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.
Herschel Crater on Mimas of Saturn
Why is this giant crater on Mimas oddly colored? Mimas , one of the smaller round moons of Saturn, sports Herschel crater , one of the larger impact craters in the entire Solar…
Large Eruptive Prominence Movie from SDO
Sometimes part of the Sun can just explode into space. These explosions might occur as powerful solar flares, coronal mass ejections, or comparatively tame eruptive solar…
Halo of the Cat's Eye
The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary nebulae in the sky . Its haunting symmetries are seen in the very central region of this stunning false-color…
Atlantis Lift Off
Atlantis has lifted off, but not from launch pad 39A. Instead, this sharp, wide-angle photo taken on April 13, shows the space shuttle orbiter lifted off the floor of Kennedy…
The Antennae
Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly constellation Corvus , two large galaxies collided . But the stars in the two galaxies cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 don't…
Northern and Southern Owls
Captured in colorful telescopic portraits , two cosmic owls glare back toward planet Earth in this intriguing comparison of planetary nebulae . On the left is M97 in the…
The Faces of Mars
Enthusiastic astro-artists ranging from expert to beginner, the youngest age 10, all contributed their work to this entertaining panel featuring different faces of Mars . Their…
A Hall of Mountain Fogbows
If you tried to enter this hall of fog, you would find it dissipates around you. The hall is actually an optical illusion created by sunlight backscattering off of a cloud passing…
Spiral Galaxy NGC 3190 Almost Sideways
Some spiral galaxies are seen almost sideways. NGC 3190, one such galaxy, is the largest member of the Hickson 44 Group , one of the nearer groups of galaxies to our own Local…
The Coma Cluster of Galaxies
Almost every object in the above photograph is a galaxy. The Coma Cluster of Galaxies pictured above is one of the densest clusters known - it contains thousands of galaxies .…
A Pulsar's Hand
As far as pulsars go, PSR B1509-58 appears young. Light from the supernova explosion that gave birth to it would have first reached Earth some 1,700 years ago. The magnetized, 20…
Mars in a Manger
At opposition in late January, Mars shone very brightly in planet Earth's night sky, among the stars of the constellation Cancer the Crab . Since then the Red Planet has been…
Virgo Cluster Galaxy NGC 4731
Barred spiral galaxy NGC 4731 lies some 65 million light-years away. The lovely island universe resides in the large Virgo cluster of galaxies . Colors in this well-composed,…
Sunset on a Golden Sea
On April 17 , the sky was clear and the Sun's colour was spectacular as night approached. This striking telescopic view even captures the Sun's swollen and distorted shape from…
The Bloop: A Mysterious Sound from the Deep Ocean
What created this strange sound in Earth's Pacific Ocean? Pictured above is a visual representation of a loud and unusual sound , dubbed a Bloop, captured by deep sea microphones…
Dust Pillar of the Carina Nebula
Inside the head of this interstellar monster is a star that is slowly destroying it. The monster, on the right, is actually an inanimate pillar of gas and dust that measures over…
Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create…
NGC 1055: Galaxy in a Box
Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of a small galaxy group a mere 60 million light-years away toward the intimidating constellation Cetus . Seen edge-on,…
SDO: The Extreme Ultraviolet Sun
Don't panic, the Sun has not gone wild. But this wild-looking portrait of the nearest star to planet Earth was made on March 30th by the recently launched Solar Dynamics…
Venus, Mercury, and Moon
Earlier this month, Venus and Mercury climbed into the western twilight, entertaining skygazers around planet Earth in a lovely conjunction of evening stars. Combining 8 images…
Wide Angle: The Cat's Paw Nebula
Nebulae are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble . Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw…
Saturn's Moons Dione and Titan from Cassini
What would it be like to see a sky with many moons? Such is the sky above Saturn . When appearing close to each other, moons will show a similar phase . A view with two of the…
Ash and Lightning Above an Icelandic Volcano
Why did the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland create so much ash? Although the large ash plume was not unparalleled in its abundance, its location was particularly noticeable…
Large Eruptive Prominence Imaged by STEREO
What's happened to our Sun? Last week, it produced one of the largest eruptive prominences ever seen. Pictured above , the prominence erupted in only a few hours and was captured…
Viewing discoveries from 11 May 2010 through 18 April 2010.