Space is History Archivesoverflowing with visual wonders, but what happens on earth can just be as fascinating as moons and stars.

NASA have compiled their favourite photos of 2016, capturing rare cosmic events, rockets unleashing ferocious power and life as an astronaut.

2017 brings with it somewhat uncertain times when it comes to the specificities of NASA's operations due to President-elect Donald Trump, so it's nice to look back at just what the space agency acheived last year.

There are 66 photos in its roundup for the year, but we've picked a handful of our own personal favourites.