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.
Comet Lemmon near the South Celestial Pole
Currently sweeping through southern skies, Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) was named for its discovery last year as part of the Mount Lemmon (Arizona) Survey. Brighter than expected but…
The Arms of M106
The spiral arms of bright galaxy M106 sprawl through this remarkable multiframe portrait , composed of data from ground- and space-based telescopes . Also known as NGC 4258, M106…
Mars: Shadow at Point Lake
What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human? Then you might be the robotic Curiosity rover currently exploring Mars . Curiosity landed in Gale Crater last August and…
LL Ori and the Orion Nebula
This esthetic close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis , interacting with the Orion Nebula flow. Adrift in Orion's stellar nursery and still in its…
Herschel's Andromeda
This infrared view from the Herschel Space Observatory explores the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest large spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way. Only 2.5 million light-years distant,…
Atlas V Launches TDRS-K
Beyond a fertile field of satellite communication antennas at Kennedy Space Center , an Atlas V rocket streaks into orbit in this long exposure photograph. In the thoughtfully…
NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad
The delightful Dark Doodad Nebula drifts through southern skies , a tantalizing target for binoculars in the constellation Musca , The Fly. The dusty cosmic cloud is seen against…
In the Center of the Trifid Nebula
Clouds of glowing gas mingle with dust lanes in the Trifid Nebula , a star forming region toward the constellation of the Archer ( Sagittarius ). In the center, the three…
Comet McNaught Over Chile
Comet McNaught of 2007 has been, so far, the most photogenic comet of our time. After making quite a show in the northern hemisphere in early 2007 January, the comet moved south…
Alaskan Moondogs
Moonlight illuminates a snowy scene in this night land and skyscape made on January 17 from Lower Miller Creek, Alaska, USA. Overexposed near the mountainous western horizon is…
Matijevic Hill Panorama
On January 25 (UT) 2004, the Opportunity rover fell to Mars, making today the 9th anniversary of its landing . After more than 3,200 sols ( Mars solar days ) the golf cart-sized…
ISS and the Summer Milky Way
Clouds on a summer night frame this sea and skyscape, recorded earlier this month near Buenos Aires, Argentina. But planet Earth's clouds are not the only clouds on the scene.…
Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945
Large spiral galaxy NGC 4945 is seen edge-on near the center of this cosmic galaxy portrait . In fact, NGC 4945 is almost the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy . Its own dusty…
The Cygnus Wall of Star Formation
The North America nebula on the sky can do what the North America continent on Earth cannot -- form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent, the bright…
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…
Barnard Stares at NGC 2170
A gaze across a cosmic skyscape, this telescopic mosaic reveals the continuous beauty of things that are . The evocative scene spans some 6 degrees or 12 Full Moons in planet…
Stickney Crater
Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall . Asaph Hall discovered…
Cas A: Optical and X-ray
The aftermath of a cosmic cataclysm, supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a comfortable 11,000 light-years away. Light from the Cas A supernova, the death explosion of a…
NGC 1309: Spiral Galaxy and Friends
A gorgeous spiral galaxy some 100 million light-years distant, NGC 1309 lies on the banks of the constellation of the River ( Eridanus ). NGC 1309 spans about 30,000 light-years,…
NGC 2170: Celestial Still Life
In this celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 shines left of image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other…
NGC 602 and Beyond
Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud , a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5 million year young star cluster NGC 602. Surrounded by natal…
Ten Billion Earths
How common are Earth-sized planets? Quite common, according to extrapolations from new data taken by NASA's orbiting Kepler spacecraft . Current computer models are indicating…
The Fornax Cluster of Galaxies
How do clusters of galaxies form and evolve? To help find out, astronomers continue to study the second closest cluster of galaxies to Earth: the Fornax cluster , named for the…
The Orion Bullets
Cosmic bullets pierce the outskirts of the Orion Nebula some 1500 light-years distant in this sharp infrared close-up . Blasted out by energetic massive star formation the…
Viewing discoveries from 7 February 2013 through 10 January 2013.