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 Cat's Eye Nebula
Three thousand light years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals “The Cat's Eye Nebula” to be one of the most…
A Martian Sunset
You've had a hard day rolling past Martian rocks , so now just relax your APXS and enjoy the Martian sunset. The above pictures taken by Mars Pathfinder highlight how clouds vary…
Behind CL1358+62: A New Farthest Object
What if we could see back to the beginning of the universe? At one tenth the universe's present age , we might see galaxies forming . But what did galaxies look like when they…
Eagle Castle
What lights up this castle of star formation? The familiar Eagle Nebula glows much like a neon sign , but in many colors at once. The above photograph is a composite of three of…
Strange Rocks on Mars
The rocks on Mars tell us stories about their past. To decipher these stories, a scientist must become a detective , searching for clues and fitting them with theories. The above…
Help Aldebaran Map the Moon
Turn on your camcorder, go outside, and become an astronomer. How? . Tomorrow morning, our Moon will pass directly in front of Aldebaran , the brightest star in this picture and…
A Very Large Array of Radio Telescopes
Pictured above is one of the world's premiere radio astronomical observatories: The Very Large Array (VLA). Each antenna dish is as big as a house (25 meters across) and mounted…
M81 in True Color
Here's is a spiral galaxy in true colors. Previously, M81 was shown in two colors only, but M81's real colors are just as dramatic. In the above picture , note how blue the spiral…
Stellar Laboratories in the LMC
Stars are evolving in the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC). This is particularly evident in the above close-up of the LMC 's edge, which appears about as large as the full moon.…
Mars Pathfinder's Landing Site
Where is Mars Pathfinder ? Follow the arrow in the above picture taken by the Viking Orbiter in 1976. From the surface Mars appears covered with rocks, but from orbit Mars appears…
A Hale-Bopp Triple Crown
It was truly a busy sky. In one of the more spectacular photos yet submitted to Astronomy Picture of the Day , Don Cooke of Lyme, New Hampshire caught the Sun , Moon , Earth ,…
A Presidential Panorama of Mars
Scroll right to unfold the latest panorama of the surface of Mars . For best viewing, click and hold on the right arrow icon at the bottom of your browser window. This image ,…
In the Center of the Keyhole Nebula
Stars, like people, do not always go gentle into that good night . The above Keyhole Nebula results from dying star Eta Carinae 's violently casting off dust and gas during its…
At the Edge of the Helix
While exploring the inner edge of the Helix Nebula with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 , astronomers were able to produce this striking image - rich in…
The Small Cloud of Magellan
The southern sky contains wonders almost unknown in the north. These wonders include the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds : small irregular galaxies orbiting our own larger Milky…
Blue Stars and Red Pillars
Bright blue stars are still forming in the red pillars of the Eagle Nebula. Made famous by a picture from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, the Eagle Nebula shows the dramatic…
Message from Earth
What are these Earthlings trying to tell us? The above message was broadcast from Earth towards the globular star cluster M13 in 1974. During the dedication of the Arecibo…
Mars: Yogi And Friends In 3D
A ramp from the Pathfinder lander , the Sojourner robot rover , airbags, a couch, Barnacle Bill , and Yogi Rock appear together in this 3D stereo view of the surface of Mars .…
Vega
Vega is a bright blue star 25 light years away. Vega is the brightest star in the Summer Triangle , a group of stars easily visible summer evenings in the northern hemisphere. The…
Mars: Twin Peaks In Stereo
Get out your red/blue glasses and gaze across the surface of Mars in stereo. You are looking south of west across an ancient flood channel , Ares Vallis, landing site of the Mars…
Vela Supernova Remnant in Optical
About 11,000 years ago a star in the constellation of Vela exploded. This bright supernova may have been visible to the first human farmers. Today the Vela supernova remnant marks…
Doomed Star Eta Carinae
Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae 's mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun…
Yogi Rock
This portrait of Yogi Rock, a now famous boulder on Mars , was recorded on Sol 3 by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder ( IMP ). Big and friendly looking like its Earth cartoon…
Sojourner's View: The Sagan Memorial Station
The robot rover Sojourner sees Mars from the perspective of a house cat . During the 7 month cruise to Mars aboard the Pathfinder spacecraft, Sojourner measured only seven inches…
Viewing discoveries from 2 August 1997 through 10 July 1997.