The International Space Station provides a rare opportunity for astronauts to work in space. One of the best perks is taking photos of Earth and space. NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio, Reid Wiseman and Terry Virts along with European Space Agency astronauts Alexander Gerst and Samantha Cristoforetti shared thousands of photos from space in 2014. Here are a few of the best images from this year.

January

NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio started 2014 aboard the International Space Station. Some of Mastrachio's best shots from the space station included views of Dubai at night, the 200 million-year-old Manicouagan impact crater in Canada and a very cloudy Ireland. It turns out that capturing images of auroras, sunrises and moonrises is much easier than getting a good image of Ireland.

February

Mastracchio delivered even more stunning photos in February. From Nepal to Australia to the Maldives, there was plenty of variety in the month's photos. Even better were the shots of activities in space, like auroras and satellite deployments.

March

In addition to more auroras, Mastracchio took images of the Grand Canyon, the moon, the Florida Keys and an interesting glimpse of the American heartland from high above.

Three new ISS Expedition 39 crew members, NASA astronaut Steve Swanson and cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov, arrived at the space station on March 27.

April

Aboard the space station, Mastracchio performed science experiments and participated in spacewalks and routine maintenance procedures. April's photos included more auroras, a look at Mastracchio at work and Italy at night.

May

Mastracchio completed his ISS mission in May. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 39 commander, took over for Mastracchio and posted great views of New York City and auroras over Africa.

June

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman picked up where Mastracchio left off in June and uploaded great photos throughout June.

In addition to some amazing photos, Wiseman began uploading Vines from space.

July

Wiseman was joined by European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst in July.

The astronaut duo were quite the shutterbugs during their stay in space.

August

We covered Wiseman's photos from August here. Gerst was quite busy himself and provided great views of a supermoon, shooting stars and the reentry of the Cygnus spacecraft.

September

Wiseman and Gerst continued to deliver great photos of Earth and events in space.

October

October was the last full month for Wiseman and Gerst on the ISS. They made the most of their last weeks aboard the space station by taking plenty of photos.

November

Gerst and Wiseman departed the space station in November. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronaut Terry Virts began snapping photos after Gerst and Wiseman returned to Earth on Nov. 9.

December

December means plenty of holidays aboard the space station. The crew celebrated Christmas in space and will celebrate New Year's Eve Wednesday.