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.
Venus and the Pleiades
Venus still rules the western skies after sunset as the brilliant evening star. While wandering the ecliptic with its fellow naked-eye planets earlier this month, it passed near…
Massive Star Forming Region DR21 in Infrared
Deep in the normally hidden recesses of giant molecular cloud DR21, a stellar nursery has been found creating some of the most massive stars yet recorded. The orbiting Spitzer…
An Iridescent Cloud Over France
Why would a cloud appear to be different colors? A relatively rare phenomenon known as iridescent clouds can show unusual colors vividly or a whole spectrum of colors…
Apollo 17 Panorama: Astronaut Running
What would it be like to explore the surface of another world? In 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission, astronaut Harrison Schmitt found out first hand. In this case, the world was…
Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
In Jules Verne 's science fiction classic A Journey to the Center of the Earth , Professor Liedenbrock and his fellow explorers encounter many strange and exciting wonders. What…
Facing NGC 6946
From our vantage point in the Milky Way Galaxy , we see NGC 6946 face-on. The big beautiful spiral galaxy is located just 10 million light-years away, behind a veil of foreground…
NGC 4565: Galaxy on the Edge
Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many springtime…
Elusive Jellyfish Nebula
Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught in the net of this spectacular wide-field telescopic view. Flanked by two yellow-tinted stars at the foot of a celestial…
Unusual Spiral Galaxy M66
Why isn't spiral galaxy M66 symmetric? Usually density waves of gas, dust, and newly formed stars circle a spiral galaxy 's center and create a nearly symmetric galaxy . The…
Unusually Strong Cyclone Off the Brazilian Coast
How did this huge cyclone form? An unusually strong storm -- perhaps the strongest storm in the recorded history of the South Atlantic Ocean -- crossed the coast of Brazil last…
A Berry Bowl of Martian Spherules
How were these unusual Martian spherules created? Thousands of unusual gray spherules , made of iron and rock but dubbed blueberries , were found embedded in and surrounding rocks…
The Lost World of Lake Vida
A lake hidden beneath 19 meters of ice and gravel has been found near the bottom of the world that might contain an ecosystem completely separate from our own. In a modern version…
A Mystery In Gamma Rays
Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light, packing a million or more times the energy of visible light photons. If you could see gamma rays, the familiar skyscape of steady…
Mercury and Venus in the West
Doing their part in the ongoing dance of the planets , Mercury and Venus both reached their greatest elongation or maximum apparent distance from the Sun only a few days ago, on…
April Fools Day More Intense On Mars
Today, April 1st, astrophysicists have announced a surprising discovery - April Fools Day is more intense on Mars! Though the discovery is contrary to accepted theories of April…
M39: Open Cluster in Cygnus
Lying just at the limit of human perception is a picturesque starfield containing one of the larger open clusters on the northern sky. Spanning an angle larger than the Moon ,…
A Prominent Solar Prominence from SOHO
One of the most spectacular solar sights is a prominence. A solar prominence is a cloud of solar gas held above the Sun's surface by the Sun's magnetic field . Last month, NASA's…
NASA's X-43A Scramjet Sets Air Speed Record
Using oxygen from the air itself, a NASA experimental jet propelled itself past Mach 7 in the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean this weekend. The small automated X-43A Hyper-X…
Stars and the Bubble Nebula
Seemingly adrift in a cosmic sea of stars and gas, this delicate, floating apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635 -- The Bubble Nebula . In this wide-angle view, the Bubble nebula…
Mir Dreams
This dream -like image of Mir was recorded by astronauts as the Space Shuttle Atlantis approached the Russian space station prior to docking during the STS-76 mission. Sporting…
Moon and Planets Sky
Look up into the sky tonight and without a telescope or binoculars you might have a view like this one of Moon, planets and stars. The lovely photo was taken on March 23rd, and…
An Orion of a Different Color
Look up into the sky tonight , and even with a good telescope you won't come across a sight quite like this one. It is a familiar object though, the grand stellar nursery known as…
Intriguing Dimples Near Eagle Crater on Mars
What are those unusual looking dimples? Looking back toward Eagle crater , its landing place on Mars , the robot rover Opportunity has spotted some unusual depressions in the…
Lava Flows on Venus
The hot surface of Venus shows clear signs of ancient lava flows . Evidence of this was bolstered by the robot spacecraft Magellan , which orbited Venus in the early 1990s. Using…
Viewing discoveries from 15 April 2004 through 23 March 2004.