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.
Orion Nebula: The Hubble View
Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like the Orion Nebula . Also known as M42 , the nebula's glowing gas surrounds hot young stars at the edge of an immense interstellar…
AR1520: Islands in the Photosphere
Awash in a sea of plasma and anchored in magnetic fields , sunspots are planet-sized, dark islands in the solar photosphere , the bright surface of the Sun. Dark because they are…
21st Century M101
One of the last entries in Charles Messier's famous catalog, big, beautiful spiral galaxy M101 is definitely not one of the least. About 170,000 light-years across, this galaxy is…
Teimareh Petroglyphs and Star Trails
Engraved in rock, these ancient petroglyphs are abundant in the Teimareh valley, located in the Zagros Mountains of central Iran. They likely tell a tale of hunters and animals…
A Morning Line of Stars and Planets
Early morning dog walkers got a visual treat last week as bright stars and planets appeared to line up. Pictured above, easily visible from left to right, were the Pleiades open…
Greeley Panorama on Mars
What did you do over your winter vacation? If you were the Opportunity rover on Mars, you spent four months of it stationary and perched on the northern slope of Greeley Haven --…
Volcano and Aurora in Iceland
Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. In Iceland in 1991, the volcano Hekla erupted at the same time that auroras were visible overhead. Hekla , one of the most famous volcanoes…
Gravitational Tractor
How would you change the course of an Earth-threatening asteroid? One idea - a massive spacecraft that uses gravity as a towline - is illustrated in this dramatic artist's view of…
The Tidal Tail of NGC 3628
A mere 30 million light-years away, large spiral galaxy NGC 3628 (center left) shares its neighborhood in the local Universe with two other large spirals , in a magnificent…
NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge
Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours…
Sunspots and Silhouettes
What stands between you and the Sun? Apparently, as viewed from Paris last week, one visible thing after another. First, in the foreground, is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart ,…
In the Shadow of Saturn's Rings
Humanity's robot orbiting Saturn has recorded yet another amazing view. That robot, of course, is the spacecraft Cassini , while the new amazing view includes a bright moon , thin…
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…
Viewing discoveries from 15 July 2012 through 20 June 2012.