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.
The Colorful Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
The many spectacular colors of the Rho Ophiuchi (oh'-fee-yu-kee) clouds highlight the many processes that occur there. The blue regions shine primarily by reflected light. Blue…
The Supergalactic Wind from Starburst Galaxy M82
Star formation occurs at a faster pace in M82 -- a galaxy with about ten times the rate of massive star birth (and death) compared to our Milky Way . Winds from massive stars and…
24 Million Kilometers to Saturn
Next stop: Saturn . The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is approaching Saturn and will fire its engines to break into orbit around the ringed giant on July 1. The robot spacecraft was…
Astronaut at Work
Did you ever have a day where everything got turned around and you just couldn't tell which way was up? Fortunately, this didn't happen to astronaut James S. Voss on 2000 May 21,…
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…
A Manhattan Sunset
Today, if it is clear, Manhattan will flood dramatically with sunlight just as the Sun sets precisely on the centerline of every street. Usually, the tall buildings that line the…
Two Comets in Southern Skies
Wielding a very wide-angle lens, astronomer Gordon Garradd was able to capture two naked-eye comets in one picture looking toward the west from Loomberah, New South Wales,…
At the Summit of Olympus Mons
From martian orbit, the Mars Express cameras looked down on the largest volcano in the solar system. The result was this stunningly detailed overhead view of the caldera or summit…
Moon Between the Stones
Despite clouds and rain showers astronomer Phillip Perkins managed to spot a reddened, eclipsed Moon between the stones of this well known monument to the Sun during May's total…
Planets Over Easter Island
It isn't every day that planets line up behind a stone giant. For one thing, it helps to have a good planet line-up , such as occurred in the sky just last month. For another, it…
Working in Space
High above planet Earth, a human helps an ailing machine. The machine, in this potentially touching story, is the Hubble Space Telescope , which is not in the picture. The human…
X-Rays From Tycho's Supernova Remnant
In 1572, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe recorded the sudden appearance of a bright new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. The new star faded from view over a period of months…
Phases of Venus
Venus is currently falling out of the western evening sky. Second planet from the Sun and third brightest celestial object after the Sun and Moon, Venus has been appreciated by…
Sharpless 140
Three young, massive stars will eventually emerge from this natal cloud of dust and gas, but their presence is already revealed in this false-color image from the Spitzer Space…
Brain Crater on Mars
What caused this unusual looking crater floor on Mars? Appearing at first glance to resemble the human brain , the natural phenomena that created the unusual texture on the floor…
Comet NEAT (Q4) Over Indian Cove
Comet NEAT (Q4) was quite photogenic earlier this month. Although the head and part of the tails of Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) were visible to the unaided eye, the best views of the…
NGC 3372: The Great Nebula in Carina
In one of the brightest parts of the Milky Way lies a nebula where some of the oddest things occur. NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina , is home to massive stars and…
Venus: Earth's Cloudy Twin
This picture by the Galileo spacecraft shows just how cloudy Venus is. Venus is very similar to Earth in size and mass - and so is sometimes referred to as Earth's sister planet -…
Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tidal Tail
In this stunning vista recorded with the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys , distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiral galaxy Arp 188, the…
Zubenelgenubi and Friends
Moderately bright Zubenelgenubi is the star just off the upper right hand limb of an eclipsed Moon in this telescopic view from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Actually the second…
Rungs of the Red Rectangle
A distinctive X-shape and ladder-like rungs appear in this Hubble Space Telescope image of the intriguing Red Rectangle Nebula . The dusty cosmic cloud was originally identified…
The Tails of Comet NEAT (Q4)
Comet NEAT (Q4) is showing its tails . As the large snowball officially dubbed Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) falls toward the inner Solar System , it has already passed the Earth and…
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
M13 is one of the most prominent and best known globular clusters . Visible with binoculars in the constellation of Hercules , M13 is frequently one of the first objects found by…
Endurance Crater on Mars
Scroll right to see the inside of Endurance Crater , the large impact feature now being investigated by the Opportunity rover rolling across Mars . The crater's walls show areas…
Viewing discoveries from 2 June 2004 through 10 May 2004.