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.
Double Trouble Solar Bubbles
During April and May, attention has been focused on the western evening sky , presenting its spectacle of bright planets and crescent moons shortly after sunset. Meanwhile , the…
Tail Wags of Comet Ikeya-Zhang
As Comet Ikeya-Zhang approached the Sun two months ago, it developed a complex blue ion tail . The tail was composed of ions that boiled off the nucleus and were pushed away from…
N44C: A Nebular Mystery
Why is N44C glowing so strangely? The star that appears to power the nebula, although young and bright, does not seem hot enough to create some of the colors observed. A search…
White Rock Fingers on Mars
What caused this unusual white rock formation on Mars? Intrigued by the possibility that they could be salt deposits left over as an ancient lakebed dried-up , detailed studies of…
At the Edge of the Helix Nebula
While exploring the inner edge of the Helix Nebula with the Hubble Space Telescope 's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 , astronomers were able to produce this striking image - rich…
Natural Saturn On The Cassini Cruise
What could you see approaching Saturn aboard an interplanetary cruise ship? Your view would likely resemble this subtly shaded image of the gorgeous ringed gas giant. Processed by…
Trailing Planets
Positioning his camera and tripod on planet Earth, near Maricopa, Arizona, USA, astrophotographer Joe Orman created this trailing display of the ongoing sky-full-of-planets on May…
Planets Over Stonehenge
Stonehenge , four thousand year old monument to the Sun , provides an appropriate setting for this delightful snapshot of the Sun's children gathering in planet Earth's sky. While…
Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet
It was a quiet day on the Sun . The above image shows, however, that even during off days the Sun's surface is a busy place. Shown in ultraviolet light , the relatively cool dark…
Smog Over New York
What is not pretty about the above picture ? In a word: smog . In 2000 October the orbiting Space Shuttle Discovery photographed upstate New York just at sunset. Visible is golden…
NGC 4676: When Mice Collide
These two galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as “ The Mice ” because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy has likely already passed through the other and will…
The M7 Open Star Cluster in Scorpius
M7 is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars on the sky. The cluster, dominated by bright blue stars , can be seen with the naked eye in a dark sky in the tail of the…
The Moons of Earth
While orbiting the planet during their June 1998 mission, the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery photographed this view of two moons of Earth. Thick storm clouds are visible in…
Cone Nebula Close-Up
Cones, pillars , and majestic flowing shapes abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from newborn stars. A well-known…
Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tidal Tail
In this stunning vista recorded with the Hubble Space Telescope's new advanced camera , distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiral galaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole…
In the Center of the Omega Nebula
In the depths of the dark clouds of dust and molecular gas known as the Omega Nebula , stars continue to form. The above image from the Hubble Space Telescope 's newly installed…
The Holographic Principle
Is this image worth a thousand words? According to the Holographic Principle , the most information you can get from this image is about 3 x 1065 bits for a normal sized computer…
Dusk of the Planets
A great grouping of planets is now visible to the west just after sunset. Over the next two weeks, Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , and Saturn -- the innermost six…
Doomed Star Eta Carinae
Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae 's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun…
Hawaii
Aloha ! With the graceful arc of Earth's limb in the background, the Hawaiian Island archipelago is visible in this stunning photo taken by the astronauts onboard the shuttle…
Comet Ikeya-Zhang Meets The ISS
Still catching the Sun's rays, the International Space Station (ISS) cruises across the early evening sky above Tomahawk, Wisconsin, USA. Recorded on April 9 around 9 pm CDT in a…
Southern Cross in Mauna Loa Skies
Gazing across this gorgeous skyscape, the Southern Cross and stars of the constellation Centaurus are seen above the outline of Mauna Loa (Long Mountain), planet Earth's largest…
The Trifid Nebula from AAO
Unspeakable beauty and unimaginable bedlam can be found together in the Trifid Nebula . Also known as M20, this photogenic nebula is visible with good binoculars towards the…
The Newly Expanded International Space Station
What does the developing International Space Station (ISS) look like now? After delivering and deploying a crucial first backbone-like component last week, the Space Shuttle…
Viewing discoveries from 16 May 2002 through 23 April 2002.