Pictures of the year: Space

An orb of gas surrounds a jellyfish-like aging star named NGC 2022, its shell of gases glowing from the star's emitted ultraviolet light, in the constellation of Orion. Image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope and released August 16, 2019. R....more

Trailing lights from stars in space and from sources on Earth are seen in this composite time-lapse image taken during orbit over Namibia to the Red Sea aboard the International Space Station, July 5, 2019. Christina Koch/NASA/Handout via REUTERS

A cyclonic storm, with plumes of sulfur and phosphorus gases mixing with a hydrogen and helium atmosphere, churns in Jupiter's atmosphere in this image captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft, November 3, 2019. Kevin M. Gill/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout via...more

Photographers take pictures as the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft, carrying Andrew Morgan of NASA, Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of European Space Agency, blasts off to the International Space Station from the...more

The death of a star is seen in a remnant of Tycho supernova, in which a white dwarf star pulled material from a nearby star and triggered an explosion, sending debris from the obliterated star into space, in this composite image captured by NASA's...more

Evidence of active landslides is seen at Cerberus Fossae, a set of troughs cut into volcanic plains on Mars. The light blue boulders on the slope appear to originate from the light blue bedrock at the top, and the dark thin lines show recurring slope...more

An aurora in the Earth's atmosphere is seen from the International Space Station, in this image published June 10, 2019. Christina Koch/NASA/Handout via REUTERS

The Richat Structure, a circular geological dome that has eroded to expose rock layers known as the "Eye of the Sahara" in northwestern Mauritania, is captured by an Expedition 59 crewmember from the International Space Station, March 5, 2019. 2019....more

Tracks belonging to NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity are seen on planet Mars in this image taken August 4, 2010 and released February 13, 2019. Opportunity, a rover designed to explore the surface of Mars for three months, ended its mission...more

The Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft ascends into space after its launch from Kazakhstan, with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates on board, as seen from...more

A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is seen before founder Elon Musk gave an update on the company's Mars rocket in Boca Chica, Texas September 28, 2019. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

Fans and deltas formed by water and sediment are seen in the Jezero Crater on Mars, identified as a potential landing site for the Mars 2020 Rover, in this false color image taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and published May 15, 2019....more

NASA astronaut Anne McClain is seen during a spacewalk at the International Space Station, March 22, 2019. Courtesy NASA/Handout via REUTERS

A solar eclipse is observed at Coquimbo, Chile, July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, April 17, 2019. NASA/Bill Ingalls/Handout via REUTERS

The spiral arms of galaxy Messier 81, located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major, are seen in this infrared composite image taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope in August 2019. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout via REUTERS

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule approaches the International Space Station, March 3, 2019. Anne McClain/NASA/Handout via REUTERS

The planet Jupiter is seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image, taken June 27, 2019 as part of a yearly study called the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL) to observe changes in the atmosphere of outer planets. NASA/ESA/A....more

Ice, snow and a cluster of active volcanoes in the middle are seen on Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East, in this image obtained November 15, 2019. NASA/Handout via REUTERS

International Space Station crew member Christina Koch of the U.S. reacts in a bus before leaving for pre-flight preparation at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

The eye of Hurricane Dorian is shown from the International Space Station as the storm churns in the northwestern Caribbean, nearing the United States mainland, September 2, 2019. Christina Koch/NASA/Handout via REUTERS

Sedimentary rock and sand, formed over millions or billions of years as loose sediment cemented into place before being eroded by winds into a zebra stripe-like pattern, are seen within Danielson Crater in this image taken by the Mars Reconnaissance...more

Spectators watch from Jetty Park as booster rocket engines approach landing pads, after a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the Arabsat 6A communications satellite lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 11, 2019....more

Swirling bands in a jet stream are seen in Jupiter's northern hemisphere, in this image captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft on May 29, 2019. Gerald Eichstadt/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout via REUTERS

The Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft carrying the crew formed of Jessica Meir of the U.S., Oleg Skripochka of Russia and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of United Arab Emirates blasts off to the International Space Station from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome,...more