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.
M16 and the Eagle Nebula
A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed image of the…
A Gegenschein Lunar Eclipse
Is there anything interesting to see in the direction opposite the Sun? One night last month, there were quite a few things. First, the red-glowing orb on the lower right of the…
The Elephant's Trunk in IC 1396
Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story , the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396 , in the high and far off…
Galaxy, Stars, and Dust
Spiky stars and spooky shapes abound in this deep cosmic skyscape . Its well-composed field of view covers about a Full Moon on the sky toward the constellation Pegasus . Of…
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…
Stardust in Perseus
This cosmic expanse of dust, gas, and stars covers some 6 degrees on the sky in the heroic constellation Perseus . At upper left in the gorgeous skyscape is the intriguing young…
The Moon Entering Earth's Shadow
On September 27/28, from all over the planet's nightside moon watchers enjoyed a total lunar eclipse. The dramatic celestial spectacle was widely imaged , but this lunar eclipse…
M83: The Thousand-Ruby Galaxy
Big, bright, and beautiful, spiral galaxy M83 lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long constellation Hydra . Prominent spiral arms…
La Palma Eclipse Sequence
At left, a dramatic image sequence follows late September's total lunar eclipse above a rugged landscape and sea of clouds from the Canary island of La Palma . Composited in a…
Flying Past Pluto
What would it look like to fly past Pluto? The robotic New Horizons spacecraft did just this in late July and continues to return stunning pictures of the dwarf planet. Some…
Orion Over and Under Tibet
This night was so serene you could see Orion rise downwards. The unusual spectacle was captured in this single-exposure image, featuring a deep sky around the famous constellation…
The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy , one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo…
A Blue Blood Moon
This sharp telescopic snapshot caught late September's Harvest Moon completely immersed in Earth's dark umbral shadow , at the beginning of a total lunar eclipse. It was the final…
Charon: Moon of Pluto
A darkened and mysterious north polar region informally known as Mordor Macula caps this premier high-resolution portrait of Charon, Pluto's largest moon . Captured by New…
Eclipsed in Southern Skies
This stunning panorama in southern skies was recorded on the colorful night of September 27/28 from Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory. A diffuse glow and dark rifts of the central…
Seasonal Streaks Point to Recent Flowing Water on Mars
What creates these changing streaks on Mars? Called Recurring Slope Linea (RSL), these dark features start on the slopes of hills and craters but don't usually extend to the…
Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse and Lightning Storm
What's more rare than a supermoon total lunar eclipse? How about a supermoon total lunar eclipse over a lightning storm. Such an electrifying sequence was captured yesterday from…
Total Lunar Eclipse over Waterton Lake
Recorded in 2014 April, this total lunar eclipse sequence looks south down icy Waterton Lake from the Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, planet Earth. The most…
Tonight: A Supermoon Lunar Eclipse
Tonight a bright full Moon will fade to red. Tonight's moon will be particularly bright because it is reaching its fully lit phase when it is relatively close to the Earth in its…
M31 versus M33
Separated by about 14 degrees (28 Full Moons ) in planet Earth's sky, spiral galaxies M31 at left, and M33 are both large members of the Local Group , along with our own Milky Way…
Pluto's Snakeskin Terrain
A mountainous region informally known as Tartarus Dorsa sprawls some 530 kilometers (330 miles) across this Plutonian landscape . Recently downloaded from New Horizons , it…
LDN 988 and Friends
Stars are forming in dark, dusty molecular cloud LDN 988. Seen near picture center some 2,000 light-years distant, LDN 988 and other nearby dark nebulae were cataloged by Beverly…
Antarctic Analemma
Does the Sun return to the same spot on the sky every day? No. A better and more visual answer to that question is an analemma , a composite image taken from the same spot at the…
Milky Way over Bosque Alegre Station in Argentina
What are those streaks of light in the sky? First and foremost, the arching structure is the central band of our Milky Way galaxy . Visible in this galactic band are millions of…
Viewing discoveries from 15 October 2015 through 22 September 2015.