By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 20:24 EST, 31 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:31 EST, 31 December 2013 . Nasa has released incredible images of our planet taken by astronauts onboard the International Space Station. The photographs, which include breathtaking glaciers and azure blue bays, were released to celebrate the beauty of the Earth over the past 12 months. However, 2013 was also an eventful year and the astronauts took unique shots of erupting volcanoes and the super typhoon Haiyan, which was . responsible for thousands of deaths and devastation in . the Philippines, Vietnam and China last month. Beauty of the night: This image of Earth was captured at night. it was taken on 19 July and shows the cities of Iran and the Arabian Peninsula illuminated by moonlight . Among the photos was an image of Earth captured at night. It was taken on 19 July and the cities of Iran and the Arabian Peninsula are shown illuminated by moonlight. Another photograph captured smoke over Colorado, from the West Fork complex fire that affected large areas of the San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests. Last month, astronauts managed to photograph the smouldering Ambrym volcano, which was seen erupting in the Vanuatu archipelago east of Australia. Ambrym is a volcanic island around 31 miles wide and is the fifth largest island in the region. The summit at the centre of the Ambrym is covered by a caldera, a cauldron-like volcanic feature that is . formed when land collapses following an eruption. With the exception of . human settlements, the rest of the island is covered by thick jungle, as seen in the ISS image. Tidal beauty: Hervey Bay (pictured) in Queensland, Australia was captured by astronauts on board the International Space Station on 3 August. The Strait is an estuary that separates the mainland coastline of the state of Queensland, Australia from neighbouring Fraser Island. The mainland side of the Strait includes the city of Hervey Bay, top centre . This image captures the smouldering Ambrym volcano, which was seen erupting in the Vanuatu archipelago east of Australia on 2 December. Ambrym is a volcanic island around 31 miles wide and is the fifth largest island in the country. The summit at the centre of the island is covered by a caldera, a cauldron-like volcanic feature that is formed when land collapses following an eruption. With the exception of human settlements, the rest of the island is covered by thick jungle . As . well as more dramatic natural and environmental events over the past . year, the astronauts also captured the natural beauty of  Earth. Hervey . Bay in Queensland, Australia, for example, was captured by astronauts . on board the Space Station on 3 August. The . image features the Strait - an estuary that separates the mainland . coastline of the state of Queensland, Australia from neighbouring Fraser . Island. The mainland side of the Strait includes the city of Hervey . Bay. An image of O'Higgins Lake and glaciers in Chile was captured in October. Nasa astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock said of the sights: 'When you see the ice fields of Patagonia from space you are changed forever.' The stunning contrast in colours in this image shows O'Higgins Lake and glaciers in Chile. Nasa astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock said: 'When you see the ice fields of Patagonia from space you are changed forever.' The lake is the deepest in the Americas and has a maximum depth of 836 metres. Its milky light-blue colour is created by rock flour suspended in the lake's waters and it is found near the O'Higgins Glacier . Here, tropical cyclone Typhoon Haiyan is pictured as it raged over the Philippines in November. The typhoon battered the country with winds up to 199mph. At times the storm was said to have stretched 372 miles across. According to UN officials, approximately 11million people were affected by the storms and many people in the regions of Visayas, particularly on Samar and Leyte, were left homeless . The lake is the deepest in the . Americas and has a maximum depth of 836 metres. Its milky light-blue . colour is created by rock flour suspended in the lake's waters and it is . found near the O'Higgins Glacier. Elsewhere, . the tropical cyclone Typhoon Haiyan was pictured as it raged over the . Philippines in November. The typhoon battered the country with winds up . to 199mph (320kph). At times the storm was said to have stretched 372 . miles (600km) across. According . to UN officials, approximately 11million people were affected by the . storms, and many people in the regions of Visayas, particularly on Samar and . Leyte, were left homeless. I heart planet Earth: The heart-shape in this stunning image is of the Small Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. The Aral Sea was one of the four largest lakes in the world with an area of 68,000 square kilometres. However, by 2007 it had declined to 10 per cent of its original size, splitting