Browse NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day archive by date and media: Archive Discoveries
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Recycling NGC 5291
Following an ancient galaxy-galaxy collision 200 million light-years from Earth, debris from a gas-rich galaxy, NGC 5291, was flung far into intergalactic space. NGC 5291 and the…
Leonids and Friends
Leonid meteors rained down on planet Earth this week, the annual shower of dusty debris from the orbit of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle . Leonids streak through this composite night…
Centaurus A
What's the closest active galaxy to planet Earth? That would be Centaurus A, only 11 million light-years distant. Spanning over 60,000 light-years, the peculiar elliptical galaxy…
A Sudden Jet on Comet 67P
There she blows ! A dramatic demonstration of how short-lived some comet jets can be was documented in late July by the robotic Rosetta spacecraft orbiting the nucleus of Comet…
The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars
The Pelican Nebula is slowly being transformed. IC 5070, the official designation, is divided from the larger North America Nebula by a molecular cloud filled with dark dust . The…
A Blazing Fireball between the Orion Nebula and Rigel
What's happening to that meteor? A few days ago, a bright fireball was photographed from the Alps mountain range in Switzerland as it blazed across the sky. The fireball, likely…
Leonids Over Monument Valley
There was a shower over Monument Valley -- but not water. Meteors. The featured image -- actually a composite of six exposures of about 30 seconds each -- was taken in 2001, a…
Wright Mons on Pluto
Long shadows are cast by a low Sun across this rugged looking terrain. Captured by New Horizons, the scene is found just south of the southern tip Sputnik Planum, the informally…
The Tadpoles of IC 410
This telescopic close-up shows off the otherwise faint emission nebula IC 410. It also features two remarkable inhabitants of the cosmic pond of gas and dust below and right of…
Kenya Morning Moon, Planets, and Taurid
On November 8, a waning crescent Moon joined the continuing parade of planets in Earth's early morning skies. Captured here from Amboseli National Park, Kenya, even the…
An Unexpected Rocket Plume over San Francisco
What is that unusual light in the sky? A common question, this particular light was not only bright but moving and expanding. It appeared just as the astrophotographer and his…
AE Aurigae and the Flaming Star Nebula
Is star AE Aurigae on fire? No. Even though AE Aurigae is named the flaming star, the surrounding nebula IC 405 is named the Flaming Star Nebula , and the region appears to have…
Assembly of The International Space Station
It is the largest and most sophisticated object ever built off the Earth. It has taken numerous spaceflights and over a decade to construct. The International Space Station (ISS)…
A Quadruple Sky Over Great Salt Lake
This was a sky to show the kids. All in all, three children, three planets, the Moon, a star, an airplane and a mom were all captured in one image near Great Salt Lake in Utah ,…
Earth and Milky Way from Space
Since November 2000 , people have been living continuously on the International Space Station. To celebrate humanity's 15th anniversary off planet Earth , consider this snapshot…
Unraveling NGC 3169
Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 appears to be unraveling in this cosmic scene , played out some 70 million light-years away just below bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation…
NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in Perseus
NGC 1333 is seen in visible light as a reflection nebula , dominated by bluish hues characteristic of starlight reflected by interstellar dust. A mere 1,000 light-years distant…
The Great Orion Nebula M42
The Great Nebula in Orion , also known as M42, is one of the most famous nebulae in the sky. The star forming region's glowing gas clouds and hot young stars are on the right in…
Seeking Venus under the Spitzkoppe Arch
What's that in the sky? Although there was much to see in this spectacular panorama taken during the early morning hours of a day in late September, the brightest object in the…
Comet ISON Being Destroyed by the Sun
Most comets don't survive a close encounter with the Sun. Two years ago this month, though, Comet ISON was thought by some to be big enough to withstand its perilous sungrazing…
The Milky Way Over Monument Valley
You don't have to be at Monument Valley to see the Milky Way arch across the sky like this -- but it helps. Only at Monument Valley USA would you see a picturesque foreground that…
Ghosts and Star Trails
Don't be scared . Stars won't fall from the sky and ghosts won't really haunt your neighborhood tonight. But it looks like they might be doing just that in this eerie picture of…
The Witch Head Nebula
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble .... maybe Macbeth should have consulted the Witch Head Nebula. A frighteningly shaped reflection nebula , this…
IC 1871: Inside the Soul Nebula
This cosmic close-up looks deep inside the Soul Nebula. The dark and brooding dust clouds outlined by bright ridges of glowing gas are cataloged as IC 1871. About 25 light-years…
Viewing discoveries from 21 November 2015 through 29 October 2015.