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.
Contemplating the Sky
Have you contemplated your sky recently? Last night was a good one for midnight meditators at many northerly locations as meteors from the Perseid meteor shower frequently…
The Colors and Mysteries of Centaurus A
Why is spiral galaxy Centaurus A in so much turmoil? The above composite image shows different clues to the unusual galaxy's past in different bands of light. In low energy radio…
A Perseid Meteor
The ongoing Perseid Meteor Shower should be at its strongest on August 12 and 13. The best time to watch will be between 2:00 AM and dawn on Monday morning ( so plan on setting…
Earth at Night
This is what the Earth looks like at night. Can you find your favorite country or city ? Surprisingly, city lights make this task quite possible. Human-made lights highlight…
Fireworks and Shooting Stars
Experimenting with a new telescope and camera, photographer Jim Steele captured this surreal but festive image of fireworks in the night sky above Ashland, Oregon. The date was…
Ancient Volcanos of Mars
Findings of ancient martian microbial fossils in meteorites and liquid water related features on Mars' surface are currently controversial issues. But one thing long established…
Gomez's Hamburger: A Proto-Planetary Nebula
What, in heaven, is that? Sometimes astronomers see things on the sky they don't immediately understand . In 1985 this happened to Arturo Gomez , and the object became known as…
Muon Wobble Possible Door to Supersymmetric Universe
How fast do fundamental particles wobble? A surprising answer to this seemingly inconsequential question is coming out of Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York , USA and may…
Rays from an Unexpected Aurora
This aurora was a bit of a surprise. For starters, last Friday morning, no intense auroral activity was expected at all. Possibly more surprising, however, the aurora appeared to…
Spiral Galaxy NGC 2997 from VLT
NGC 2997 is a grand design spiral galaxy . Its small nucleus and sprawling spiral arms give it a type Sc designation. NGC 2997, pictured above , is speeding away from us at about…
The Galactic Center - A Radio Mystery
Tuning in to the center of our Milky Way galaxy, radio astronomers explore a complex, mysterious place. A premier high resolution view, this startlingly beautiful picture covers a…
Comet 57P Falls to Pieces
Comet 57P has fallen to pieces , at least 19 of them. Orbiting the Sun every 6 years or so this faint comet - also christened Comet 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte for its three 1941…
Sunspots and Solar Active Regions
July was a good month for sunspots ... really big sunspots. In fact, the full disk and inset pictures above show three large groups of spots, photographed only a few days ago on…
Henize 3-401: An Elongated Planetary Nebula
How do dying stars eject their outer layers? Stars that create elegant planetary nebulas like Henize 3-401, pictured above , are not unusual, causing speculation that, one day,…
A Star Cluster in Motion
Star clusters are a swarm of complex motions. The stars that compose globular clusters and many open clusters all orbit the cluster center, occasionally interacting,…
A Setting Sun Trail
The Sun appears to move on the sky because the Earth rotates . The extreme brightness of the Sun , however, makes it difficult to capture a sun-trail -- the path the Sun traces on…
An Anomalous SETI Signal
No one knows for sure what caused this signal . There is a slight possibility that it just might originate from an extraterrestrial intelligence . The bright colors on the blue…
Apollo 11: Catching Some Sun
Bright sunlight glints and long dark shadows dramatize this image of the lunar surface taken by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first to walk on the Moon . Pictured is the…
Clearing Skies
Clear evening skies are a welcome sight for stargazers worldwide, but clearing skies are good too. Just such a glorious occasion was recorded in this dramatic photo taken by…
NGC 1569: Heavy Elements from a Small Galaxy
For astronomers, elements other than hydrogen and helium are sometimes considered to be simply “heavy elements”. It's understandable really, because even lumped all together heavy…
Our Busy Solar System
Our Solar System is a busy place. Although the major planets get the most press, a swarm of rocks, comets, and asteroids also exist. The above plot shows the placement of known…
The View from Everest
What would it be like to stand atop the tallest mountain on Earth? To see a full panoramic vista from there, scroll right. Visible are snow peaked mountains near and far,…
Open Cluster NGC 6520 from CFHT
Did you ever have a day when it felt like a dark cloud was following you around? For the open cluster of stars NGC 6520, every day is like this. On the left of the above picture…
Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945
For such a close galaxy, NGC 4945 is easy to miss. NGC 4945 is a spiral galaxy in the Centaurus Group of galaxies, located only six times farther away than the prominent Andromeda…
Viewing discoveries from 13 August 2002 through 21 July 2002.