The Most Jaw-Dropping Space Pictures Of 2014

REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

For as long as we know, humanity has looked up at the sky and wondered about our place in this vast universe while marveling at the beauty of the stars.

As Carl Sagan said in Cosmos,"the size and age of the cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home."

This year was an especially big year for space observation and exploration.

In 2014 we've seen auroras transform the sky, been dazzled by solar eruptions, cheered as we landed on our first comet, and marveled at images of our fragile planet captured from other worlds.