An alpaca is seen near the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco December 2, 2014. Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is Peru's top tourist attraction, with the government limiting tourists to 2,500 per day due to safety reasons and concerns over the preservation of the ruins. (Photo by Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)

Starting in September, Indonesia's Mount Sinabung began erupting yet again. In the days that followed, ash and smoke were shot into the air multiple times. As a result, nearby towns turned gray from repeated blows by the volcano. Photo: A man uses his mobile phone as Mount Sinabung continues to erupt, with hot smoke spewing from the volcano, in the Karo district on the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island on November 18, 2013. Officials said a week ago at more than 5,000 people had fled their homes since the volcano erupted early this month. (Photo by Sutanta Aditya/AFP Photo)

Despite any political differences between the United States and Russia, the space agencies of the two countries continue their cooperative work in Earth's orbit, aboard the International Space Station. Apart from the research being done in microgravity, ISS crew members continue to send back amazing images of our home world, photographed from low Earth orbit. Gathered here are recent images of Earth from aboard the ISS, and from a handful of other NASA satellites.

Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, is locked under the rule of extremists from the Islamic State group trying to purge it of everything they see as contradicting their stark vision of Islam. A trove of photographs now housed at the Library of Congress offers a glimpse of a different Mosul – before wars, insurgency, sectarian strife and now radicals' rule. The scenes were taken in the autumn of 1932 by staff from the American Colony Photo Department during a visit to Iraq at the end of the British mandate. (Photo by AP Photo)

Aerial view of the Christ The Protector Statue and the Valle de Taquari on April 20, 2021 in Encantado, Brazil. The statue being built in Encantado, southern Brazil, will surpass the iconic Christ The Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro by seven meters. Made of steel and concrete, it will stand 43 meters including its pedestal, and become the third-tallest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

People wearing protective face masks amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak are seen near foodstuffs, which are displayed for sale on a car in Omsk, Russia on December 4, 2020. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)

Indian police officers walk wearing virus themed helmet during an awareness drive aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)

A visitor takes photos of “Grecian Nude” by British artist Damien Hirst, as part of the exhibition “Archaeology Now” at Galleria Borghese in Rome on June 07, 2021. The exhibition, running through June 08 – November 07, 2021, features over 80 works from Hirst’s Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable series, displayed throughout the museum alongside ancient masterpieces. (Photo by Tiziana Fabi/AFP Photo)