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.
A Sun Halo Beyond Stockholm
What's happened to the Sun? Sometimes it looks like the Sun is being viewed through a large lens . In the above case, however, there are actually millions of lenses: ice crystals…
The Antikythera Mechanism
What is it? It was found at the bottom of the sea aboard an ancient Greek ship. Its seeming complexity has prompted decades of study, although some of its functions remained…
NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula
A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, in the constellation Aquarius , a sun-like star is dying. Its last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a…
Sunset, Moonset
Seen from central and northern Asia, the Sun and New Moon set together on January 4, in a partial solar eclipse . Close to its maximum phase, the eclipse is captured near the…
Sunrise, Moonrise
For many Europeans, the Sun and New Moon rose together on January 4 in a partial solar eclipse . Arriving close on the heels of the new year, it was the first of a series of…
Eclipsing the Sun
Skywatchers throughout much of Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia, were treated to the first eclipse of the new year on January 4, a partial eclipse of the Sun . But traveling…
A Green Flash from the Sun
Many think it is just a myth . Others think it is true but its cause isn't known. Adventurers pride themselves on having seen it. It's a green flash from the Sun . The truth is…
Winter Hexagon Over Stagecoach Colorado
If you can find Orion, you might be able to find the Winter Hexagon. The Winter Hexagon involves some of the brightest stars visible, together forming a large and easily found…
Looking Back at an Eclipsed Earth
Here is what the Earth looks like during a solar eclipse . The shadow of the Moon can be seen darkening part of Earth . This shadow moved across the Earth at nearly 2000…
Fireworks Galaxy NGC 6946
Celebrate the New Year with the Fireworks Galaxy! Also known as NGC 6946, the big, beautiful spiral galaxy is located just 10 million light-years away, behind a veil of foreground…
Analemma 2010
Looking back on the year, have you wondered where the Sun was in the sky each day during 2010 at exacty 9am UT ? Of course you have. Search no further for the answer! It was…
Still Life with NGC 2170
In this beautiful celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 shines at the upper left. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined…
Eclipse at Moonset
Hugging the horizon, a dark red Moon greeted early morning skygazers in eastern Atlantic regions on December 21, as the total phase of 2010's Solstice Lunar Eclipse began near…
Skylights Over Libya
Sometimes the sky itself seems to glow. Usually, this means you are seeing a cloud reflecting sunlight or moonlight. If the glow appears as a faint band of light running across…
One Million Galaxies
Are the nearest galaxies distributed randomly? A plot of over one million of the brightest “extended sources” detected by the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) shows that they are…
Sideways Orion Over Snowy Ireland
Orion always comes up sideways ... and was caught in the act earlier this month by over a snowy landscape in Donegal , Ireland . To compose this serene picture, the photographer…
Decorating the Sky
Bright stars, clouds of dust and glowing nebulae decorate this cosmic scene, a skyscape just north of Orion's belt . Close to the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, the wide field…
Star Trails in the North
Pointing skyward, the wall of this ruined Viking church still stands after a thousand winters, near the town of Vallentuna, Sweden. The time exposure records the scene on December…
The Solstice Moon's Eclipse
A big, bright, beautiful Full Moon slid into planet Earth's shadow early Tuesday morning. Remarkably, the total lunar eclipse coincided with the date of the December Solstice .…
Hidden Galaxy IC 342
Similar in size to other large, bright spiral galaxies, IC 342 is a mere 7 million light-years distant in the long-necked, northern constellation Camelopardalis . A sprawling…
Tyrrhenian Sea and Solstice Sky
Today the solstice occurs at 23:38 Universal Time , the Sun reaching its southernmost declination in planet Earth's sky . Of course, the December solstice marks the beginning of…
A Lunar Eclipse on Solstice Day
Sometime after sunset tonight, the Moon will go dark. This total lunar eclipse , where the entire Moon is engulfed in the shadow of the Earth, will be visible from all of North…
M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind
What's lighting up the Cigar Galaxy? M82 , as this irregular galaxy is also known, was stirred up by a recent pass near large spiral galaxy M81 . This doesn't fully explain the…
North America and the Pelican
Here lie familiar shapes in unfamiliar locations . On the left is an emission nebula cataloged as NGC 7000, famous partly because it resembles our fair planet's continent of North…
Viewing discoveries from 10 January 2011 through 18 December 2010.