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.
In the Heart of the Virgo Cluster
The Virgo Cluster of Galaxies is the closest cluster of galaxies to our Milky Way Galaxy . The Virgo Cluster is so close that it spans more than 5 degrees on the sky - about 10…
The Southern Cross in a Southern Sky
This breathtaking patch of sky would be above you were you to stand at the South Pole of the Earth . On the upper left of this image are the four stars that mark the boundaries of…
Apollo 17: VIP Site Anaglyph
Get out your red/blue glasses and check out this stereo scene from Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon! The color anaglyph features a detailed 3D view of Apollo 17's Lunar Rover in…
Comet Between Fireworks and Lightning
Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. In January 2007, people from Perth , Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far.…
SN 1006 Supernova Remnant
A new star, likely the brightest supernova in recorded human history, lit up planet Earth's sky in the year 1006 AD. The expanding debris cloud from the stellar explosion, found…
Hoodoo Sky
The strange-looking rock formations in the foreground of this skyscape are called hoodoos . Towers of weathered, eroded sedimentary rock, hoodoos are found in arid regions of…
Night Shinings
In the early morning hours of June 30th, ghostly clouds hovered in the east in this view of near dawn skies over western France. The noctilucent or night-shining clouds lie near…
Pickering's Triangle from Kitt Peak
Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 7,500 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula , also known as the Cygnus Loop.…
In the Center of the Trifid Nebula
Clouds of glowing gas mingle with dust lanes in the Trifid Nebula , a star forming region toward the constellation of Sagittarius . In the center, the three prominent dust lanes…
Shadow of a Martian Robot
What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human ? Then you might be the Opportunity rover currently exploring Mars. Opportunity and sister robot Spirit have been probing…
Fireball at Ayers Rock
A weekend trip for astrophotography in central Australia can result in gorgeous skyscapes. In this example recorded in March of 2006, the center of our Milky Way Galaxy rises over…
M81: Feeding a Black Hole
This impressive color composite shows spiral galaxy M81 across the electromagnetic spectrum. It combines X-ray data (blue) from the Chandra Observatory, infrared data (pink) from…
M27: Not A Comet
Born on June 26th in 1730, astronomer Charles Messier scanned 18th century French skies for comets. To avoid confusion and aid his comet hunting, he diligently recorded this…
What is Hanny's Voorwerp?
What is that green thing? A volunteer sky enthusiast surfing through online Galaxy Zoo images has discovered something really strange. The mystery object is unusually green, not…
Ithaca Chasma: The Great Rift on Saturn's Tethys
What created the Great Rift on Saturn's moon Tethys? No one is sure. More formally named Ithaca Chasma , the long canyon running across the right of the above image extends about…
The International Space Station Expands Again
The developing International Space Station (ISS) has changed its appearance again. Earlier this month, the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery visited the ISS and added components…
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300
Big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 lies some 70 million light-years away on the banks of the constellation Eridanus . This Hubble Space Telescope composite view of the…
Vanishing Act
Compare these two close-up pictures taken on sol 20 (left) and sol 24 of a trench dug in the Martian surface by NASA's Phoenix Lander . Those sols of the Phoenix Mission ( a sol…
Solstice Moonrise, Cape Sounion
Today's solstice marks the northernmost point of the Sun's annual motion through planet Earth's sky and the astronomical beginning of the northern hemisphere's summer. But only…
The Star Streams of NGC 5907
Grand tidal streams of stars seem to surround galaxy NGC 5907 . The arcing structures form tenuous loops extending more than 150,000 light-years from the narrow, edge-on spiral,…
Pyramid Ice Crystal Halos Over Finland
What if the atmosphere above you became one gigantic lens? This actually happens when a nearly transparent sheet of pyramid shaped ice crystals falls from the sky in a common…
Eta Carinae and the Homunculus Nebula
How did the star Eta Carinae create this unusual nebula? No one knows for sure. About 165 years ago, the southern star Eta Carinae mysteriously became the second brightest star in…
Inside the Coma Cluster of Galaxies
Almost every object in the above photograph is a galaxy. The Coma Cluster of Galaxies pictured above is one of the densest clusters known - it contains thousands of galaxies .…
Phoenix Digs for Clues on Mars
What's a good recipe for preparing Martian soil? Start by filling your robot's scoop a bit less than half way. Next, dump your Martian soil into one of your TEGA ovens, being sure…
Viewing discoveries from 8 July 2008 through 15 June 2008.