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.
Rosetta's Farewell
After closely following comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for 786 days as it rounded the Sun, the Rosetta spacecraft's controlled impact with the comet's surface was confirmed by…
Lynds Dark Nebula 1251
Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula ( LDN ) 1251. About 1,000 light-years away, the dusty molecular cloud is part of a complex of dark nebulae mapped toward the Cepheus flare…
Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope
The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is nestled within a natural basin in China's remote and mountainous southwestern Guizhou province. Nicknamed Tianyan, or…
NGC 3576: The Statue of Liberty Nebula
What's happening in the Statue of Liberty nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming and being liberated . The complex nebula resides in the star forming region…
Jupiter's Europa from Spacecraft Galileo
What mysteries might be solved by peering into this crystal ball? In this case, the ball is actually a moon of Jupiter , the crystals are ice, and the moon is not only dirty but…
Saturn from Above
This image of Saturn could not have been taken from Earth. No Earth based picture could possibly view the night side of Saturn and the corresponding shadow cast across Saturn's…
Heart and Soul and Double Cluster
This rich starfield spans almost 10 degrees across the sky toward the northern constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus. On the left, heart-shaped cosmic cloud IC 1805 and IC 1848…
Harvest Moon Eclipse
A Harvest Moon rises over Sesimbra Castle south of Lisbon in this impressive series of telephoto exposures. Captured at its full phase, the golden Moon was also gliding through…
Sunset at Edmontonhenge
On September 18, the setting Sun illuminated both sides of the steep brick and steel canyon otherwise known as Jasper Avenue in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, planet Earth.…
The Helix Nebula in Infrared
What makes this cosmic eye look so red ? Dust. The featured image from the robotic Spitzer Space Telescope shows infrared light from the well-studied Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) a…
50,000 Kilometers over the Sun
What's happening at the edge of the Sun? Although it may look like a monster is rampaging , what is pictured is actually only a monster prominence -- a sheath of thin gas held…
Starry Night Scavenger Hunt
Did you know that van Gogh 's painting Starry Night includes Comet Hale-Bopp? Hopefully not, because it doesn't. But the featured image does. Although today's picture may appear…
M33: Triangulum Galaxy
The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy . M33…
Full Moon over Brno
After sunset this gorgeous full moon rose over Brno city in the Czech Republic on July 20, 2016. The panoramic image was made during a celebration of the 47th anniversary of the…
Retrograde Mars and Saturn
Wandering Mars and Saturn have spent much of this year remarkably close in planet Earth's night sky . In a sequence of exposures spanning mid-December 2015 through the beginning…
The North and South of Jupiter
A wide, looping orbit brought Juno close to Jupiter on August 27. As the spacecraft swung around the giant planet's poles JunoCam acquired these premier direct polar views, a…
NGC 1672: Barred Spiral Galaxy from Hubble
Many spiral galaxies have bars across their centers. Even our own Milky Way Galaxy is thought to have a modest central bar . Prominently barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672, featured…
Philae Lander Found on Comet 67P
A little spacecraft that was presumed lost has now been found. In 2014, the Philae lander slowly descended from its parent Rosetta spacecraft to the nucleus of Comet C67/P…
All the Water on Planet Earth
How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the…
The Launch of OSIRIS-REx
Near sunset on Thursday, clear skies saw the launch of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Sporting a single solid rocket booster, its Atlas V vehicle blasts off from Cape Canaveral's…
The Wide and Deep Lagoon
Ridges of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds inhabit the turbulent, cosmic depths of the Lagoon Nebula. Also known as M8, the bright star forming region is about 5,000…
Mars in the Clouds
Wandering through this stunning field of view, Mars really is in front of these colorful cosmic clouds. The mosaic contructed from telescopic images is about 5 degrees (10 full…
Eclipse to Sunset
September's eclipse of the Sun is documented in the 68 frames of this timelapse composite. Starting at 1pm local time a frame every 4 minutes follow's the progress of the New Moon…
The Whirlpool Galaxy and Beyond
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…
Viewing discoveries from 1 October 2016 through 6 September 2016.