this image to show the Moon as seen from the ISS. (Credit: NASA/A. Gerst)
Hello Mars!
On November 30, NASA's InSight spacecraft landed on Mars and captured its first photo of the red planet. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Cartwheel Galaxy
This is an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Cartwheel Galaxy has this shape as the result of a violent galactic collision during which a smaller galaxy passed right through it. It produced shock waves that swept up gas and dust and sparked regions of intense star formation. (Credit: ESA/Hubble/NASA)
Bennu, we are here!
This image of asteroid Bennu is a composite of 12 images taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's PolyCam imager from a distance of 24 kilometres. (Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)
Saturn's moons
In this view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, Saturn's icy moon Rhea passes in front of Titan. Some of the differences between the two large moons are readily apparent. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
Not your cat's paw...
The Cat's Paw Nebula, imaged here by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, lies inside the Milky Way Galaxy and is located in the constellation Scorpius, at approximately 5,500 light-years from Earth. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
And to wrap things up, the most Canadian space photo of the year!
Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and Canadarm2 are in the best position to view the wonders of our planet! (Credit: NASA/CSA)