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.
MWC 922: The Red Square Nebula
What could cause a nebula to appear square? No one is quite sure. The hot star system known as MWC 922 , however, appears to be embedded in a nebula with just such a shape. The…
NGC 6384: Spiral Beyond the Stars
The universe is filled with galaxies . But to see them astronomers must look out beyond the stars of our galaxy, the Milky Way . For example, consider this colorful telescopic…
The CMB Cold Spot
How could part of the early universe be so cold? No one is sure, and many astronomers now think that the CMB Cold Spot on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation is not…
Parthenon Moon
Did you see the Full Moon last night? Near the horizon , the lunar orb may have seemed to loom large, swollen in appearance by the famous Moon illusion . But the Full Moon really…
Messier 106
Close to the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and surrounded by the stars of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici), this celestial wonder was discovered in 1781 by the metric French astronomer…
Mercury and Jupiter at Sunset
When warm sunset hues begin to fade, two celestial beacons now shine in the evening twilight, Mercury and Jupiter. Wandering away from the Sun in planet Earth's sky, Mercury will…
Saturn's Serpent Storm
Late last year, a new, remarkably bright storm erupted in Saturn's northern hemisphere. Nicknamed “the Serpent Storm”, the northern hemisphere disturbance is still going strong…
Sideways Galaxy NGC 3628
Dark dust lanes cut across the middle of this gorgeous island universe , a strong hint that NGC 3628 is a spiral galaxy seen sideways . About 35 million light-years away in the…
Cassini Approaches Saturn
What would it look like to approach Saturn in a spaceship? One doesn't have to just imagine -- the Cassini spacecraft did just this in 2004, recording thousands of images along…
Spacecrafts Streak Over Colorado
Have you ever seen a “star” drifting slowly overhead, but not known what it was? Sometimes even pointing it out to friends or family will only lead to a shrug . What you are…
A Mars Panorama from the Phoenix Lander
If you could stand on Mars, what would you see? The robotic Phoenix spacecraft that landed on Mars in 2008 recorded the above spectacular panorama . The above image is actually a…
Mare Orientale
Shaped like a target ring bull's-eye, the Mare Orientale is one of the most striking large scale lunar features. Located on the Moon's extreme western edge , it is unfortunately…
AE Aurigae and the Flaming Star Nebula
AE Aurigae is the bright star below and left of center in this evocative portrait of IC 405 , also known as the Flaming Star Nebula. Embedded in the cosmic cloud, the hot,…
Discovery in Twilight
As evening twilight faded on March 7, sky gazers around planet Earth enjoyed a beautiful pairing of young crescent Moon and brilliant planet Jupiter. Along with stars setting in…
The International Space Station Expands Again
The developing International Space Station (ISS) has changed its appearance again. In a recently completed rendezvous, the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery , in its final flight ,…
Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini
How thin are the rings of Saturn? Brightness measurements from different angles have shown Saturn's rings to be about one kilometer thick, making them many times thinner, in…
A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
One of the most spectacular solar sights is an erupting prominence. Two weeks ago, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence…
Asteroids in the Distance
Rocks from space hit Earth every day. The larger the rock, though, the less often Earth is struck. Many kilograms of space dust pitter to Earth daily. Larger bits appear initially…
Cooling Neutron Star
Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a comfortable 11,000 light-years away. Light from the Cas A supernova, the death explosion of a massive star, first reached Earth just…
NGC 6914 Nebulae
A dramatic study in contrasts, this colorful skyscape features stars, dust, and glowing gas in NGC 6914. The complex of nebulae lies some 6,000 light-years away, toward the…
Lunar Nearside
About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside . But…
NGC 1499: The California Nebula
What's California doing in space? Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of…
Discovery Visits the Space Station
What's happening outside the space station? A space shuttle has docked. Five days ago, the space shuttle Discovery was launched to the International Space Station , carrying six…
Red Snow Moon Over Edmonton
What's hovering between those buildings? The Moon. The above image was taken two weeks ago as the full Snow Moon started to rise above Edmonton , Alberta , Canada . The odd…
Viewing discoveries from 23 March 2011 through 28 February 2011.