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.
Gravitational Anomalies of Mercury
What's that under the surface of Mercury? The robotic MESSENGER spacecraft that had been orbiting planet Mercury for the past four years had been transmitting its data back to…
An Unexpected Aurora over Norway
Sometimes the sky lights up unexpectedly. A trip to northern Norway to photograph auroras was not going as well as hoped. It was now past midnight in Steinsvik , Troms , in…
Moonrise Through Mauna Kea's Shadow
How can the Moon rise through a mountain? It cannot -- what was photographed here is a moonrise through the shadow of a large volcano . The volcano is Mauna Kea , Hawai'i , USA ,…
M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
Follow the handle of the Big Dipper away from the dipper's bowl until you get to the handle's last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you…
MESSENGER's Last Day on Mercury
The first to orbit Mercury, the MESSENGER spacecraft came to rest on this region of Mercury's surface yesterday . Constructed from MESSENGER image and laser altimeter data, the…
Across the Sun
A long solar filament stretches across the relatively calm surface of the Sun in this telescopic snap shot from April 27. The negative or inverted narrowband image was made in the…
Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko in Crescent
What's happening to Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko? As the 3-km wide comet moves closer to the Sun, heat causes the nucleus to expel gas and dust . The Rosetta spacecraft arrived…
Massive Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841
It is one of the more massive galaxies known. A mere 46 million light-years distant, spiral galaxy NGC 2841 can be found in the northern constellation of Ursa Major . This sharp…
Space Station over Lunar Terminator
What's that in front of the Moon? It's the International Space Station . Using precise timing, the Earth-orbiting space platform was photographed in front of a partially lit Moon…
Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create…
Cluster and Starforming Region Westerlund 2
Located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, the young cluster and starforming region Westerlund 2 fills this cosmic scene . Captured with Hubble's cameras in…
Blue Tears and the Milky Way
Lapping at rocks along the shore of the Island of Nangan, Taiwan, planet Earth , waves are infused with a subtle blue light in this sea and night skyscape. Composed of a series of…
Meteor in the Milky Way
Earth's April showers include the Lyrid Meteor Shower , observed for more than 2,000 years when the planet makes its annual passage through the dust stream of long-period Comet…
Colorful Star Clouds in Cygnus
Stars can form in colorful surroundings. Featured here is a star forming region rich in glowing gas and dark dust toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), near the bright…
Total Solar Eclipse over Svalbard
Going, going, gone. That was the feeling in Svalbard , Norway last month during a total eclipse of the Sun by the Moon. In the featured image , the eclipse was captured every…
Ring Galaxy AM 0644-741 from Hubble
How could a galaxy become shaped like a ring? The rim of the blue galaxy pictured on the right is an immense ring-like structure 150,000 light years in diameter composed of newly…
The Great Crater Hokusai
One of the largest young craters on Mercury, 114 kilometer (71 mile) diameter Hokusai crater's bright rays are known to extend across much of the planet . But this mosaic of…
M46 Plus Two
Galactic or open star clusters are young. These swarms of stars are born together near the plane of the Milky Way, but their numbers steadily dwindle as cluster members are…
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One-Armed Spiral Galaxy NGC 4725
While most spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, have two or more spiral arms, NGC 4725 has only one. In this sharp color composite image, the solo spira mirabilis seems…
Mystic Mountain Dust Pillars
It's stars versus dust in the Carina Nebula and the stars are winning. More precisely, the energetic light and winds from massive newly formed stars are evaporating and dispersing…
Milky Way over Erupting Volcano
The view was worth the trip. Battling high winds , cold temperatures , and low oxygen , the trek to near the top of the volcano Santa Maria in Guatemala -- while carrying…
Sentinels of the Arctic
Who guards the north? Judging from the above photograph, possibly giant trees covered in snow and ice. The featured picture was taken a few winters ago in Finnish Lapland where…
Venus in the West
In the coming days, Venus shines near the western horizon at sunset. To find Earth's sister planet in twilight skies just look for the brilliant evening star. Tonight very close…
NGC 2903: A Missing Jewel in Leo
Barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903 is only some 20 million light-years distant. Popular among amateur astronomers, it shines in the northern spring constellation Leo, near the top of…
Viewing discoveries from 5 May 2015 through 10 April 2015.