A month in space

This month's pick of the best space-related imagery includes the arrival of Albert Einstein at the International Space Station, a black hole that has dozed off after running out of things to eat, and the tracks of dry ice blocks that skidded down Martian slopes

Cosmic clouds, a Soyuz rocket take-off and the latest goings-on at the International Space Station feature in the pick of images from our solar system and beyond

Also featuring in our pick of images from our solar system and beyond from February is the Chelyabinsk meteor explosion and a robot called R2, who may or may not be a relation of R2-D2

Swing by the planet Venus, glimpse the fate of the Milky Way and pay tribute to a master of the macabre on Mercury – all from the comfort of your own home

Our pick of the best space-related images from December includes an aerial view of Mars dusted with carbon dioxide frost, black holes tens of billions of times as massive as the sun, and a dramatic spray of stars

Our pick of the best space-related images from November includes a graph illustrating the terminal decline in the universe's output

Curiosity takes soil samples from the red planet and a cosmonaut has a crew cut in the Guardian's pick of images from our solar system and beyond

Our pick of the best space-related images from last month includes the first experimental steps towards a global quantum internet

Our pick of the best space-related pictures includes a stunning Hubble image brought to light by an amateur astronomer, hot dust-obscured galaxies and sugary molecules in the gas around a young star

Our pick of last month's best space-related images

This month's pick of the best space-related images includes the likeness on a distant planet of Disney's most famous creation, organisms that can survive the rigours of space, and a treat for tweeps