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.
M57: The Ring Nebula
It looked like a ring on the sky. Hundreds of years ago astronomers noticed a nebula with a most unusual shape. Now known as M57 or NGC 6720, the gas cloud became popularly known…
Nix and Hydra
Discovered in mid-2005, Pluto's small moons were provisionally designated S/2005 P1 and S/2005 P2. They have now been officially christened Nix and Hydra . Compared to Pluto and…
East of Antares
East of Antares , dark markings seem to sprawl through the crowded star fields toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Cataloged in the early 20th century by astronomer E. E.…
Planets, Bees, and a Donkey
The heralded alignment of wandering planets Saturn and Mars with the well-known Beehive Cluster took place last weekend on Saturday, June 17 . Recorded in dark Arizona skies on…
Sunrise Solstice at Stonehenge
Today the Sun reaches its northernmost point in the planet Earth's sky. Called a solstice , the date traditionally marks a change of seasons -- from spring to summer in Earth 's…
Hideaway
Is this a picture of a sunset from Earth's North Pole? Regardless of urban legends circulating the Internet, the answer is no. The above scene was drawn to be an imaginary…
Bright Star Regulus near the Leo 1 Dwarf Galaxy
The star on the upper left is so bright it is sometimes hard to notice the galaxy on the lower right. Both the star, Regulus , and the galaxy, Leo I , can be found within one…
Crescent Neptune and Triton
Gliding silently through the outer Solar System , the Voyager 2 spacecraft camera captured Neptune and Triton together in crescent phase in 1989. The above picture of the gas…
Saturn, Mars, and the Beehive Cluster
Grab a pair of binoculars and check out Saturn and Mars in the early evening sky tonight! Looking west shortly after sunset, your view could be similar to this one - recorded on…
APOD Turns Eleven
The first APOD appeared eleven years ago today, on 1995 June 16. Although garnering only 14 page views on that day, we are proud to estimate that APOD has now served over 400…
Gordel van Venus
Scroll right and enjoy this 180 degree panorama across the South African Astronomical Observatory's hilltop Sutherland observing station. Featured are SAAO telescope domes and…
Sagittarius Triplet
These three bright nebulae are often featured in telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way . In fact, 18th century…
Driving Toward a Sun Halo
What's happened to the Sun? Sometimes it looks like the Sun is being viewed through a large lens . In the above case, however, there are actually millions of lenses: ice crystals…
Edge-On Galaxy NGC 5866
Why is this galaxy so thin? Many disk galaxies are actually just as thin as NGC 5866, pictured above , but are not seen edge-on from our vantage point. One galaxy that is situated…
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…
Moon Over Haleakala
A waxing crescent Moon shines over the caldera of dormant volcano Haleakala and observatory domes in this dramatic view from above the clouds. Looking west from Maui, Hawaii on…
Infrared Andromeda
This wide, detailed Spitzer Space Telescope view features infrared light from dust (red) and old stars (blue) in Andromeda, a massive spiral galaxy a mere 2.5 million light-years…
Enceladus Ice Volcanos
In this stunning Saturnian vista - one in a series of artist's visions of volcanos on alien worlds - icy geysers erupt along narrow fractures in inner moon Enceladus . The…
An Alaskan Volcano Erupts
What is happening to that volcano? It's erupting! The first person to note that the Aleutian Cleveland Volcano was spewing ash was astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams aboard the…
NGC 6164: A Bipolar Emission Nebula
How did a star form this beautiful nebula? In the middle of emission nebula NGC 6164-5 is an unusually massive star nearing the end of its life. The star, visible in the center of…
The Road to Victoria Crater on Mars
Here is a road never traveled . To get to Victoria Crater on Mars , the rolling robotic rover Opportunity must traverse the landscape shown above . Victoria Crater lies about one…
The First Rocket Launch from Cape Canaveral
A new chapter in space flight began on 1950 July with the launch of the first rocket from Cape Canaveral , Florida : the Bumper 2. Shown above , the Bumper 2 was an ambitious…
Gamma-Ray Earth
The pixelated planet above is actually our own planet Earth seen in gamma rays - the most energetic form of light. In fact, the gamma rays used to construct this view pack over 35…
IC 443: Supernova Remnant and Neutron Star
IC 443 is typical of the aftermath of a stellar explosion, the ultimate fate of massive stars. Seen in this false-color composite image, the supernova remnant is still glowing…
Viewing discoveries from 25 June 2006 through 2 June 2006.