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.
A Soyuz Spacecraft Approaches the Space Station
Last month, a Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station. The spacecraft was launched a few days earlier from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan .…
A Martian Halloween
From sunset to sunrise, an unusually bright yellowish orb will hang in the sky this Halloween: Mars. Yesterday, Earth passed Mars as they orbited the Sun, bringing Mars closer…
A Dark and Stormy Night
It was a dark and stormy night . But on 2003 August 29th the red planet Mars, near its closest approach to Earth in almost 60,000 years, shone brightly in the sky against a…
NGC 3242: The Ghost of Jupiter
After a star like the Sun completes fusion in its core, it throws off its outer layers in a brief, beautiful cosmic display called a planetary nebula . NGC 3242 is such a…
October Mars
This October, Mars has become a bright, yellowish star in planet Earth's sky as it approaches oppositon , the period when Mars and Earth pass close as they orbit the Sun. How…
The Last Titan
On October 19th , a rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base - the last Titan rocket. Carrying a payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office, the successful Titan…
4,500 Kilometers Above Dione
What does the surface of Saturn's moon Dione look like? To find out, the robot Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn flew right past the fourth largest moon of the giant…
Supernova Remnant N132D in Optical and X Rays
Thousands of years after a star exploded, its expanding remnant still glows brightly across the spectrum. Such is the case with N132D , a supernova remnant located in the…
Angular Sand on Martian Hills
Why isn't this sand round? The robotic Spirit rover currently rolling across Mars has found notably angular sand in the Columbia Hills on Mars. Previously, small bits of sand…
At the Center of the Milky Way
At the center of our Milky Way Galaxy lies a black hole with over 2 million times the mass of the Sun. Once a controversial claim, this astounding conclusion is now virtually…
Ring Galaxy AM 0644-741 from Hubble
How could a galaxy become shaped like a ring? The rim of the blue galaxy pictured on the right is an immense ring-like structure 150,000 light years in diameter composed of newly…
Ringside
Orbiting in the plane of Saturn's rings , Dione and the other icy saturnian moons have a perpetual ringside view of the gorgeous gas giant planet. Of course, while passing through…
The Andromeda Galaxy in Infrared
What is the Andromeda galaxy really like? To find out, astronomers looked at our largest galactic neighbor in a different light: infrared . Astronomers trained the orbiting…
On the Possibility of Ascending to Mars
On another October 19, in 1899, a 17 year-old Robert Goddard climbed a cherry tree on a beautiful autumn afternoon in Worcester, Massachusetts. Inspired by H.G. Wells' War of the…
AE Aurigae: The Flaming Star
Is star AE Aurigae on fire? No. Even though AE Aurigae is named the flaming star, the surrounding nebula IC 405 is named the Flaming Star Nebula , and the region appears to harbor…
Short Gamma-Ray Bursts Localized
What causes gamma-ray bursts? The most energetic type of explosions known in the cosmos has been an enigma since discovered over 30 years ago . It now appears that there may not…
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…
Dusty Environs of Eta Carinae
Eta Car is a massive star, but it's not as bright as it used to be. Now only easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope, Eta Carinae has a history of spectacular flaring…
Eclipse Shirt
Of course , everyone is concerned about what to wear to a solar eclipse . No need to worry though, nature often conspires to project images of the eclipse so that stylish and…
Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka
Alnitak , Alnilam , and Mintaka , are the bright bluish stars from east to west (left to right) along the diagonal in this gorgeous cosmic vista. Otherwise known as the Belt of…
Cratered Cliffs of Ice on Saturn's Tethys
The surface of Saturn 's moon Tethys is riddled with icy cliffs and craters. The most detailed images ever taken of Tethys were captured late last month as the robot Cassini…
NGC 869 & NGC 884: A Double Open Cluster
Most star clusters are singularly impressive. Open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884, however, are doubly impressive. Also known as “h and chi Persei”, this unusual double cluster ,…
The Swirling Storms of Saturn
Storms larger than hurricanes continually dot the upper atmosphere of the planet Saturn. A view of many storms occurring simultaneously was captured in July by the robot Cassini…
Rollout of Soyuz TMA-2 Aboard an R7 Rocket
It takes a big rocket to go into space. In 2003 April, this huge Russian rocket was launched toward Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS), carrying two astronauts who…
Viewing discoveries from 1 November 2005 through 9 October 2005.