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.
M51 Hubble Remix
The 51st entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog is perhaps the original spiral nebula - a large galaxy with a well defined spiral structure also cataloged as NGC 5194. Over…
At Last, GLAST
Rising through a billowing cloud of smoke, this Delta II rocket left Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's launch pad 17-B Wednesday at 12:05 pm EDT. Snug in the payload section was…
Phoenix and the Snow Queen
A flat, smooth, shiny feature dubbed the Snow Queen is near the top of this color mosaic of the surface beneath the Phoenix Mars Lander . Recorded with the lander's robotic arm…
Dextre Robot at Work on the Space Station
What's the world's most complex space robot doing up there? Last week, Dextre was imaged moving atop the Destiny Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS) ,…
A Fire Rainbow Over New Jersey
What is that inverted rainbow in the sky? Sometimes known as a fire rainbow for its flame-like appearance, a circumhorizon arc is created by ice, not fire. For a circumhorizon arc…
Saturn's Rings from the Other Side
What do Saturn's rings look like from the other side? From Earth, we usually see Saturn's rings from the same side of the ring plane that the Sun illuminates them. Geometrically,…
Mars Soil Sample Ready to Analyze
What surprises are hidden in the soils of Mars? To help find out, the Phoenix Lander Phoenix Lander which arrived on Mars two weeks ago has attempted to place a scoop of soil in…
June's Young Crescent Moon
Serene skyviews were enjoyed across planet Earth earlier this week with a young crescent Moon low in the western sky just after sunset. Recorded on June 4, this colorful example…
Two-Armed Spiral Milky Way
Gazing out from within the Milky Way, our own galaxy's true structure is difficult to discern. But an ambitious survey effort with the Spitzer Space Telescope now offers…
Spitzer's Milky Way
The Spitzer Space Telescope's encompasing infrared view of the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy is hard to appreciate in just one picture. In fact, more than 800,000 frames of data…
Chasing the ISS
Bathed in sunlight, the International Space Station (ISS) arced through the evening sky above the town of Lauffen in southern Germany on May 31st. The timing of the bright passage…
The Dark River to Antares
Connecting the Pipe Nebula to the bright star Antares is a flowing dark cloud nicknamed the Dark River . The murkiness of the Dark River is caused by absorption of background…
Unusual Light Patch Under Phoenix Lander on Mars
Is that ice under the Phoenix spacecraft on Mars? Quite possibly . Phoenix, which landed a week ago, was expected to dig under the Martian soil to search for ice, but the lander's…
A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence
Ten Earth s could easily fit in the “claw” of this seemingly solar monster. The monster, though, visible on the lower left, is a huge eruptive prominence seen moving out from our…
A View to the Sunset
Each day on planet Earth can have a dramatic ending as the Sun sets below the colorful western horizon. Often inspiring, or offering a moment for contemplation, a sunset is…
Descent of the Phoenix
In this sweeping view , the 10 kilometer-wide crater Heimdall lies on the north polar plains of Mars . But the bright spot highlighted in the inset is the Phoenix lander…
A Fog Bow Over Ocean Beach
What is that white arch over the water? What is being seen is a fogbow , a reflection of sunlight by water drops similar to a rainbow but without the colors. The fog itself is not…
Dark Clouds of the Carina Nebula
What dark forms lurk in the mists of the Carina Nebula? These ominous figures are actually molecular clouds , knots of molecular gas and dust so thick they have become opaque . In…
Phoenix at Mars
The Phoenix lander's footpads are about the size of a dinner plate. One of three is shown at the right , covered with Martian soil after a successful soft landing on the Red…
A New Horizon for Phoenix
This flat horizon stretches across the red planet as seen by the Phoenix spacecraft after yesterday's landing on Mars. Touching down shortly after 7:30pm Eastern Time, Phoenix…
Phoenix Lander Arrives at Mars
Will Phoenix survive its landing today on Mars? Phoenix's landing sequence will ramp up starting at about 7:30 pm EDT (23:30 UTC) today and last just over an hour. If all goes…
Space Station in the Sun
Still bathed in sunlight, the International Space Station tracked through night skies above Hombressen, Germany on May 12. From a range of at least 360 kilometers, astronomer Dirk…
Jupiter's Three Red Spots
For about 300 years Jupiter's banded atmosphere has shown a remarkable feature to telescopic viewers , a large swirling storm system known as The Great Red Spot . In 2006, another…
Windblown NGC 3199
NGC 3199 lies about 12,000 light-years away, a glowing cosmic cloud in the southern constellation of Carina . The nebula is about 75 light-years across in this haunting,…
Viewing discoveries from 14 June 2008 through 22 May 2008.