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.
IC 2948: The Running Chicken Nebula
Bright nebulae abound in and around the expansive southern constellation of Centaurus . This one, cataloged as IC 2948/2944 is near the star Lambda Centauri (just off the top of…
Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy
A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is about 25 million light-years distant in the loyal constellation Canes Venatici . Also cataloged as NGC 5055, the majestic…
A Protected Night Sky Over Flagstaff
This sky is protected. Yesterday marked the 50 year anniversary of the first lighting ordinance ever enacted, which restricted searchlight advertisements from sweeping the night…
Sky Delights Over Sweden
This night was a sky enthusiast 's delight. While relaxing in Sweden last week, many a cosmic wonder was captured with a single snapshot. They are described here from near to far.…
Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars
This moon is doomed. Mars , the red planet named for the Roman god of war , has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos , whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic .…
Curious Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula
What causes unusual knots of gas and dust in planetary nebulas ? Seen also in the Ring Nebula , the Dumbbell Nebula and NGC 2392 , the knots' existence was not initially predicted…
Yuri's Planet
On April 12th, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alexseyevich Gagarin became the first human in space. His remotely controlled Vostok 1 spacecraft lofted him to an altitude of 200 miles…
At first, he couldn't see the Moon
At first, he couldn't see it, but searching with binoculars along a cloudy western horizon near sunset, photographer Laurent Laveder finally spotted a delicate lunar crescent.…
Stickney Crater
Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered…
A Large Magellanic Cloud Deep Field
Is this a spiral galaxy? No. Actually, it is the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the largest satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way Galaxy . The LMC is classified as a dwarf…
Southern Orion: From Belt to Witch
Do you recognize the belt of Orion in this image? The familiar trio of stars , visible to the unaided eye, can be found across the upper left. Otherwise, the southern part of the…
Mysterious White Rock Fingers on Mars
What caused this unusual white rock formation on Mars? Intrigued by the possibility that they could be salt deposits left over as an ancient lakebed dried-up , detailed studies of…
Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula
The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just below center, is part of a vast complex of…
Jules Verne in Orbit
The bright edge of planet Earth fades into the darkness of space in the background of this view of Jules Verne on an extraordinary voyage . Snapped last Monday, the picture shows…
Layers in Aureum Chaos
At first glance these undulating shapes in shades of blue might look like waves on an ocean . Seen here in a false-color image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera…
South of Orion
This tantalizing array of nebulae and stars can be found about 2 degrees south of the famous star-forming Orion Nebula. The region abounds with energetic young stars producing…
Globular Cluster M55 from CFHT
The fifty-fifth entry in Charles Messier's catalog, M55 is a large and lovely globular cluster of around 100,000 stars. Only 20,000 light-years away in the constellation…
New Space Station Robot Asks to be Called “Dextre the Magnificent”
In a surprising and potentially troubling request, the new space station robot known as Dextre demanded that astronauts refer to it in the future at “Dextre the Magnificent.”…
Close Up of Enceladus' Tiger Stripes
Could life exist beneath Enceladus? A recent flyby of Saturn's icy moon has bolstered this fascinating idea. Two years ago, images from the robot ic Cassini spacecraft orbiting…
Weak Lensing Distorts the Universe
Is the distant universe really what it appears to be? Astronomers hope not. Intervening dark matter , which is normally invisible, might show its presence by distorting images…
Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841
Some 50 million light-years distant, spiral galaxy NGC 2841 can be found in the northern constellation of Ursa Major . This sharp view of the gorgeous island universe shows off a…
Across the Universe
How far can you see? Even the faintest stars visible to the eye are merely hundreds or thousands of light-years distant, all well within our own Milky Way Galaxy . Of course, if…
The N44 Complex
A truly giant complex of emission nebulae , N44 is about 1,000 light-years across. It shines in southern skies as a denizen of our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud ,…
The NGC 3576 Nebula
An intriguing and beautiful nebula, NGC 3576 drifts through the Sagittarius arm of our spiral Milky Way Galaxy . Within the region, episodes of star formation are thought to…
Viewing discoveries from 18 April 2008 through 26 March 2008.