Browse NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day archive by date and media: Archive Discoveries
Browse the NASA APOD archive without needing the exact date first. Filter by media type and keep moving deeper into older images and videos.
Shapley 1: An Annular Planetary Nebula
Explanation : What happens when a star runs out of nuclear fuel ? The center condenses into a white dwarf while the outer atmospheric layers are expelled into space and appear as…
NGC 1818: A Young Globular Cluster
Explanation : Globular clusters once ruled the Milky Way . Back in the old days , back when our Galaxy first formed, perhaps thousands of globular clusters roamed our Galaxy.…
More Jets from Comet Hale-Bopp
Explanation : Comets become fountains of gas and dust as they get near the Sun . Solar heat vaporizes the outer layers of these spectacular orbiting icebergs , exposing caverns of…
Comet Hale-Bopp Develops a Tail
Explanation : Comet Hale-Bopp has quite a tail to tell already. This remarkable comet was first discovered in 1995, even before Comet Hyakutake . Since then, this erupting…
Space Walz
Explanation : Astronaut Carl Walz waves at his colleagues from the aft end of the Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay - during a 1993 spacewalk to evaluate tools, tethers, and a…
The Gamma Ray Moon
Explanation : What if you could see gamma rays (photons with more than 40 million times the energy of visible light)? If you could, the Moon would appear brighter than the Sun!…
The Deep Field
Explanation : Galaxies like colorful pieces of candy fill the Hubble Deep Field - humanity's most distant yet optical view of the Universe . The dimmest, some as faint as 30th…
M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
Explanation : The famous Sombrero galaxy (M104) is a bright nearby spiral galaxy . The prominent dust lane and halo of stars and globular clusters give this galaxy its name.…
M1: Filaments of the Crab Nebula
Explanation : The Crab Nebula is filled with mysterious filaments. The Crab Nebula is the result of a star that exploded in 1054 AD . This spectacular supernova explosion was…
Comet Hale-Bopp Returns
Explanation : Comet Hale-Bopp has returned from behind the Sun. In December and early January, Comet Hale-Bopp was too near the Sun to be easily visible from Earth . Now the comet…
Running Red Rings Around Jupiter
Explanation : Jupiter has rings, too. Unlike Saturn's bright rings which are composed of chunks of ice, Jupiter's rings are darker and appear to consist of fine particles of rock.…
Clyde W. Tombaugh: 1906-1997
Explanation : Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh , discoverer of Pluto, died on January 17th. Inspiring many during his long and exceptional career, he had been living in Las Cruces, New…
Stars Without Galaxies
Explanation : Galaxies are made up of stars, but are all stars found within galaxies ? Apparently not. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers exploring the Virgo Cluster of…
Standing on the Moon
Explanation : Humans once walked on the Moon. Pictured above is the second person to stand on the lunar surface: Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. During this Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong…
Catching Falling Stardust
Explanation : This carrot shaped track is actually little more than 5 hundredths of an inch long. It is the trail of a meteroid through aerogel exposed to space by the shuttle…
Hamlet of Oberon
Explanation : What's in a name? Since 1919, the International Astronomical Union has been charged with the task of establishing “conventional” nomenclature for planets,…
Earth's Temperature
Explanation : What's the temperature outside? No matter where you are on Earth , the above map can tell you. This global montage was created using the temperature data from…
NGC 869 & NGC 884: A Double Open Cluster
Explanation : Most star clusters are singularly impressive. But open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884 are doubly impressive. Also known as “h and chi Persei”, this rare double…
Open Cluster M50
Explanation : Many stars form in clusters. Two types of star clusters are visible in our Milky Way Galaxy : open clusters and globular clusters . Open clusters like M50, shown…
A Prominent Solar Prominence
Explanation : One of the most spectacular solar sights is a prominence. A solar prominence is a cloud of solar gas held above the Sun 's surface by the Sun 's magnetic field. The…
Aurora and Orion
Explanation : Looking toward the south from low Earth orbit, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor made this stunning time exposure of the Aurora Australis or southern lights in…
M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
Explanation : The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy . At only 15 million light years distant, M 51, also cataloged as NGC 5194 , is one of the brighter and more…
Supernova 1987a Fireball Resolved
Explanation : Ten years ago the most notable supernova of modern times was observed. In February 1987, light reached Earth from a star which exploded in the nearby Large…
Twistin' by the Lagoon
Explanation : The awesome spectacle of starbirth produces extreme stellar winds and intense energetic starlight -- bombarding dusty molecular clouds inside the Lagoon Nebula ( M8…
Viewing discoveries from 15 February 1997 through 23 January 1997.