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.
Reflection Nebulas in Orion
In the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. Pictured above are two of the most prominent reflection nebulas - dust clouds lit…
Mars Rover at Victoria Crater Imaged from Orbit
An unusual spot has been found on Mars that scientists believe is not natural in origin. The spot appears mobile and is now hypothesized to be a robot created by an intelligent…
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…
COBE All-Sky Map
This historic all-sky map is based on the first two years of data from NASA's COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, launched in November of 1989. The map shows minute…
Dusty NGC 1333
Dusty NGC 1333 is seen in visible light as a reflection nebula , dominated by bluish hues characteristic of starlight reflected by dust. But at longer infrared wavelengths, the…
Hidden Galaxy IC 342
Similar in size to other large, bright spiral galaxies IC 342 is a mere 7 million light-years distant in the long-necked, northern constellation Camelopardalis . A sprawling…
Comet SWAN Brightens
A newly discovered comet has brightened enough to be visible this week with binoculars. The picturesque comet is already becoming a favored target for northern sky imagers.…
Light from the Heart Nebula
What powers the Heart Nebula? The large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart . The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent…
Victoria Crater on Mars
Scroll right to see the largest crater yet visited by a rover on Mars. Reaching the expansive Victoria Crater has been a goal for the robotic Opportunity rover rolling across Mars…
Earth at Night
This is what the Earth looks like at night. Can you find your favorite country or city ? Surprisingly, city lights make this task quite possible. Human-made lights highlight…
STS-115: Stereo Portrait
On September 12, astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper snapped photos of her colleague Joseph Tanner during the STS-115 mission . At the time, the spacesuited pair were working…
NGC 5905 and 5908
These two beautiful galaxies, NGC 5905 (left) and NGC 5908 lie about 140 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Draco . Separated by about 500,000 light-years,…
RCW 86: Historical Supernova Remnant
In 185 AD, Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of a new star in the Nanmen asterism - a part of the sky identified with Alpha and Beta Centauri on modern star charts. The…
Earth from Saturn
What's that pale blue dot in this image taken from Saturn? Earth . The robotic Cassini spacecraft looked back toward its old home world earlier this month as it orbited Saturn .…
Mars Express: Return to Cydonia
The unusual stone mesas of the Cydonia region on Mars are quite striking in appearance. Last week, the Mars Express project released a new close-up image of a portion of the…
Mars Express Close-Up of the Face on Mars
Wouldn't it be fun if clouds were turtles ? Wouldn't it be fun if the laundry on the bedroom chair was a friendly monster ? Wouldn't it be fun if rock mesas on Mars were faces or…
NGC 1499: The California Nebula
What's California doing in space? Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of…
Triple Sunrise
Today, the Sun rises due east at the Equinox , a geocentric astronomical event that occurs twice a year. To celebrate, consider this view of the rising Sun and a lovely set of ice…
Central IC 1805
Cosmic clouds seem to form fantastic shapes in the central regions of emission nebula IC 1805. Of course, the clouds are sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot…
Sharp Silhouette
Though it's 93 million miles away, the Sun still hurts your eyes when you look at it. But bright sunlight (along with accurate planning and proper equipment!) resulted in this…
The International Space Station Expands Again
The developing International Space Station (ISS) has changed its appearance again. Over the past few days, the Space Shuttle Atlantis visited the ISS and added pieces of the…
Beagle Crater on Mars
What have we found on the way to large Victoria Crater? Smaller Beagle Crater . The robotic Opportunity rover rolling across Mars stopped at Beagle Crater early last month and…
Eris: The Largest Known Dwarf Planet
Is Pluto the largest dwarf planet? No! Currently, the largest known dwarf planet is (136199) Eris , renamed last week from 2003 UB313 . Eris is just slightly larger than Pluto,…
Anticrepuscular Rays Over Florida
What's happening over the horizon? Although the scene may appear somehow supernatural , nothing more unusual is occurring than a setting Sun and some well placed clouds.…
Viewing discoveries from 10 October 2006 through 17 September 2006.