Browse NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day archive by date and media: Archive Discoveries
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Galaxies in the River
Large galaxies grow by eating small ones. Even our own galaxy engages in a sort of galactic cannibalism , absorbing small galaxies that are too close and are captured by the Milky…
The Horsehead Nebula
Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, this dusty interstellar molecular cloud has by chance assumed an immediately recognizable shape. Fittingly known as The Horsehead Nebula ,…
The Heart of the Soul Nebula
This cosmic close-up looks deep inside the Soul Nebula. The dark and brooding dust clouds outlined by bright ridges of glowing gas are cataloged as IC 1871. About 25 light-year s…
Flying Over the Earth at Night
Many wonders are visible when flying over the Earth at night. Such visual spectacles occur every day for astronauts in low Earth orbit, but the featured video captured several…
The Sun and Its Missing Colors
It is still not known why the Sun's light is missing some colors. Here are all the visible colors of the Sun , produced by passing the Sun's light through a prism -like device.…
Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater
Fifty three years ago , in December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon exploring the Taurus-Littrow valley, while…
The Bipolar Jets of KX Andromedae
Blasting outward from variable star KX Andromedae, these stunning bipolar jets are 19 light-years long. Recently discovered , they are revealed in unprecedented detail in this…
Galaxies in the Furnace
An example of violence on a cosmic scale, enormous elliptical galaxy NGC 1316 lies about 75 million light-years away toward Fornax , the southern constellation of the Furnace.…
Visualization: Near a Black Hole and Disk
What would it look like to plunge into a monster black hole? This image from a supercomputer visualization shows the entire sky as seen from a simulated camera plunging toward a…
M77: Spiral Galaxy with an Active Center
What's happening in the center of nearby spiral galaxy M77? The face-on galaxy lies a mere 47 million light-years away toward the constellation of the Sea Monster ( Cetus ). At…
3I/ATLAS: Tails of an Interstellar Comet
How typical is our Solar System? Studying 3I/ATLAS , a comet just passing through, is providing clues. Confirmed previous interstellar visitors include an asteroid , a comet , a…
The Surface of Titan from Huygens
If you could stand on Titan -- what would you see? The featured color view from Titan gazes across an unfamiliar and distant landscape on Saturn's largest moon. The scene was…
Moon Games
This is not a screen from a video game . Nestled below the treeline, the small mountain church does look like it might be hiding from Moon though. In the well-composed telephoto…
NGC 6888: The Crescent Nebula
NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a about 25 light-years across, a cosmic bubble blown by winds from its central, massive star. This deep telescopic image includes…
Portrait of NGC 1055
Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of a small galaxy group a mere 60 million light-years away toward the aquatically intimidating constellation Cetus .…
Globular Cluster M15 Deep Field
Stars, like bees, swarm around the center of bright globular cluster M15. The central ball of over 100,000 stars is a relic from the early years of our Galaxy , and continues to…
Comet Lemmon and the Milky Way
What did Comet Lemmon look like when it was at its best? One example is pictured here, featuring three celestial spectacles all at different distances. The closest spectacle is…
Apep: Unusual Dust Shells from Webb
What created this unusual space sculpture? Stars . This unusual system of swirls and shells, known as Apep , was observed in unprecedented detail by NASA ’s James Webb Space…
The Observable Universe
How far can you see? Everything you can see, and everything you could possibly see, right now, assuming your eyes could detect all types of radiations around you -- is the…
Dione and Rhea Ring Transit
Seen to the left of Saturn's banded planetary disk, small icy moons Dione and Rhea are caught passing in front of the gas giant's extensive ring system in this sharp telescopic…
3I/ATLAS: A View from Planet Earth
Now outbound after its perihelion or closest approach to the Sun on October 29, Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar object to pass through our fair Solar System.…
Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka
Alnitak , Alnilam , and Mintaka are the bright bluish stars from east to west (upper right to lower left) along the diagonal in this cosmic vista . Otherwise known as the Belt of…
Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas
Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an angular elegance. Such is the case toward the far-south constellation of Chamaeleon . Normally too faint to see , dark dust is…
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The Galactic Plane: Radio Versus Visible
What does the Milky Way look like in radio waves? To better find out, GLEAM surveyed the central band of our galaxy in high resolution radio light as imaged by the Murchison…
Viewing discoveries from 11 December 2025 through 18 November 2025.