The 2011 event looks from the universe

Join the BBC to look back at some of the most prominent events this year from an external perspective.

Picture 1 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
Tahrir Square in Cairo became the focus of the network in Egypt. Protesters are gathering on this square on February 11, the day they overthrow President Hosni Mubarak, the president who ruled the country for nearly 30 years.

Picture 2 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
The picture taken on March 12 shows the devastating devastating tsunami in Natori city after hitting the coast of Japan. The magnitude 9 earthquake in the sea on 11 created tens of meters of high waves that destroyed cities along the east coast of Japan.

Picture 3 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
Containers are scattered everywhere like Lego toys in the port of Sendai, Japan after suffering earthquakes and tsunamis on March 11. This earthquake is believed to have moved the major Japanese islands west of 20 meters.

Picture 4 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
Image of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at 11:04 am, local time, just 3 minutes after an explosion destroyed the No. 3 reactor. Due to the cooling system, a series of events followed pushed Japan into a nuclear crisis.

Picture 5 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
The picture on the left shows the fragment of the US military helicopter used in the campaign to destroy Osama bin Laden on May 2. The same fragments were found inside the fence of the Al Qaeda chieftain's residence in Abbottabad on the right. Photograph taken by GeoEye's Ikonos satellite.

Picture 6 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
Chile's Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano releases ash thousands of meters high into the atmosphere. Photo taken by NASA's Terra satellite on June 11.

Picture 7 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
The astronauts on the international space station last saw the space shuttle Atlantis return to Earth on July 21, looking like a comet sweeping through the atmosphere. Other shuttles are expected to become the focus of visitors at museums throughout the United States.

Picture 8 of The 2011 event looks from the universe
A volcanic eruption in the seabed off El Hierro, one of the Spanish archipelago, produces blue streaks that may be a mixture of crushed gas, powdered rock and crushed seabed rock.