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.
MAVEN at Mars
Launched on November 18, 2013, the MAVEN ( Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN ) spacecraft completed its interplanetary voyage September 21, captured into a wide, elliptical…
NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda
The large stellar association cataloged as NGC 206 is nestled within the dusty arms of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy . Also known as M31, the spiral galaxy is a mere 2.5…
The Lagoon Nebula in Stars Dust and Gas
The large majestic Lagoon Nebula is home for many young stars and hot gas. Spanning 100 light years across while lying only about 5000 light years distant, the Lagoon Nebula is so…
Aurora and Volcanic Light Pillar
That's no sunset. And that thin red line just above it -- that's not a sun pillar . The red glow on the horizon originates from a volcanic eruption , and the red line is the…
Earth at Equinox
Earth is at equinox. Over the next 24 hours, day and night have nearly equal duration all over planet Earth. Technically, equinox transpires at 2:29 am Universal Time tomorrow,…
Saturn at Equinox
How would Saturn look if its ring plane pointed right at the Sun? Before August 2009, nobody knew. Every 15 years, as seen from Earth, Saturn's rings point toward the Earth and…
Shoreline of the Universe
Against dark rifts of interstellar dust, the ebb and flow of starlight along the Milky Way looks like waves breaking on a cosmic shore in this night skyscape. Taken with a digital…
Potentially Habitable Moons
For astrobiologists , these may be the four most tantalizing moons in our Solar System. Shown at the same scale, their exploration by interplanetary spacecraft has launched the…
Cocoon Nebula Wide Field
In this crowded starfield covering over 2 degrees within the high flying constellation Cygnus , the eye is drawn to the Cocoon Nebula. A compact star forming region, the cosmic…
Aurora over Maine
It has been a good week for auroras. Earlier this month active sunspot region 2158 rotated into view and unleashed a series of flares and plasma ejections into the Solar System…
Milky Way above Atacama Salt Lagoon
Galaxies, stars, and a serene reflecting pool combine to create this memorable land and skyscape. The featured panorama is a 12-image mosaic taken last month from the Salar de…
62 Kilometers above Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Spacecraft Rosetta continues to approach, circle, and map Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Crossing the inner Solar System for ten years to reach the vicinity of the comet last month,…
M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
The first hint of what will become of our Sun was discovered inadvertently in 1764 . At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to be confused with…
Median Mashup: Hubble's Top 100
Now, as you sip your cosmic latte you can view 100 Hubble Space Telescope images at the same time. The popular scenes of the cosmos as captured from low Earth orbit are all…
Supernova Remnant Puppis A
Driven by the explosion of a massive star, supernova remnant Puppis A is blasting into the surrounding interstellar medium about 7,000 light-years away. At that distance, this…
Zodiacal Light before Dawn
You might not guess it, but sunrise was still hours away when this nightscape was taken, a view along the eastern horizon from a remote location in Chile's Atacama desert .…
Laniakea: Our Home Supercluster of Galaxies
It is not only one of the largest structures known -- it is our home. The just-identified Laniakea Supercluster of galaxies contains thousands of galaxies that includes our Milky…
An Aurora Cupcake with a Milky Way Topping
This sky looked delicious. Double auroral ovals were captured above the town lights of stersund , Sweden , last week. Pictured above , the green ovals occurred lower to the ground…
Super Moon vs. Micro Moon
What is so super about tomorrow's supermoon? Tomorrow , a full moon will occur that appears slightly larger and brighter than usual. The reason is that the Moon's fully…
Full Moon Silhouettes
Have you ever watched the Moon rise? The slow rise of a nearly full moon over a clear horizon can be an impressive sight. One impressive moonrise was imaged in early 2013 over…
Moonbow Beach
Like a rainbow at night , a beautiful moonbow shines above the western horizon in this deserted beach scene from Molokai Island, Hawaii, USA, planet Earth . Captured last June 17…
A Sagittarius Starscape
This rich starscape spans nearly 7 degrees on the sky, toward the Sagittarius spiral arm and the center of our Milky Way galaxy. A telescopic mosaic , it features well-known…
Cloud, Clusters and Comet Siding Spring
On October 19th, a good place to watch Comet Siding Spring will be from Mars . Then, this inbound visitor (C/2013 A1) to the inner solar system, discovered in January 2013 by…
M6: The Butterfly Cluster
To some, the outline of the open cluster of stars M6 resembles a butterfly. M6 , also known as NGC 6405, spans about 20 light-years and lies about 2,000 light years distant. M6,…
Viewing discoveries from 26 September 2014 through 3 September 2014.