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.
APOD Turns Eighteen
The first APOD appeared eighteen years ago today, on 1995 June 16. Although garnering only 14 pageviews on that day, we are proud to estimate that APOD has now served over one…
Delphinid Meteor Mystery
Over a five hour period last Tuesday morning, exposures captured this tantalizing view of meteor streaks and the Milky Way in dark skies above Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.…
Sharpless 115
Sharpless 115 stands just north and west of Deneb, the alpha star of Cygnus the Swan in planet Earth's skies . Noted in the 1959 catalog by astronomer Stewart Sharpless (as…
Four Planet Sunset
You can see four planets in this serene sunset image , created from a series of stacked digital exposures captured near dusk on May 25. The composite picture follows the trail of…
Star Forming Region NGC 3582
What's happening in the NGC 3582 nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57. Visible in this…
The Large Magellanic Cloud in Ultraviolet
Where are the hottest stars in the nearest galaxies? To help find out, NASA commissioned its Earth-orbiting Swift satellite to compile a multi-image mosaic of the neighboring…
Messier Craters in Stereo
Many bright nebulae and star clusters in planet Earth's sky are associated with the name of astronomer Charles Messier , from his famous 18th century catalog. His name is also…
NGC 6302: The Butterfly Nebula
The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects . Though its wingspan covers over 3 light-years, NGC 6302 is no exception. With…
M57: The Ring Nebula
Except for the rings of Saturn , the Ring Nebula (M57) is probably the most famous celestial band. Its classic appearance is understood to be due to our own perspective, though.…
Orion Nebula in Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Sulfur
Few astronomical sights excite the imagination like the nearby stellar nursery known as the Orion Nebula. The Nebula 's glowing gas surrounds hot young stars at the edge of an…
Curiosity: Wheels on Mars
Could life ever have existed on Mars? To help find out, humanity landed the Curiosity rover on Mars last August. To make sure the car-sized explorer survived the interplanetary…
A Roll Cloud Over Uruguay
What kind of cloud is this? A roll cloud . These rare long clouds may form near advancing cold fronts. In particular, a downdraft from an advancing storm front can cause moist…
The Milky Trail
Have you ever hiked the Queen's Garden trail in Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA, planet Earth? Walking along that path in this dark night skyscape, you can almost imagine your journey…
The Eagle and The Swan
The Eagle Nebula and the Swan Nebula span this broad starscape , a telescopic view of the Sagittarius spiral arm toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The Eagle, also known…
One-Armed Spiral Galaxy NGC 4725
While most spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way , have two or more spiral arms, NGC 4725 has only one. In this sharp color composite image , the solo spira mirabilis seems…
NGC 6960: The Witch's Broom Nebula
Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history , a new light would have suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this…
The Large Cloud of Magellan
The 16th century Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew had plenty of time to study the southern sky during the first circumnavigation of planet Earth. As a result,…
Bird Sun Dog
Have you ever seen a little rainbow off to the side of the Sun? Rare but rewarding to see, such spectacles are known as sundogs, mock suns or parhelia. Sundogs are just sunlight…
PanSTARRS Anti-Tail Grows
As planet Earth approached the plane of the Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) orbit on May 23rd, comet watchers were treated to this view of its magnificent anti-tail . The long, narrow…
Lunar Corona over Cochem Castle
This bat-like apparition does not shine on clouds passing over Gotham city . Instead, the cloud bank in silhouette against a colorful lunar corona was spotted on the evening of…
Caterpillar Moon
A close series of consecutive exposures are combined in this intriguing composite of the Full Moon slowly crawling, across the sky . Beginning on the upper right at 19:42 UT and…
Messier 109
Beautiful barred spiral galaxy M109 , 109th entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog of bright Nebulae and Star Clusters , is found just below the Big Dipper's bowl in the…
Red Sprite Lightning with Aurora
What's that in the sky? It is a rarely seen form of lightning confirmed only about 25 years ago: a red sprite . Recent research has shown that following a powerful positive…
The Red Rectangle Nebula from Hubble
How was the unusual Red Rectangle nebula created? At the nebula's center is an aging binary star system that surely powers the nebula but does not, as yet, explain its colors. The…
Viewing discoveries from 16 June 2013 through 21 May 2013.