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.
NGC 3293: A Bright Young Star Cluster
Hot blue stars shine brightly in this beautiful, recently formed galactic or “open” star cluster . Open cluster NGC 3293 is located in the constellation Carina , lies at a…
Saturn, Tethys, Rings, and Shadows
Seen from ice moon Tethys , rings and shadows would display fantastic views of the Saturnian system. Haven't dropped in on Tethys lately? Then this gorgeous ringscape from the…
Voorwerpjes in Space
Mysterious Hanny's Voorwerp , Dutch for “Hanny's Object”, is really enormous, about the size of the Milky Way Galaxy and glowing strongly in the greenish light produced by ionized…
Sun and Moon Halo
Two pictures captured on April 1 are combined in this creative day and night composite . Separated in time by about 10 hours the images otherwise match, looking along the coast at…
The Owl and the Galaxy
The Owl and the Galaxy sail these skies With blue and yellow star. They go together beneath the Big Dipper, If you wonder where they are. The Galaxy's light shines through the…
Suiting Up for the Moon
How will cows survive on the Moon? One of the most vexing questions asked about space, scientists have spent decades debating this key issue. Finally, after extensive computer…
Corona from Svalbard
During a total solar eclipse, the Sun's extensive outer atmosphere, or corona, is an inspirational sight. Streamers and shimmering features that engage the eye span a brightness…
A Flag Shaped Aurora over Sweden
It appeared, momentarily, like a 50-km tall banded flag. In mid-March, an energetic Coronal Mass Ejection directed toward a clear magnetic channel to Earth led to one of the more…
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 has been exploring the red planet since…
Diamond Rings and Baily's Beads
Near the March 20 equinox the cold clear sky over Longyearbyen, Norway, planet Earth held an engaging sight, a total eclipse of the Sun . The New Moon's silhouette at stages just…
NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis
Magnificent island universe NGC 2403 stands within the boundaries of the long-necked constellation Camelopardalis . Some 10 million light-years distant and about 50,000…
Orion Spring
As spring comes to planet Earth's northern hemisphere, familiar winter constellation Orion sets in early evening skies and budding trees frame the Hunter's stars . The yellowish…
Naked Eye Nova Sagittarii 2015 No. 2
It quickly went from obscurity to one of the brighter stars in Sagittarius -- but it's fading. Named Nova Sagittarii 2015 No. 2 , the stellar explosion is the brightest nova…
Powers of Ten
How different does the universe look on small, medium, and large scales? The most famous short science film of its generation gives breathtaking comparisons. That film, Powers of…
Atlas V Launches MMS
Birds don't fly this high. Airplanes don't go this fast. The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even comprehend what is going on, nor could any human…
A Double Eclipse of the Sun
Can the Sun be eclipsed twice at the same time? Last Friday was noteworthy because part of the Earth was treated to a rare total eclipse of the Sun. But also on Friday, from a…
Northern Equinox Eclipse
Snowy and cold is weather you might expect at the start of spring for Longyearbyen on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. But that turned out to be good weather for…
Sunshine, Earthshine
Today's date marks an Equinox and a New Moon. Remarkably, while the exact timing of both geocentric events occur within a span of only 13 hours, the moon also reaches its new…
Aurora in the Backyard
On the night of March 17/18 this umbrella of northern lights unfolded over backyards in Vallentuna, Sweden about 30 kilometers north of Stockholm. A result of the strongest…
Earth During a Total Eclipse of the Sun
What does the Earth look like during a total solar eclipse? It appears dark in the region where people see the eclipse, because that's where the shadow of the Moon falls. The…
The Big Dipper Enhanced
Do you see it? This common question frequently precedes the rediscovery of one of the most commonly recognized configurations of stars on the northern sky: the Big Dipper . This…
The Clouds of Orion the Hunter
Cradled in cosmic dust and glowing hydrogen, stellar nurseries in Orion the Hunter lie at the edge of giant molecular clouds some 1,500 light-years away. Spanning about 30…
A Total Eclipse at the End of the World
Would you go to the end of the world to see a total eclipse of the Sun? If you did, would you be surprised to find someone else there already? In 2003, the Sun , the Moon,…
Return at Sunrise
Thursday, shortly after local sunrise over central Asia, this Soyuz spacecraft floated over a sea of golden clouds during its descent by parachute through planet Earth's dense…
Viewing discoveries from 6 April 2015 through 14 March 2015.