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.
NGC 1097: Spiral Galaxy with a Central Eye
What's happening at the center of spiral galaxy NGC 1097? No one is sure, but it likely involves a supermassive black hole . Matter falling in from a bar of stars and gas across…
The Big Corona
Most photographs don't adequately portray the magnificence of the Sun 's corona. Seeing the corona first-hand during a total solar eclipse is best. The human eye can adapt to see…
The Eagle Rises
Get out your red/blue glasses and check out this remarkable stereo view from lunar orbit. Created from two photographs ( AS11-44-6633 , AS11-44-6634 ) taken by astronaut Michael…
Eclipse over Chongqing, China
The daytime sky grew dark, the temperature dropped, and lights came on as Chongqing, China, was plunged into the Moon's shadow during the July 22nd total solar eclipse . This…
Jupiter's New Impact Scar
In July of 1994 pieces of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with planet Jupiter. The explosive impacts sent plumes of debris high into the Jovian atmosphere creating dark markings…
The Lagoon Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars
Stars are battling gas and dust in the Lagoon Nebula but the photographers are winning. Also known as M8, this photogenic nebula is visible even without binoculars towards the…
The Horsehead Nebula
One of the most identifiable nebulae in the sky, the Horsehead Nebula in Orion , is part of a large, dark, molecular cloud . Also known as Barnard 33, the unusual shape was first…
Apollo 11: Onto a New World
A human first set foot on another world on July 20, 1969. This world was Earth's own Moon . In honor of today's 40th anniversary , NASA has released a digitally restored video of…
From the Moon to the Earth
After the most famous voyage of modern times, it was time to go home. After proving that humanity has the ability to go beyond the confines of planet Earth , the first humans to…
Planets, Great Wall, and Solar Eclipse
This dramatic skyscape was recorded during the August 2008 total solar eclipse. The Moon's silhouette surrounded by a glistening solar corona hangs above the Jiayuguan Fort along…
Starburst Galaxy M94
Beautiful island universe M94 lies a mere 15 million light-years distant in the northern constellation of the hunting dogs, Canes Venatici . A popular target for earth-based…
The Hercules Cluster of Galaxies
These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster , an archipelago of island universes a mere 500 million light-years away . Also known as Abell 2151, this cluster is loaded with gas and…
The Chameleon's Dark Nebulae
The Chameleon is a small constellation near the south celestial pole . Boasting no bright stars , it blends inconspicuously with the starry southern sky. But, taken in dark skies…
Moons and Jupiter
Earth's Moon and planet Jupiter made a beautiful pairing in the night sky late last week. This skyscape recorded on July 11 from Brittany in north western France captures the…
Erupting Volcano Anak Krakatau
A volcano on Krakatoa is still erupting. Perhaps most famous for the powerfully explosive eruption in 1883 that killed tens of thousands of people, ash from a violent eruption…
A Cosmic Call to Nearby Stars
If Earth received this message from deep space , could we decode it? The people from the Cosmic Call project sent the above image as the first page of a longer message. The…
Noctilucent Cloud Storm Panorama
Noctilucent or night-shining clouds lie near the edge of space . From about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface, the icy clouds can still reflect sunlight even though the Sun…
The Pillars of Eagle Castle
What lights up this castle of star formation? The familiar Eagle Nebula glows bright in many colors at once. The above image is a composite of three of these glowing gas colors.…
Fermi's Gamma-ray Pulsars
Born in supernovae, pulsars are spinning neutron stars, collapsed stellar cores left from the death explosions of massive stars. Traditionally identified and studied by observing…
The Dark River to Antares
Connecting the Pipe Nebula to the colorful region near bright star Antares is a dark cloud dubbed the Dark River , flowing from the picture's left edge. Murky looking, the Dark…
The Trifid Nebula in Stars and Dust
Unspeakable beauty and unimaginable bedlam can be found together in the Trifid Nebula . Also known as M20, this photogenic nebula is visible with good binoculars towards the…
Unknown Dark Material on Mercury
What is that strange material on Mercury? When flying by Mercury last October, the robotic MESSENGER spacecraft imaged much of the solar system's innermost planet in unprecedented…
Genesis Mission's Hard Impact
A flying saucer from outer space crash-landed in the Utah desert in 2004 after being tracked by radar and chased by helicopters. No space aliens were involved, however. The…
Mount Rushmore's Starry Night
This starry night sky sparkles above the Black Hills of South Dakota and the United States' Mount Rushmore National Park . The historic site features enormous sculptures of four…
Viewing discoveries from 27 July 2009 through 4 July 2009.