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.
Planets Over Stonehenge
Stonehenge , four thousand year old monument to the Sun , provides an appropriate setting for this delightful snapshot of the Sun's children gathering in planet Earth's sky. While…
Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet
It was a quiet day on the Sun . The above image shows, however, that even during off days the Sun's surface is a busy place. Shown in ultraviolet light , the relatively cool dark…
Smog Over New York
What is not pretty about the above picture ? In a word: smog . In 2000 October the orbiting Space Shuttle Discovery photographed upstate New York just at sunset. Visible is golden…
NGC 4676: When Mice Collide
These two galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as “ The Mice ” because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy has likely already passed through the other and will…
The M7 Open Star Cluster in Scorpius
M7 is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars on the sky. The cluster, dominated by bright blue stars , can be seen with the naked eye in a dark sky in the tail of the…
The Moons of Earth
While orbiting the planet during their June 1998 mission, the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery photographed this view of two moons of Earth. Thick storm clouds are visible in…
Cone Nebula Close-Up
Cones, pillars , and majestic flowing shapes abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from newborn stars. A well-known…
Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tidal Tail
In this stunning vista recorded with the Hubble Space Telescope's new advanced camera , distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiral galaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole…
In the Center of the Omega Nebula
In the depths of the dark clouds of dust and molecular gas known as the Omega Nebula , stars continue to form. The above image from the Hubble Space Telescope 's newly installed…
The Holographic Principle
Is this image worth a thousand words? According to the Holographic Principle , the most information you can get from this image is about 3 x 1065 bits for a normal sized computer…
Dusk of the Planets
A great grouping of planets is now visible to the west just after sunset. Over the next two weeks, Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , and Saturn -- the innermost six…
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…
Hawaii
Aloha ! With the graceful arc of Earth's limb in the background, the Hawaiian Island archipelago is visible in this stunning photo taken by the astronauts onboard the shuttle…
Comet Ikeya-Zhang Meets The ISS
Still catching the Sun's rays, the International Space Station (ISS) cruises across the early evening sky above Tomahawk, Wisconsin, USA. Recorded on April 9 around 9 pm CDT in a…
Southern Cross in Mauna Loa Skies
Gazing across this gorgeous skyscape, the Southern Cross and stars of the constellation Centaurus are seen above the outline of Mauna Loa (Long Mountain), planet Earth's largest…
The Trifid Nebula from AAO
Unspeakable beauty and unimaginable bedlam can be found together in the Trifid Nebula . Also known as M20, this photogenic nebula is visible with good binoculars towards the…
The Newly Expanded International Space Station
What does the developing International Space Station (ISS) look like now? After delivering and deploying a crucial first backbone-like component last week, the Space Shuttle…
Comet and Aurora Over Alaska
Can you spot the comet? Flowing across the frozen Alaskan landscape is an easily visible, colorful aurora. Just to the lower left, however, well in the background, is something…
The Center of Centaurus A
A fantastic jumble of young blue star clusters, gigantic glowing gas clouds, and imposing dark dust lanes surrounds the central region of the active galaxy Centaurus A. This…
Orion Nebula: The 2MASS View
Few astronomical sights excite the imagination like the nearby stellar nursery known as the Orion Nebula . The Nebula's glowing gas surrounds hot young stars at the edge of an…
The Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms
Also known as the Moon's “ashen glow” or “the old Moon in the new Moon's arms”, Earthshine is Earthlight reflected from the Moon's night side. This dramatic image of Earthshine…
Planets in the West
Have you seen any bright planets lately? Chances are if you've been outside under clear skies just after sunset, then you have. Now shining in the west as bright “ stars ” in the…
The Glory
Looking out the window of an airplane, you might be lucky enough to see “the glory” in the direction directly opposite the Sun. Before airplanes , the phenomenon, known to some as…
Millions of Stars in Omega Centauri
Pictured above is the largest ball of stars in our Galaxy . About 10 million stars orbit the center of this globular cluster - named Omega Centauri - as this giant globular…
Viewing discoveries from 9 May 2002 through 16 April 2002.