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.
Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
What wonders lie at the center of our Galaxy? In Jules Verne's science fiction classic A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Professor Liedenbrock and his fellow explorers…
The Outer Shells of Centaurus A
What causes the surrounding shells in peculiar galaxy Cen A? In 2002 a fascinating image of peculiar galaxy Centaurus A was released , processed to highlight a faint blue arc…
Conjunctions near Dawn
Now shining in eastern skies at dawn , bright planets Venus and Jupiter join the Pleiades star cluster in this sea and sky scape, recorded earlier this week near Buenos Aires,…
Dark Clouds in Aquila
Part of a dark expanse that splits the crowded plane of our Milky Way galaxy, the Aquila Rift arcs through the northern hemisphere's summer skies near bright star Altair and the…
In the Glare of Alpha Centauri
The glare of Alpha Centauri, one of the brightest stars in planet Earth's night sky, floods the left side of this southern skyscape . A mere 4.3 light-years distant, Alpha…
Simeis 188 in Stars, Dust and Gas
When stars form, pandemonium reigns. A particularly colorful case is the star forming region Simeis 188 which houses an unusual and bright cloud arc cataloged as NGC 6559 .…
A Sundial that Shows Solstice
What time is it? If the time and day are right, this sundial will tell you: SOLSTICE . Only then will the Sun be located just right for sunlight to stream through openings and…
Milky Way Over Piton de l'Eau
Sometimes, if you wait long enough for a clear and moonless night, the stars will come out with a vengeance. One such occasion occurred earlier this month at the Piton de l'Eau on…
Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater
In December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon in the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited…
Northern Green Flash
As seen from Frösön island in northern Sweden the Sun did set a day after the summer solstice . From that location below the arctic circle it settled slowly behind the northern…
IC 2574: Coddington's Nebula
Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory, flaunting their young, bright, blue star clusters in beautiful, symmetric spiral arms. But small, irregular galaxies form…
WR 134 Ring Nebula
Made with narrow and broad band filters , this colorful cosmic snap shot covers a field of view about the size of the full Moon within the boundaries of the constellation Cygnus.…
Venus Transits the Midnight Sun
Today's solstice , the astronomical beginning of summer in the north, is at 23:09 UT when the Sun reaches the northernmost declination in its yearly trek through planet Earth's…
NuSTAR X-Ray Telescope Launched
What's left after a star explodes? To help find out, NASA launched the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) satellite into Earth orbit last week. NuSTAR 's ability to…
Milky Way Above Easter Island
Why were the statues on Easter Island built? No one is sure. What is sure is that over 800 large stone statues exist there. The Easter Island statues , stand, on the average, over…
Jupiter's Rings Revealed
Why does Jupiter have rings? Jupiter's rings were discovered in 1979 by the passing Voyager 1 spacecraft , but their origin was a mystery. Data from the Galileo spacecraft that…
APOD Turns 17
The first APOD appeared seventeen years ago today, on 1995 June 16. Although garnering only 14 page views on that day, we are proud to estimate that APOD has now served over one…
M65 and M66
Nearby and bright, spiral galaxies M65 (top) and M66 stand out in this engaging cosmic snapshot . The pair are just 35 million light-years distant and around 100,000 light-years…
M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
In 1716 , English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, “This is but a little Patch, but it shews itself to the naked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent.” Of course, M13 is…
A Venus Transit Over the Baltic Sea
Waiting years and traveling kilometers -- all to get a shot like this. And even with all of this planning, a good bit of luck was helpful. As the Sun rose over the Baltic Sea last…
Thackeray's Globules
These are larger dust bunnies than you will find under your bed. Situated in rich star fields and glowing hydrogen gas, these opaque clouds of interstellar dust and gas are so…
A Venus Transit Music Video from SDO
What's that black dot moving across the Sun? Venus. Possibly the clearest view of Venus crossing in front of the Sun last week was from Earth orbit. The Solar Dynamics Observatory…
Two New Hubble-Quality Telescopes Gifted to NASA
What if you were given a new Hubble telescope for free? How about two? The astronomical community is abuzz with just this opportunity as the US National Reconnaissance Office has…
Venus at the Edge
As its June 6 2012 transit begins Earth's sister planet crosses the edge of the Sun in this stunning view from the Hinode spacecraft . The timing of limb crossings during the rare…
Viewing discoveries from 2 July 2012 through 9 June 2012.