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.
Massive Black Hole Shreds Passing Star
What happens when a star gets too close to a black hole? Recent observations from Earth-orbiting observatories of an event dubbed ASASSN-14li, in a distant galactic center,…
Bright from the Heart Nebula
What's that inside the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart . The nebula glows brightly in red light emitted by its…
Charon and the Small Moons of Pluto
What do the moons of Pluto look like? Before a decade ago, only the largest moon Charon was known, but never imaged. As the robotic New Horizons spacecraft was prepared and…
Jupiter and Venus from Earth
It was visible around the world. The sunset conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in 2012 was visible almost no matter where you lived on Earth. Anyone on the planet with a clear…
Jupiter in 2015
Two remarkable global maps of Jupiter's banded cloud tops can be compared by just sliding your cursor over this sharp projection (or follow this link) of image data from the…
Starburst Galaxy Messier 94
Beautiful island universe Messier 94 lies a mere 15 million light-years distant in the northern constellation of the hunting dogs, Canes Venatici . A popular target for…
Star Factory Messier 17
Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, the star factory known as Messier 17 lies some 5,500 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellation Sagittarius . At that distance,…
The Fractured North Pole of Saturn's Enceladus
The north pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus is unexpectedly fascinating and complex. Previous to the latest flyby of the robotic Cassini spacecraft , the northern region was known…
When Black Holes Collide
What happens when two black holes collide? This extreme scenario likely occurs in the centers of some merging galaxies and multiple star systems. The featured video shows a…
The Southern Cross in a Southern Sky
Have you ever seen the Southern Cross? This famous constellation is best seen from Earth's Southern Hemisphere. Captured from Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , the four bright stars that…
Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan
Why is this cloud so bubbly? Normally, cloud bottoms are flat . The flatness is caused by moist warm air that rises and cools and so condenses into water droplets at a specific…
Bright Spiral Galaxy M81
One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful M81 . The grand spiral galaxy can be found toward the northern…
Night Hides the World
Stars come out as evening twilight fades in this serene skyscape following the Persian proverb “Night hides the world, but reveals a universe.” The scene finds the Sun setting…
M16 and the Eagle Nebula
A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed image of the…
A Gegenschein Lunar Eclipse
Is there anything interesting to see in the direction opposite the Sun? One night last month, there were quite a few things. First, the red-glowing orb on the lower right of the…
The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396
Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story , the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396 , in the high and far off…
Galaxy, Stars, and Dust
Spiky stars and spooky shapes abound in this deep cosmic skyscape . Its well-composed field of view covers about a Full Moon on the sky toward the constellation Pegasus . Of…
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 the Archer ( Sagittarius ). In the center, the three…
Stardust in Perseus
This cosmic expanse of dust, gas, and stars covers some 6 degrees on the sky in the heroic constellation Perseus . At upper left in the gorgeous skyscape is the intriguing young…
The Moon Entering Earth's Shadow
On September 27/28, from all over the planet's nightside moon watchers enjoyed a total lunar eclipse. The dramatic celestial spectacle was widely imaged , but this lunar eclipse…
M83: The Thousand-Ruby Galaxy
Big, bright, and beautiful, spiral galaxy M83 lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long constellation Hydra . Prominent spiral arms…
La Palma Eclipse Sequence
At left, a dramatic image sequence follows late September's total lunar eclipse above a rugged landscape and sea of clouds from the Canary island of La Palma . Composited in a…
Flying Past Pluto
What would it look like to fly past Pluto? The robotic New Horizons spacecraft did just this in late July and continues to return stunning pictures of the dwarf planet. Some…
Orion Over and Under Tibet
This night was so serene you could see Orion rise downwards. The unusual spectacle was captured in this single-exposure image, featuring a deep sky around the famous constellation…
Viewing discoveries from 28 October 2015 through 5 October 2015.