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.
Swirls and Stars in IC 4678
Swirls of gas and dust enrich this little observed starfield toward the constellation of Sagittarius . Just to the side of the more often photographed Lagoon Nebula ( M8 ) and the…
A Wave Maker Moon in Saturn's Rings
What causes small waves in Saturn's rings? Observations of rings bordering the Keeler gap in Saturn's rings showed unusual waves. Such waves were first noticed last July and are…
The Dust and Ion Tails of Comet Hale-Bopp
In 1997, Comet Hale-Bopp 's intrinsic brightness exceeded any comet since 1811 . Since it peaked on the other side of the Earth's orbit, however, the comet appeared only brighter…
Snake in the Dark
Dark nebulae snake across a gorgeous expanse of stars in this wide-field view toward the pronounceable constellation Ophiuchus and the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. In fact, the…
Aurora Iowa
Early last Sunday morning stars were not the only lights in Iowa skies. The northern lights also shone from the heavens, extending across the midwestern USA and other locations…
X-Ray Stars in the Orion Nebula
When our middle-aged Sun was just a few million years old it was thousands of times brighter in x-rays . In fact, it was likely similar to some of the stars found in this…
Three Kilometers Above Titan
What did the Huygens probe see as it descended toward Saturn's Moon Titan? In January the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn released a probe through the dense cloud…
A Panorama of Mars from Larry's Lookout
Scroll right to see a breathtaking panorama of Mars from Larry's Lookout. The lookout occurs near the peak of Husband Hill in the Columbia Hills . The summit of Husband Hill is…
Deep Impact Spacecraft Hurtles Toward Comet
What happens when you crash into a comet? That was a question considered by astronomers when they designed the Deep Impact mission , launched in January. This coming July 4, the…
On the Origin of Gold
Where did the gold in your jewelry originate? No one is completely sure . The relative average abundance in our Solar System appears higher than can be made in the early universe…
NGC 3370: A Sharper View
Similar in size and grand design to our own Milky Way , spiral galaxy NGC 3370 lies about 100 million light-years away toward the constellation Leo. Recorded here in exquisite…
When the Moon Was Young
Remember when the Moon was young? It was just last Monday. On May 9th, this slender crescent Moon was recorded at a tender age of 34 hours and 18 minutes. Well, OK ... when…
Stars, Galaxies, and Comet Tempel 1
Faint comet Tempel 1 sports a fuzzy blue-tinted tail, just right of center in this lovely field of stars . Recorded on May 3rd slowly sweeping through the constellation Virgo,…
The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy , one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies . The dark…
The First Image of an Extra Solar Planet
It's the faint red object, not the bright white one that might be a historic find. The white object is surely a brown dwarf star . Quite possibly, however, the red object is the…
Stars, Dust and Nebula in NGC 6559
When stars form, pandemonium reigns. A textbook case is the star forming region NGC 6559 . Visible above are red glowing emission nebulas of hydrogen , blue reflection nebulas of…
CMBR Dipole: Speeding Through the Universe
Our Earth is not at rest. The Earth moves around the Sun . The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy . The Milky Way Galaxy orbits in the Local Group of Galaxies . The…
NGC 3314: When Galaxies Overlap
NGC 3314 consists of two large spiral galaxies which just happen to almost exactly line-up. The foreground spiral is viewed nearly face-on , its pinwheel shape defined by young…
Hybrid Solar Eclipse
April's spectacular geocentric celestial event was a rare hybrid eclipse of the Sun - a total or an annular eclipse could be seen depending on the observer's location. For Fred…
Mira: The Wonderful Star
To seventeenth century astronomers, Omicron Ceti or Mira was known as a wonderful star - a star whose brightness could change dramatically in the course of about 11 months. Modern…
Cassini Spacecraft Crosses Saturn's Ring Plane
If this is Saturn, where are the rings? When Saturn's “appendages” disappeared in 1612, Galileo did not understand why. Later that century, it became understood that Saturn 's…
Solar System Rising Over Fire Island
If you wait long enough, the entire Solar System will rise before you. To see such a sight, however, you will need to look in the direction of the ecliptic . All of the planets…
Methusaleh Outcrop on Mars
What is the history of the outcropping of rock called Methuselah? The unusual rock group is visible on the left of the above image taken by the robot Spirit rover current…
Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create…
Viewing discoveries from 24 May 2005 through 1 May 2005.