SPACE: If you’re interested in the exploration of the universe, NASA recently announced that the agency is sharing images from their research to view for free on social media.

There’s nothing like seeing the image of the Earth — with every place you’ve ever been, everyone you’ve ever met and everything you’ve ever experienced — compacted into a simple sphere — to provide a little perspective.

We’ve grown quite accustomed over the past few decades to having access to images that show us what the the universe looks like outside our planet, but those images are really quite amazing. For most of human history, we could only imagine what our world looked like from the outside, nevermind all that lies beyond Earth that we have images of thanks to NASA.

NASA recently announced it’s now sharing images on Pinterest and GIPHY at www.pinterest.com/nasa and giphy.com/nasa.

We checked out them out, and, in addition to otherworldly photos, the agency has shared photos of employees and spacecraft, renderings and graphics and videos.

So, if you need a little break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, make a cup of tea, sit down at your computer and take a few minutes to reflect on your place in the universe.

ALLEGHENY: While the Allegheny River was still in the lead earlier this week in the Pennsylvania River of the Year competition, fans of Brandywine Creek are closing in the gap.

If you haven’t cast your vote and would like to see Penn Soil RC&D — the group that nominated the Allegheny — get a $10,000 grant to hold events in 2017 along the river from Potter to Clarion counties, and maybe beyond, visit www.pariveroftheyear.org.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, and one vote is allowed per email address.