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.
IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula
The prominent ridge of emission featured in this sharp, colorful skyscape is cataloged as IC 5067. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape, popularly called The…
NGC 5078 and Friends
This sharp telescopic field of view holds two bright galaxies. Barred spiral NGC 5101 (top right) and nearly edge-on system NGC 5078 are separated on the sky by about 0.5 degrees…
Milky Way Over the Spanish Peaks
That's not lightning, and it did not strike between those mountains. The diagonal band is actually the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while the twin peaks are actually…
Inside a Daya Bay Antineutrino Detector
Why is there more matter than antimatter in the Universe? To better understand this facet of basic physics, energy departments in China and the USA led in the creation of the Daya…
LL Orionis: When Cosmic Winds Collide
What created this great arc in space? This arcing, graceful structure is actually a bow shock about half a light-year across, created as the wind from young star LL Orionis…
Milky Way and Planets Near Opposition
In this early May night skyscape, a mountain road near Bursa, Turkey seems to lead toward bright planets Mars and Saturn and the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, a direction nearly…
3D Mercury Transit
On May 9, innermost planet Mercury crossed IN FRONT of the Sun. Though pictures project the event in only two dimensions, a remarkable three dimensional perspective on the transit…
The Surface of Europa
An enhanced-color view , this image covers a 350 by 750 kilometer swath across the surface of Jupiter's tantalizing moon Europa . The close-up combines high-resolution image data…
Halo from Atacama
Influenced by the strong Pacific El Nino , cloudy skies have more often come to Chile's high Atacama Desert this season, despite its reputation as an astronomer's paradise.…
The Orion Nebula in Visible and Infrared
The Great Nebula in Orion is a colorful place. Visible to the unaided eye, it appears as a small fuzzy patch in the constellation of Orion . Long exposure, multi-wavelength images…
Clouds of the Carina Nebula
What forms lurk in the mists of the Carina Nebula? The dark ominous figures are actually molecular clouds , knots of molecular gas and dust so thick they have become opaque . In…
Milky Way Over Quiver Tree Forest
In front of a famous background of stars and galaxies lies some of Earth's more unusual trees. Known as quiver trees, they are actually succulent aloe plants that can grow to…
Falcon 9 and Milky Way
On May 6, the after midnight launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up dark skies over Merritt Island, planet Earth. Its second stage bound for Earth orbit , the rocket's arc…
ISS and Mercury Too
Transits of Mercury are relatively rare. Monday's leisurely 7.5 hour long event was only the 3rd of 14 Mercury transits in the 21st century. If you're willing to travel, transits…
A Transit of Mercury
On May 9 , the diminutive disk of Mercury spent about seven and a half hours crossing in front of the Sun as viewed from the general vicinity of Earth . It was the third of 14…
Saturn and Mars visit Milky Way Star Clouds
Planets, stars, nebulas and a galaxy -- this impressive image has them all. Closest to home are the two planets Mars (right) and Saturn (center), visible as the two bright orange…
Mercury's Transit: An Unusual Spot on the Sun
What's that dot on the Sun? If you look closely, it is almost perfectly round. The dot is the result of an unusual type of solar eclipse that occurred in 2006. Usually it is the…
Three Worlds for TRAPPIST-1
Three new found worlds orbit the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 , a mere 40 light-years away. Their transits were first detected by the Belgian robotic TRA nsiting P lanets and P…
NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula
These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away, in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus . Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to…
The SONG and the Hunter
Near first quarter, the Moon in March lights this snowy, rugged landscape, a view across the top of Tenerife toward La Palma in the Canary Islands Spanish archipelago. The large…
A Mercury Transit Sequence
This coming Monday, Mercury will cross the face of the Sun , as seen from Earth. Called a transit , the last time this happened was in 2006 . Because the plane of Mercury's orbit…
Aurora over Sweden
It was bright and green and stretched across the sky. This striking aurora display was captured last month just outside of stersund , Sweden . Six photographic fields were merged…
Crossing Mars
Where is NASA's rover Curiosity going on Mars? Its geographical goals are on the slopes of Mount Sharp , whose peak is seen in the background on the right. A key scientific goal ,…
Contemplating the Sun
Have you contemplated your home star recently? Featured here, a Sun partially eclipsed on the top left by the Moon is also seen eclipsed by earthlings contemplating the eclipse…
Viewing discoveries from 26 May 2016 through 1 May 2016.