into four lakes including one smaller lake, pictured . In another shot, delicate white clouds . are captured as they float across Namibia's landscape. The Namib desert . runs along the coast and rain in the area is rare. In the winter months . the region sees hardly any cloud cover, except for the deep south where . winter rains occur only once every couple of years. The . Niger river was also captured by the ISS. It is shown winding through . the landscape of Mali and the entire river follows a boomerang shape. The . river's source is just inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river . runs away from the sea into the Sahara Desert. It then takes a . sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu before heading . southeast to the Gulf of Guinea . Astronauts . have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for more than 40 . years, beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s. Digital cameras were introduced on shuttle missions in 1995 and today all Crew Earth Observations (CEO) imagery is taken with a digital camera. The average stay on the International Space Station is around six months, giving the astronauts plenty of time to hone their photography skills. A world away: here delicate white clouds are captured as they float across Namibia's landscape. The Namib desert runs along the coast and rain in the area is rare. In the winter months the region sees hardly any cloud cover, except for the deep south where winter rains occur only once every couple of years . This tangle of lines is of the Niger River in Mali, Africa. It is shown winding through the landscape of Mali and the entire river follows a boomerang shape. Its source is just inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river runs away from the sea into the Sahara Desert. It then takes a sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu before heading southeast to the Gulf of Guinea . Astronauts even managed to captured the beauty to be found in agriculture. Here, sunlight can be seen reflected off irrigated farmland in Mexico, making the landscape almost look a little like a giant microchip .
Astronauts onboard the International Space Station captured the year's most dramatic natural events .
These included erupting volcanoes on the Vanuatu archipelago east of Australia and the super typhoon Haiyan .
They also captured beautiful images of the planet, from glaciers to azure blue bays and even irrigated farmland .
By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 20:24 EST, 31 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:31 EST, 31 December 2013 . Nasa has released incredible images of our planet taken by astronauts onboard the International Space Station. The photographs, which include breathtaking glaciers and azure blue bays, were released to celebrate the beauty of the Earth over the past 12 months. However, 2013 was also an eventful year and the astronauts took unique shots of erupting volcanoes and the super typhoon Haiyan, which was . responsible for thousands of deaths and devastation in . the Philippines, Vietnam and China last month. Beauty of the night: This image of Earth was captured at night. it was taken on 19 July and shows the cities of Iran and the Arabian Peninsula illuminated by moonlight . Among the photos was an image of Earth captured at night. It was taken on 19 July and the cities of Iran and the Arabian Peninsula are shown illuminated by moonlight. Another photograph captured smoke over Colorado, from the West Fork complex fire that affected large areas of the San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests. Last month, astronauts managed to photograph the smouldering Ambrym volcano, which was seen erupting in the Vanuatu archipelago east of Australia. Ambrym is a volcanic island around 31 miles wide and is the fifth largest island in the region. The summit at the centre of the Ambrym is covered by a caldera, a cauldron-like volcanic feature that is . formed when land collapses following an eruption. With the exception of . human settlements, the rest of the island is covered by thick jungle, as seen in the ISS image. Tidal beauty: Hervey Bay (pictured) in Queensland, Australia was captured by astronauts on board the International Space Station on 3 August. The Strait is an estuary that separates the mainland coastline of the state of Queensland, Australia from neighbouring Fraser Island. The mainland side of the Strait includes the city of Hervey Bay, top centre . This image captures the smouldering Ambrym volcano, which was seen erupting in the Vanuatu archipelago east of Australia on 2 December. Ambrym is a volcanic island around 31 miles wide and is the fifth largest island in the country. The summit at the centre of the island is covered by a caldera, a cauldron-like volcanic feature that is formed when land collapses following an eruption. With the exception of human settlements, the rest of the island is covered by thick jungle . As . well as more dramatic natural and environmental