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 Spider and The Fly
Star clusters and nebulae abound in the ancient northern constellation Auriga - a region that includes the interesting pair NGC 1931 (lower left) and IC 417. In this gorgeous…
Composite Crab
The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object on Charles Messier's famous list of things which are not comets. In fact, the Crab is now known to be a supernova remnant ,…
Help Search for Interstellar Dust
What caused that hole? The hole in question appears as a small dark circle on the far right. If the above image of aerogel seems dull and uninteresting, then welcome to one aspect…
The Antennae Galaxies in Collision
Two galaxies are squaring off in Corvus and here are the latest pictures . When two galaxies collide , however, the stars that compose them usually do not. This is because…
Orionid Meteors Over Turkey
Meteors have been flowing out from the constellation Orion. This was expected, as mid-October is the time of year for the Orionids Meteor Shower . Pictured above, over a dozen…
Star EGGs in the Eagle Nebula
Where do stars form? One place, star forming regions known as “EGGs”, are uncovered at the end of this giant pillar of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula ( M 16). EGGs, short for…
Tombaugh 4
Clyde Tombaugh discovered planet Pluto in 1930 while surveying the skies with the 13-inch Lawrence Lowell Telescope. But the skilled and careful astronomer also went on to…
IC 4628: The Prawn Nebula
South of Antares , in the tail of the nebula-rich constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628 . Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, radiate the nebula…
SWAN Meets Galaxy
This cosmic portrait recorded October 9th features the lovely blue-green coma of Comet SWAN posing with spiral galaxy NGC 5005 in the northern constellation Canes Venatici . At…
NGC 7635: The Bubble
What created this huge space bubble? Blown by the wind from a star, this tantalizing , ghostly apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635, but known simply as The Bubble Nebula .…
Clouds and Sand on the Horizon of Mars
If you could stand on Mars -- what might you see? Like the robotic Opportunity rover rolling across the red planet, you might well see vast plains of red sand , an orange tinted…
In the Shadow of Saturn
In the shadow of Saturn, unexpected wonders appear. The robotic Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn recently drifted in giant planet's shadow for about 12 hours and looked back…
An Orion Deep Field
Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of the night sky's most recognizable constellations , the glowing Orion Nebula and the dark Horsehead Nebula are contrasting cosmic vistas.…
Full Moon Crossing
On October 6th, a nearly full perigee Moon shone in Earth's night sky. The bright moonlight , accurate planning, and proper equipment resulted in this amazing composite featuring…
The Hubble SWEEPS Field
This crowded star field towards the center of our Milky Way Galaxy turns out to be a great place to search for planets beyond our solar system. In fact, repeatedly imaging about…
Saturn's Infrared Glow
Known for its bright ring system and many moons , gas giant Saturn looks strange and unfamiliar in this false-color view from the Cassini spacecraft. In fact, in this Visual and…
Markarian's Chain of Galaxies
Across the heart of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies lies a striking string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain. The chain, pictured above , is highlighted on the lower right with…
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.…
Viewing discoveries from 27 October 2006 through 4 October 2006.