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.
Mercury on the Horizon
Have you ever seen the planet Mercury? Because Mercury orbits so close to the Sun, it never wanders far from the Sun in Earth's sky . If trailing the Sun, Mercury will be visible…
The North Celestial Tower
If you climbed to the top of this 13th century stone tower, it looks like you could reach out and touch the North Celestial Pole , the point at the center of all the star trail…
NGC 2736: The Pencil Nebula
Moving from top to bottom in the frame near the center of this sharply detailed color composite , thin, bright, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a cosmic sheet of…
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,…
M7: Open Star Cluster in Scorpius
M7 is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars on the sky. The cluster, dominated by bright blue stars , can be seen with the naked eye in a dark sky in the tail of the…
Chasing Juno
Wait for me! In 2011, NASA's robotic mission Juno launched for Jupiter from Cape Canaveral , Florida , USA . Last week, Juno reached Jupiter and fired internal rockets to become…
Aurorae on Jupiter
Jupiter has aurorae . Like Earth , the magnetic field of the gas giant funnels charged particles released from the Sun onto the poles. As these particles strike the atmosphere,…
Moon Meets Jupiter
What's that next to the Moon? Jupiter -- and its four largest moons. Skygazers around planet Earth enjoyed the close encounter of planets and Moon in 2012 July 15's predawn skies…
Noctilucent Clouds Tour France
Bright noctilucent or night shining clouds are not familiar sights from northern France. But these electric-blue waves coursed through skies over the small town of Wancourt in…
The Swirling Core of the Crab Nebula
At the core of the Crab Nebula lies a city-sized, magnetized neutron star spinning 30 times a second. Known as the Crab Pulsar, it's actually the rightmost of two bright stars,…
The Altiplano Night
The Milky Way is massively bright on this cold, clear, altiplano night. At 4,500 meters its reflection in a river, a volcanic peak on the distant horizon, is captured in this…
Arp 286: Trio in Virgo
A remarkable telescopic composition in yellow and blue, this scene features a trio of interacting galaxies almost 90 million light-years away, toward the constellation Virgo . On…
The Colorful Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
The many spectacular colors of the Rho Ophiuchi (oh'-fee-yu-kee) clouds highlight the many processes that occur there. The blue regions shine primarily by reflected light. Blue…
IC 4628: The Prawn Nebula
South of Antares , in the tail of the nebula-rich constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628 . Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, irradiate the nebula…
The Cat's Eye Nebula
Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the Cat's Eye Nebula to be one of the most…
Firefly Trails and the Summer Milky Way
A camera fixed low to a tripod on a northern summer's eve captured the series of images used in this serene, southern Ontario skyscape. The lakeside view frames our fair galaxy…
Juno Approaching Jupiter
Approaching over the north pole after nearly a five-year journey, Juno enjoys a perspective on Jupiter not often seen, even by spacecraft from Earth that usually swing by closer…
The New World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness
How far are you from a naturally dark night sky? In increasing steps, this world map ( medium | large ) shows the effect of artificial night sky brightness on the visual…
From Alpha to Omega in Crete
This beautiful telephoto composition spans light-years in a natural night skyscape from the island of Crete. Looking south, exposures both track the stars and record a fixed…
Anticrepuscular Rays over Colorado (II)
What's happening over the horizon? Although the scene may appear somehow supernatural , nothing more unusual is occurring than a setting Sun and some well placed clouds. Pictured…
Jupiter's Clouds from New Horizons
The New Horizons spacecraft took some stunning images of Jupiter on its way out to Pluto. Famous for its Great Red Spot , Jupiter is also known for its regular, equatorial cloud…
Strawberry to Honey Moonrise
Near the horizon the Full Moon often seems to loom large, swollen in appearance by the famous Moon illusion. But timelapse images demonstrate that the Moon's apparent size doesn't…
Sagittarius Sunflowers
These three bright nebulae are often featured in telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way . In fact, 18th century…
Solstice Dawn and Full Moonset
A Full Moon sets as the Solstice Sun rises in this June 20 dawn skyscape. Captured from a nearby peak in central California, planet Earth, the scene looks across the summit of…
Viewing discoveries from 17 July 2016 through 23 June 2016.