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.
Mysterious White Rock Fingers on Mars
What caused this unusual white rock formation on Mars? Intrigued by the possibility that they could be salt deposits left over as an ancient lakebed dried-up , detailed studies of…
Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula
The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just below center, is part of a vast complex of…
Jules Verne in Orbit
The bright edge of planet Earth fades into the darkness of space in the background of this view of Jules Verne on an extraordinary voyage . Snapped last Monday, the picture shows…
Layers in Aureum Chaos
At first glance these undulating shapes in shades of blue might look like waves on an ocean . Seen here in a false-color image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera…
South of Orion
This tantalizing array of nebulae and stars can be found about 2 degrees south of the famous star-forming Orion Nebula. The region abounds with energetic young stars producing…
Globular Cluster M55 from CFHT
The fifty-fifth entry in Charles Messier's catalog, M55 is a large and lovely globular cluster of around 100,000 stars. Only 20,000 light-years away in the constellation…
New Space Station Robot Asks to be Called “Dextre the Magnificent”
In a surprising and potentially troubling request, the new space station robot known as Dextre demanded that astronauts refer to it in the future at “Dextre the Magnificent.”…
Close Up of Enceladus' Tiger Stripes
Could life exist beneath Enceladus? A recent flyby of Saturn's icy moon has bolstered this fascinating idea. Two years ago, images from the robot ic Cassini spacecraft orbiting…
Weak Lensing Distorts the Universe
Is the distant universe really what it appears to be? Astronomers hope not. Intervening dark matter , which is normally invisible, might show its presence by distorting images…
Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841
Some 50 million light-years distant, spiral galaxy NGC 2841 can be found in the northern constellation of Ursa Major . This sharp view of the gorgeous island universe shows off a…
Across the Universe
How far can you see? Even the faintest stars visible to the eye are merely hundreds or thousands of light-years distant, all well within our own Milky Way Galaxy . Of course, if…
The N44 Complex
A truly giant complex of emission nebulae , N44 is about 1,000 light-years across. It shines in southern skies as a denizen of our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud ,…
The NGC 3576 Nebula
An intriguing and beautiful nebula, NGC 3576 drifts through the Sagittarius arm of our spiral Milky Way Galaxy . Within the region, episodes of star formation are thought to…
Galaxy Wars: M81 versus M82
On the left, surrounded by blue spiral arms, is spiral galaxy M81 . On the right marked by red gas and dust clouds, is irregular galaxy M82 . This stunning vista shows these two…
Saturn and Titan from Cassini
Spectacular v i s t a s of Saturn and its moon continue to be recorded by the Cassini spacecraft. Launched from Earth in 1997, robotic Cassini entered orbit around Saturn in 2004…
Molecular Cloud Barnard 68
Where did all the stars go? What used to be considered a hole in the sky is now known to astronomers as a dark molecular cloud . Here, a high concentration of dust and molecular…
Cat's Eye Hubble Remix
Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye Nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. One of the most famous planetary nebulae in the sky, the Cat's Eye…
Where is HD 189733?
The star cataloged as HD 189733 is a mere 63 light-years away. Its location is indicated in this deep, wide-angle image of the sky centered on the northern constellation of…
Sunset: Planet Earth
Today, the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north at 0548 UT . Known as the equinox, the geocentric astronomical event marks the first day of spring in the northern…
Mercury in Accentuated Color
The colors of Mercury are subtle but beautiful. At first glance, our Solar System 's innermost planet appears simply black and white , but images that include infrared colors…
M78 and Reflecting Dust Clouds in Orion
An eerie blue glow and ominous columns of dark dust highlight M78 and other bright reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion . The dark filamentary dust not only absorbs…
Thirty Thousand Kilometers Above Enceladus
What does the surface of Saturn's ice-spewing moon Enceladus look like? To help find out, the robotic Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn was sent soaring past the cryovolcanic…
Endeavour to Orbit
Birds don't fly as high. Airplanes don't go as fast. The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even comprehend what is going on, nor could any human just…
Moon over Byzantium
Hiding near the Sun, a slender crescent Moon is a difficult but rewarding sight . Look to the right (scroll right) and you can spot one in this twilight panorama across the…
Viewing discoveries from 7 April 2008 through 15 March 2008.