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.
Aurora in Colorado Skies
Vivid auroral displays were triggered by a cloud of high energy particles and magnetic fields from the Sun that collided with planet Earth's magnetosphere yesterday, October 29,…
A Powerful Solar Flare
Yesterday , our Sun produced one of the most powerful solar flares in recorded history. Seen across the electromagnetic spectrum , the Sun briefly became over 100 times brighter…
The SDSS 3D Universe Map
The latest map of the cosmos again indicates that dark matter and dark energy dominate our universe. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is on its way to measuring the distances…
Large Sunspot Groups 10484 and 10486
Two unusually large sunspot groups are now crossing the face of the Sun . Each group, roughly the size of Jupiter , is unusual not only for its size but because it is appearing…
M16: Stars from Eagle's EGGs
Newborn stars are forming in the Eagle Nebula. This image , taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, shows evaporating gaseous globules (EGGs) emerging from pillars of…
Islands in the Photosphere
Awash in a sea of plasma and anchored in magnetic fields , sunspots are planet-sized, dark islands in the solar photosphere , the bright surface of the Sun. Before the…
Mars Moons
This year's record close approach of Mars inspired many to enjoy telescopic views of the red planet. But while Mars was so bright it was hard to miss, spotting Mars' two…
Cygnus Nebulosities
Looking toward the constellation Cygnus , a stunning and complex region of nebulae strewn along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy is revealed in this unique wide-angle sky view.…
The Heart and Soul Nebulas
Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in Cassiopeia ? Possibly not, but that is where two bright emission nebulas nicknamed Heart and Soul can be found. The Heart Nebula ,…
The Belt of Venus over the Valley of the Moon
Although you've surely seen it, you might not have noticed it. During a cloudless twilight , just before sunrise or after sunset , part of the atmosphere above the horizon appears…
Neptune and Triton from Palomar
How's the weather on Neptune? Tracking major weather patterns on the Solar System 's outermost gas giant can help in the understanding of global weather patterns here on Earth .…
An Unusual Globule in IC 1396
Is there a monster in IC 1396 ? Known to some as the Elephant's Trunk Nebula , parts of gas and dust clouds of this star formation region may appear to take on foreboding forms,…
The Last Moon Shot
In 1865 Jules Verne predicted the invention of a space capsule that could carry people. In his science fiction story “From the Earth to the Moon” , he outlined his vision of a…
Astronomy Quilt of the Week
Demonstrating her mastery of a traditional astronomical imaging technique quilter and astronomy enthusiast Judy Ross has produced this spectacular composition of “Astronomy Quilt…
NGC 6888: X-Rays in the Wind
NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula , is a cosmic bubble of interstellar gas about 25 light-years across. Created by winds from the bright, massive star seen near the…
Space Rock SQ222 Noticed After Pass
Why didn't we see it? An undetected asteroid zipped past the Earth undetected last month in the closest near miss yet recorded -- within a quarter of the distance to the Moon.…
Iridescent Clouds Over Aiguille de la Tsa
Before the sun rose over the mountains, iridescent colors danced across the sky. The unexpected light show was caused by a batch of iridescent clouds , and captured on film in…
Pelican Nebula Ionization Front
What's happening to the Pelican Nebula ? The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming the Pelican 's cold gas to hot gas, with the advancing boundary between the…
The Coma Cluster of Galaxies
Almost every object in the above photograph is a galaxy. The Coma Cluster of Galaxies pictured above is one of the densest clusters known - it contains thousands of galaxies .…
Moonrise Over Seattle
Is the Moon larger when near the horizon? No -- as shown above, the Moon appears to be very nearly the same size no matter its location on the sky. Oddly, the cause or causes for…
Peculiar Arp 295
A spectacular bridge of stars and gas stretches for nearly 250,000 light-years and joins this famous peculiar pair of galaxies cataloged as Arp 295 . The cosmic bridge between the…
Radio Jupiter
This view of gas giant Jupiter , made from data recorded at the Very Large Array radio observatory near Socorro, New Mexico, may not look too familiar. In fact, there is no sign…
The Sombrero Galaxy from HST
Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat? Reasons include the Sombrero 's unusually large and extended central bulge of stars, and dark prominent dust lanes that appear in a…
The Colorful Horsehead Nebula
While drifting through the cosmos, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud became sculpted by stellar winds and radiation to assume a recognizable shape. Fittingly named the…
Viewing discoveries from 30 October 2003 through 7 October 2003.