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.
Triple Transit and Mutual Events
These three panels feature the Solar System's ruling gas giant Jupiter on August 15 as seen from Cebu City, Philippines, planet Earth. On that date the well-timed telescopic views…
Three Perseid Nights
Frames from a camera that spent three moonless nights under the stars create this composite night skyscape. They were recorded during August 11-13 while planet Earth was sweeping…
Bright Meteor, Starry Sky
Plowing through Earth's atmosphere at 60 kilometers per second, this bright perseid meteor streaks along a starry Milky Way. Captured in dark Portugal skies on August 12, it moves…
Rings Around the Ring Nebula
The Ring Nebula (M57) , is more complicated than it appears through a small telescope. The easily visible central ring is about one light-year across, but this remarkably deep…
M57: The Ring Nebula from Hubble
Except for the rings of Saturn , the Ring Nebula (M57) is probably the most famous celestial circle. Its classic appearance is understood to be due to our own perspective, though.…
Perseid Meteor, Red Sprites, and Nova RS Ophiuchus
This was an unusual sky. It wasn't unusual because of the central band the Milky Way Galaxy , visible along the image left. Most dark skies show part of the Milky Way . It wasn't…
Perseid Rain
Comet dust rained down on planet Earth last week, streaking through dark skies in the annual Perseid meteor shower. The featured picture is a composite of many images taken from…
Island Universe, Cosmic Sand
Stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy are scattered through this eye-catching field of view. From the early hours after midnight on August 13, the 30 second exposure of the night sky…
A Perfect Spiral
If not perfect then this spiral galaxy is at least one of the most photogenic. An island universe of about 100 billion stars, 32 million light-years away toward the constellation…
A Beautiful Trifid
The beautiful Trifid Nebula is a cosmic study in contrasts . Also known as M20, it lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star…
Mammatus Clouds over Saskatchewan
When do cloud bottoms appear like bubbles? Normally, cloud bottoms are flat . This is because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense into water droplets at a specific…
Fire in Space
What does fire look like in space? In the gravity on Earth , heated air rises and expands, causing flames to be teardrop shaped . In the microgravity of the air-filled…
Perseus and the Lost Meteors
What's the best way to watch a meteor shower? This question might come up later this week when the annual Perseid Meteor Shower peaks. One thing that is helpful is a dark sky, as…
A Perseid Below
Earthlings typically watch meteor showers by looking up. But this remarkable view , captured on August 13, 2011 by astronaut Ron Garan , caught a Perseid meteor by looking down.…
Jezero Crater: Raised Ridges in 3D
Get out your red-blue glasses and hover over the surface of Mars . Taken on July 24, the 3D color view is from the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter's 10th flight above the Red Planet .…
Stars and Dust Across Corona Australis
Cosmic dust clouds cross a rich field of stars in this telescopic vista near the northern boundary of Corona Australis , the Southern Crown. Less than 500 light-years away the…
Tycho and Clavius
South is up in this detailed telescopic view across the Moon's rugged southern highlands. Captured on July 20, the lunar landscape features the Moon's young and old, the large…
EHT Resolves Central Jet from Black Hole in Cen A
How do supermassive black holes create powerful jets? To help find out, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) imaged the center of the nearby active galaxy Centaurus A . The cascade…
A Perseid Fireball and the Milky Way
It was bright and green and flashed as it moved quickly along the Milky Way. It left a trail that took 30 minutes to dissipate. Given the day, August 12, and the direction, away…
Preview unavailable
Open the archive entry to view the source media.
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in Light and Sound
Have you heard about the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field? Either way, you've likely not heard about it like this -- please run your cursor over the featured image and listen! The Hubble…
Pluto in Enhanced Color
Pluto is more colorful than we can see. Color data and high-resolution images of our Solar System's most famous dwarf planet , taken by the robotic New Horizons spacecraft during…
Remembering NEOWISE
It was just last July. If you could see the stars of the Big Dipper , you could find Comet NEOWISE in your evening sky. After sunset denizens of the north could look for the…
Mimas in Saturnlight
Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Mimas lies in near darkness alongside a dramatic sunlit crescent . The mosaic was captured near the Cassini spacecraft's…
The Tulip and Cygnus X-1
This tall telescopic field of view looks out along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy toward the nebula rich constellation Cygnus the Swan . Popularly called the Tulip Nebula, the…
Viewing discoveries from 21 August 2021 through 29 July 2021.