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.
The Sun Also Rises
Sunrise seen from low Earth orbit by the shuttle astronauts can be very dramatic indeed (and the authors apologize to Hemingway for using his title!). In this breathtaking view,…
Repairing Hubble
The first Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission, STS-61, was one of the most complicated shuttle missions ever planned. Launched on December 2, 1993 in the Space Shuttle…
A Quintet of Galaxies
Five closely grouped galaxies are visible in this image made using the Kitt Peak National Observatory 2.1 meter telescope. The grouping is commonly known as Stephan's Quintet .…
Aurora and Orion
Looking toward the south from low Earth orbit, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor made this stunning time exposure of the Aurora Australis (southern lights) in April of 1994.…
Virgo Cluster Galaxies
Pictured are several galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, the closest cluster of galaxies to the Milky Way . The Virgo Cluster spans more than 5 degrees on the sky - about 10 times the…
Blue Jet Lightning
Recently two new types of lightning have been verified: red sprites and blue jets . These atmospheric discharges occur very high in the Earth 's atmosphere - much higher than the…
Red Sprite Lightning
Recently two new types of lightning have been verified: red sprites and blue jets . These atmospheric discharges occur very high in the Earth 's atmosphere - much higher than the…
Lightning and the Space Shuttle
There are many things about lightning that are not understood. Lightning has been seen in the atmospheres of Venus , Earth , Jupiter , and Saturn . A leading theory is that…
M104: The Sombrero Galaxy
The famous Sombrero galaxy (M104) is a bright nearby spiral galaxy . The prominent dust lane and halo of stars and globular clusters give this galaxy its name. Something very…
Simulating the Universe
The above cube represents a chunk of our universe as simulated by the Grand Challenge Cosmology Consortium (GC3). The cube is huge - it would take light 500 million years to cross…
Eagle EGGs in M16
Star forming regions known as “EGGs” are uncovered at the end of this giant pillar of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula ( M 16). EGGs, short for evaporating gaseous globules , are…
M16: Stars Upon Pillars
How do stars form? This stunning picture taken recently by the Hubble Space Telescope gives us a first hand glimpse. Here evaporating gaseous globules (EGGs) are captured emerging…
Vela Satellites: The Watchers
In October of 1963 the US Air Force launched the first in a series of satellites inspired by a recently signed nuclear test ban treaty . Signatories of this treaty agreed not to…
Neptune's Moon Proteus
Proteus is the second largest moon of Neptune behind the mysterious Triton . Proteus was discovered only in 1982 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. This is unusual since Neptune has a…
Jupiter's Moon Amalthea
Amalthea is Jupiter 's fifth largest moon, much smaller than the four Galilean satellites Io , Europa , Ganymede , and Callisto . The orbit of Amalthea is inside of these moons,…
The Red Rectangle
The unusual geometry of this stellar nebula creates somewhat of a mystery. At the nebula's center is a young binary star system that probably created the nebula, but how? This…
M16: Dust and an Open Cluster
The photogenic M 16 shown above is composed of a young star cluster and a spectacular emission nebulae lined with distinct regions of interstellar dust . Most of the stars in the…
A Halloween Invasion from Mars
Orson Welles became an instant legend on Halloween in 1938 for his radio dramatization of H.G. Wells' “War of the Worlds” . Some listeners who did not realize it was a theatrical…
Comet Hale-Bopp Update
Will comet Hale-Bopp become the brightest comet of the Century in early 1997? Since its discovery in July this year, Hale-Bopp has caused much speculation. Even though it is still…
Radioactive Clouds in the Milky Way
When massive stars explode they create large radioactive blast clouds which expand into interstellar space. As the radioactive elements decay, they produce gamma-rays. Possible…
The Delta Clipper
The Delta Clipper experimental rocket or DC-X is intended as a development vehicle to pave the way for a reusable single stage to orbit rocket. Shown here, in an artists…
The Tarantula and the Supernova
In this close-up of the Large Magellanic Cloud , the spidery looking nebula on the left is fittingly known as as the Tarantula nebula. It is an emission nebula surrounding a…
Aurora Astern
Sailing upside down, 115 nautical miles above Earth, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour made this spectacular time exposure of the southern aurora (aurora australis) in…
Painting with Solar Neutrons
Solar flares are propelled high above the Sun's surface by powerful, twisted magnetic fields. The flares spew high energy atomic and subatomic particles into space. During an…
Viewing discoveries from 17 November 1995 through 25 October 1995.