Browse NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day archive by date and media: Archive Discoveries
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The Mysterious Rings of Supernova 1987A
What's causing those odd rings in supernova 1987A? In 1987, the brightest supernova in recent history occurred in the Large Magellanic Clouds . At the center of the picture is an…
The 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.…
Comet McNaught Heads for the Sun
Early morning risers with a clear and unobstructed eastern horizon can enjoy the sight of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) in dawn skies over the next few days. Discovered in August by…
Central Cygnus
Supergiant star Gamma Cygni lies at the center of the Northern Cross, famous asterism in the constellation Cygnus the Swan . Known by the proper name Sadr , the bright star also…
Twenty Full Moons
In celebration of tonight's Full Moon , the first of 2007, consider this grid of twenty Full Moons . From upper left to lower right, the images represent every lunation from May…
Light from the First Stars
What were the first stars like? No one is yet sure. Our Sun is not a first- generation star. It is not even second generation. The first stars to appear in the universe likely…
NGC 6960: The Witch's Broom Nebula
Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history , a new light must suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light…
A Year of Extraterrestrial Fountains and Flows
The past year was extraordinary for the discovery of extraterrestrial fountains and flows -- some offering new potential in the search for liquid water and the origin of life…
Martian Analemma
On planet Earth, an analemma is the figure-8 loop you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day throughout the year. But similarly marking the position…
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…
Moon Over Andromeda
The Great Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda (aka M31), a mere 2.5 million light-years distant , is the closest large spiral to our own Milky Way. Andromeda is visible to the unaided eye…
IC 5067: Emission Nebula Close-up
This amazing skyscape lies along a bright ridge of emission in IC 5067, also known as The Pelican Nebula . Appropriately, the Pelican Nebula itself is part of a much larger,…
The Gegenschein
If you look carefully enough, you can even see the glow of the Sun in the opposite direction. At night this glow is known as the gegenschein (German for “counter glow”), and can…
Upgrading the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) will be the largest human-made object ever to orbit the Earth . The station is so large that it could not be launched all at once -- it is…
Rumors of a Strange Universe
Eight years ago results were first presented indicating that most of the energy in our universe is not in stars or galaxies but is tied to space itself. In the language of…
The Analemma and the Temple of Olympian Zeus
An analemma is that figure-8 curve you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day throughout planet Earth's year. Above, 47 separate exposures (plus one…
The View from Stereo Ahead
On December 22nd, at 0022 Universal Time the Sun reached its southernmost point in Earth's sky marking the final season change for the year 2006. In celebration of the Solstice ,…
Minotaur Dawn
Last Saturday , some colorful dawn skies along the US east coast featured the Moon and a Minotaur rocket climbing into low Earth orbit. The 7AM launch of the four stage Air Force…
Star Forming Region NGC 6357
For reasons unknown, NGC 6357 is forming some of the most massive stars ever discovered. Near the more obvious Cat's Paw nebula, NGC 6357 houses the open star cluster Pismis 24 ,…
Massive Stars in Open Cluster Pismis 24
How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over 200 times the mass of…
Aurora Over Iowa
Last Thursday evening, stars were not the only lights in Iowa skies. Spectacular northern lights also shone from the heavens, extending across the midwestern USA and other…
A Force from Empty Space: The Casimir Effect
This tiny ball provides evidence that the universe will expand forever. Measuring slightly over one tenth of a millimeter, the ball moves toward a smooth plate in response to…
A Path To Orion
Last Saturday, the Space Shuttle Discovery lit up the night as it climbed into orbit above planet Earth . From Oak Hill, Florida, USA - about 30 miles north of the Kennedy Space…
NGC 1055 and M77
Large spiral galaxy NGC 1055 (top left) joins spiral M77 in this lovely cosmic view toward the constellation Cetus . The narrowed, dusty appearance of edge-on spiral NGC 1055…
Viewing discoveries from 7 January 2007 through 15 December 2006.