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.
Endeavour in the Moon
Glaring near the top of the frame, the shuttle orbiter Endeavour rockets into the night on the STS-126 mission. Endeavour left planet Earth on November 14 from Launch Pad 39A at…
Unusual Auroras Over Saturn's North Pole
What's causing this unusual aurora over Saturn? No one is sure. Infrared images by the robotic Cassini spacecraft of the north pole of Saturn have uncovered aurora unlike any…
Restored: First Image of the Earth from the Moon
Pictured above is the first image ever taken of the Earth from the Moon. The image was taken in 1966 by Lunar Orbiter 1 and heralded by then-journalists as the Image of the…
HR 8799: Discovery of a Multi-planet Star System
How common are planetary systems like our own Solar System? In the twelve years previous to 2008, over 300 candidate planetary systems have been found orbiting nearby stars. None,…
Anticrepuscular Rays Over Colorado
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. Pictured…
Arp 273
The two prominent stars in the foreground of this colorful skyscape are well within our own Milky Way Galaxy . Their spiky appearance is due to diffraction in the astronomer's…
Fomalhaut b
Fomalhaut ( sounds like “foam-a-lot”) is a bright, young, star, a short 25 light-years from planet Earth in the direction of the constellation Piscis Austrinus . In this sharp…
A Bubble in Cygnus
Adrift in the rich star fields of the constellation Cygnus, this lovely, symmetric bubble nebula was only recently recognized and may not yet appear in astronomical catalogs. In…
Phoenix and the Holy Cow
The northern Martian summer is waning. As predicted, a decline in daylight hours, deteriorating weather, and dust storms are preventing solar arrays on the Phoenix Mars Lander…
The Cosmic Web of the Tarantula Nebula
First cataloged as a star, 30 Doradus is actually an immense star forming region in nearby galaxy The Large Magellanic Cloud . The region's spidery appearance is responsible for…
Our Galaxy's Central Molecular Zone
The central region of our Milky Way Galaxy is a mysterious and complex place. Pictured here in radio and infrared light, the galaxy's central square degree is highlighted in fine…
Two Black Holes Dancing in 3C 75
What's happening at the center of active galaxy 3C 75? The two bright sources at the center of this composite x-ray (blue)/ radio (pink) image are co-orbiting supermassive black…
On the Trail of 2008 TC3
On October 7, the early dawn over northern Sudan revealed this twisted, high altitude trail. Captured in a video frame, the long-lasting persistent train is from the impact of a…
Cygnus Trio
In this colorful mosaic, filaments of gas and dust span some 9 degrees across central Cygnus, a nebula rich constellation along the northern Milky Way . A trio of nebulae with…
A Sharper View of a Hazy Giant
This dramatic image of Jupiter is touted as the sharpest picture of the entire gas giant ever taken from the ground. The picture was made using a prototype instrument known as MAD…
Seventeen Hundred Kilometers Above Enceladus
Above is one of the closest pictures yet obtained of Saturn's ice-spewing moon Enceladus. The image was taken from about 1,700 kilometers up as the robotic Cassini spacecraft…
The Double Ring Galaxies of Arp 147 from Hubble
How could a galaxy become shaped like a ring? Even more strange: how could two? The rim of the blue galaxy pictured on the right shows an immense ring-like structure 30,000 light…
A Spectacular Rayed Crater on Mercury
Why does Mercury have so many rayed craters? No one is sure. The robotic MESSENGER spacecraft that is taking unprecedented images as it swoops past the innermost planet has…
Spicules: Jets on the Sun
Imagine a pipe as wide as a state and as long as half the Earth. Now imagine that this pipe is filled with hot gas moving 50,000 kilometers per hour. Further imagine that this…
A Spectre in the Eastern Veil
Menacing flying forms and garish colors are a mark of the Halloween season. They also stand out in this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula itself is a…
A Witch by Starlight
By starlight this eerie visage shines in the dark, a crooked profile evoking its popular name, the Witch Head Nebula . In fact, this entrancing telescopic portrait gives the…
Haunting the Cepheus Flare
Spooky shapes seem to haunt this starry expanse , drifting through the night in the royal constellation Cepheus . Of course, the shapes are cosmic dust clouds faintly visible in…
Mirach's Ghost
As far as ghosts go, Mirach's Ghost isn't really that scary . In fact, Mirach's Ghost is just a faint, fuzzy galaxy, well known to astronomers, that happens to be seen nearly…
The North America Nebula
The North America Nebula in the sky can do what most North Americans on Earth cannot -- form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent , the bright part that…
Viewing discoveries from 20 November 2008 through 28 October 2008.