events over the past . year, the astronauts also captured the natural beauty of  Earth. Hervey . Bay in Queensland, Australia, for example, was captured by astronauts . on board the Space Station on 3 August. The . image features the Strait - an estuary that separates the mainland . coastline of the state of Queensland, Australia from neighbouring Fraser . Island. The mainland side of the Strait includes the city of Hervey . Bay. An image of O'Higgins Lake and glaciers in Chile was captured in October. Nasa astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock said of the sights: 'When you see the ice fields of Patagonia from space you are changed forever.' The stunning contrast in colours in this image shows O'Higgins Lake and glaciers in Chile. Nasa astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock said: 'When you see the ice fields of Patagonia from space you are changed forever.' The lake is the deepest in the Americas and has a maximum depth of 836 metres. Its milky light-blue colour is created by rock flour suspended in the lake's waters and it is found near the O'Higgins Glacier . Here, tropical cyclone Typhoon Haiyan is pictured as it raged over the Philippines in November. The typhoon battered the country with winds up to 199mph. At times the storm was said to have stretched 372 miles across. According to UN officials, approximately 11million people were affected by the storms and many people in the regions of Visayas, particularly on Samar and Leyte, were left homeless . The lake is the deepest in the . Americas and has a maximum depth of 836 metres. Its milky light-blue . colour is created by rock flour suspended in the lake's waters and it is . found near the O'Higgins Glacier. Elsewhere, . the tropical cyclone Typhoon Haiyan was pictured as it raged over the . Philippines in November. The typhoon battered the country with winds up . to 199mph (320kph). At times the storm was said to have stretched 372 . miles (600km) across. According . to UN officials, approximately 11million people were affected by the . storms, and many people in the regions of Visayas, particularly on Samar and . Leyte, were left homeless. I heart planet Earth: The heart-shape in this stunning image is of the Small Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. The Aral Sea was one of the four largest lakes in the world with an area of 68,000 square kilometres. However, by 2007 it had declined to 10 per cent of its original size, splitting into four lakes including one smaller lake, pictured . In another shot, delicate white clouds . are captured as they float across Namibia's landscape. The Namib desert . runs along the coast and rain in the area is rare. In the winter months . the region sees hardly any cloud cover, except for the deep south where . winter rains occur only once every couple of years. The . Niger river was also captured by the ISS. It is shown winding through . the landscape of Mali and the entire river follows a boomerang shape. The . river's source is just inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river . runs away from the sea into the Sahara Desert. It then takes a . sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu before heading . southeast to the Gulf of Guinea . Astronauts . have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for more than 40 . years, beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s. Digital cameras were introduced on shuttle missions in 1995 and today all Crew Earth Observations (CEO) imagery is taken with a digital camera. The average stay on the International Space Station is around six months, giving the astronauts plenty of time to hone their photography skills. A world away: here delicate white clouds are captured as they float across Namibia's landscape. The Namib desert runs along the coast and rain in the area is rare. In the winter months the region sees hardly any cloud cover, except for the deep south where winter rains occur only once every couple of years . This tangle of lines is of the Niger River in Mali, Africa. It is shown winding through the landscape of Mali and the entire river follows a boomerang shape. Its source is just inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river runs away from the sea into the Sahara Desert. It then takes a sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu before heading southeast to the Gulf of Guinea . Astronauts even managed to captured the beauty to be found in agriculture. Here, sunlight can be seen reflected off irrigated farmland in Mexico, making the landscape almost look a little like a giant microchip .
images of our planet taken by astronauts onboard the International Space Station. The photographs, blue bays, were released to celebrate the beauty took unique shots of erupting volcanoes and the super typhoon Haiyan, which was . responsible for which was seen erupting in the Vanuatu archipelago east of Australia on 2 December. the astronauts also captured the natural beauty off irrigated farmland in Mexico, making the