Browse NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day archive by date and media: Archive Discoveries
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Sunrise Over Kilimanjaro
Is the Roof of Africa on fire? A group hiking at 6 am near the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro watched the rising sun peak above the clouds and the horizon light up red. Don't worry -- in…
In the Center of the Trapezium
Start with the constellation of Orion . Near Orion's belt is a fuzzy area known as the Great Nebula of Orion or M42 . In this nebula is a bright star cluster known as the…
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…
NGC 4565: Galaxy on the Edge
Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours…
Fire Glow and Star Trails at Sunset Crater
Stars gracefully arc over the glow from a not too distant forest fire in this dramatic time exposure . A recent camping trip with family and friends to Sunset Crater Volcano…
The Landscape on Comet Tempel 1
This diverse landscape is the surface of comet Temple 1's nucleus as seen by the Deep Impact probe's Impactor Targeting Sensor . Within minutes of recording the rugged view , the…
Thirteen Seconds After Impact
Fireworks came early on July 4th when, at 1:52am EDT, the Deep Impact spacecraft's probe smashed into the surface of Comet Tempel 1's nucleus at ten kilometers per second . The…
A Panorama from Mauna Kea
Typically, views from Mauna Kea are up and dark. That's because the famous dormant volcano in Hawaii is arguably Earth's premier observing platform of the complex and ever…
A Swift Look at Tempel 1
Comet Tempel 1 is targeted for a collision with the impactor probe from NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft at about 1:52am EDT on July 4th ( other time zones ). Cameras on the impactor…
Three Planets by the Sea
On Tuesday, June 28th, the setting Sun flooded the horizon with a beautiful warm light in this view from the beach beside the pier at Brighton in Adelaide, South Australia . The…
Ring Around Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut ( sounds like “foam-a-lot”) is a bright, young, star, a mere 25 light-year trip from planet Earth in the direction of the constellation Piscis Austrinus . Earlier…
Three Planets from Mt. Hamilton
Venus, Mercury, and Saturn wandered close together in western evening skies last week. On Saturn day, June 25, astronomer R. Jay GaBany recorded this snapshot of their…
Thirteen Million Kilometers from Comet Tempel 1
The Deep Impact spacecraft continues to close on Comet Tempel 1, a comet roughly the size of Manhattan. Early on July 3 (EDT), the Deep Impact spacecraft will separate in to two…
The Giant Radio Lobes of Fornax A
Together, the radio lobes span over one million light years -- what caused them? In the center is a large but peculiar elliptical galaxy dubbed NGC 1316 . Detailed inspection of…
Globular Cluster M22 from CFHT
The globular cluster M22 , pictured above , contains over 100,000 stars. These stars formed together and are gravitationally bound. Stars orbit the center of the cluster, and the…
The 2MASS Galaxy Sky
Are the nearest galaxies distributed randomly? A plot of over one million of the brightest “extended sources” detected by the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) shows that they are…
Venus: Just Passing By
Venus, the second closest planet to the Sun, is by far the brightest of the three planets gathered in this weekend's western sky at sunset. It has also proven to be a popular…
Planets in the West
This week end three planets will grace the western sky , forming a lovely trio easily visible shortly after sunset. Saturday evening in particular will find Saturn , Venus , and…
Moonrise, Cape Sounion, Greece
The Moon was full this month on June 22nd, only a day after the northern hemisphere's summer solstice. Since this solstice marked the northernmost point of the Sun's annual motion…
Saturn's Rings from the Other Side
What do Saturn's rings look like from the other side? From Earth, we usually see Saturn's rings from the same side of the ring plane that the Sun illuminates them. Geometrically,…
The Cygnus Wall of Star Formation
The North America Nebula in the sky can do what North Americans on Earth cannot -- form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent , the bright part that…
Sunset Over Gusev Crater
What would it be like to see a sunset on Mars? To help find out, the robotic rover Spirit was deployed last month to park and serenely watch the Sun dip below the distant lip of…
Noctilucent Clouds
Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still…
Visitors' Galaxy Gallery
A tantalizing assortment of island universes is assembled here. From top left to bottom right are the lovely but distant galaxies M61 , NGC 4449 , NGC 4725 , NGC 5068 , NGC 5247 ,…
Viewing discoveries from 11 July 2005 through 18 June 2005.