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.
Moon Over Pigeon Point Lighthouse
This spectacular sky is mostly human-made. Once a year, the Light Station at Pigeon Point near San Francisco , California , USA is lit as it was over 100 years ago. During this…
An Iridescent Cloud Over Colorado
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…
Galaxies in Pegasus
This wide, sharp telescopic view reveals galaxies scattered beyond the stars near the northern boundary of the high-flying constellation Pegasus . Prominent at the upper right is…
The Medusa Nebula
Braided, serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula's popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old planetary nebula some 1,500…
Pleiades and Stardust
Hurtling through a cosmic dust cloud a mere 400 light-years away, the lovely Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster is well-known for its striking blue reflection nebulae . This…
Expansive Comet Holmes
The spherical coma of Comet Holmes has swollen to a diameter of over 1.4 million kilometers, making the tenuous, dusty cloud even bigger than the Sun . Scattering sunlight, all…
Earthrise from Moon-Orbiting Kaguya
What does the Earth look like from the Moon? A new version of this space age perspective was captured by the robotic Kaguya spacecraft currently in orbit around Earth's Moon.…
Aurora in the Distance
Some auroras can only be seen with a camera. They are called sub-visual and are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. The reason is that the human eye only accumulates light…
M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster
Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city . Also known as the Seven Sisters and…
Forest and Sky
With pine trees in dim silhouette, this skyscape from Breil-sur-Roya in southern France was captured on November 11. In the early evening scene, a satellite seems to streak…
Rocket Fuel
This gorgeous image of Orion shows off the constellation's young stars and cosmic clouds of hydrogen gas and dust. Made with a film camera tracking the stars on November 11, the…
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
M13 is modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules . A system of stars numbering in the hundreds of thousands, it is one of the brightest globular star clusters…
Tunguska: The Largest Recent Impact Event
Yes, but can your meteor do this? The most powerful natural explosion in recent Earth history occurred on 1908 June 30 when a meteor exploded above the Tunguska River in Siberia ,…
The Inner Coma of Comet Holmes
What's happening to Comet Holmes? The rare comet remains visible to the unaided eyes of northern observers as an unusual small puff ball in the constellation of Perseus . A high…
Cosmic Rays from Galactic Centers
Where do cosmic rays come from? A major step toward answering this century old question may have just come in from the Auger Observatory project, the world's premier cosmic ray…
NGC 6888: The Crescent Nebula
What caused the Crescent Nebula? Looking like an emerging space cocoon , the Crescent Nebula, visible in the center of the above image , was created by the brightest star in its…
A Tale of Comet Holmes
A beautiful blue ion tail has become visible in deep telescopic images of Comet Holmes . Pointing generally away from the Sun and also planet Earth, the comet's ion tail is…
Skyscape with Comet Holmes
This gorgeous skyscape spans some 10 degrees across the heroic constellation Perseus , about the size of a generous binocular field of view. The deep exposure includes bright…
VERITAS and Venus
Early morning risers and late to bed astronomers have recently enjoyed bright planets in predawn skies, with brilliant Venus above the eastern horizon. On November 5, Venus was…
The Sloan Great Wall: Largest Known Structure?
What is the largest structure known? The answer might depend on how one defines “structure.” A grouping of galaxies known as the Sloan Great Wall was discovered in the Sloan…
An X Class Flare Region on the Sun
Why does the Sun flare? Unpredictably, our Sun unleashes tremendous flares expelling hot gas into the Solar System that can affect satellites, astronauts, and power grids on…
Comet Holmes Grows a Tail
Comet Holmes continues to be an impressive sight to the unaided eye. The comet has diminished in brightness only slightly , and now clearly appears to have a larger angular extent…
The Closest Galaxy: Canis Major Dwarf
What is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way? The new answer to this old question is the Canis Major dwarf galaxy . For many years astronomers thought the Large Magellan Cloud…
Golden Comet Holmes
Surprising Comet Holmes remains easily visible as a round, fuzzy cloud in the northern constellation Perseus . Skywatchers with telescopes, binoculars, or those that just decide…
Viewing discoveries from 26 November 2007 through 3 November 2007.