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.
LIGO-Virgo GW170814 Skymap
From around planet Earth three gravitational wave detectors have now reported a joint detection of ripples in spacetime, the fourth announced detection of a binary black hole…
Layers of a Total Solar Eclipse
Neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night can keep a space-based spacecraft from watching the Sun . In fact, from its vantage point 1.5 million kilometers sunward of planet Earth,…
Cassini's Last Ring Portrait at Saturn
How should Cassini say farewell to Saturn? Three days before plunging into Saturn 's sunny side, the robotic Cassini spacecraft swooped far behind Saturn's night side with cameras…
Massive Shell-Expelling Star G79.29+0.46
Stars this volatile are quite rare. Captured in the midst of dust clouds and visible to the right and above center is massive G79.29+0.46 , one of less than 100 luminous blue…
How to Identify that Light in the Sky
What is that light in the sky? Perhaps one of humanity's more common questions, an answer may result from a few quick observations. For example -- is it moving or blinking? If so,…
A Conjunction of Comets
A conjunction of comets is captured in this pretty star field from the morning of September 17. Discovered in July by a robotic sky survey searching for supernovae , comet C/2017…
Solar Eclipse Solargraph
Today is the September equinox . Heading south, the Sun's path through the sky will cross the celestial equator at 20:02 UT . Of course the equinox date results in (mostly) equal…
A September Morning Sky
The Moon, three planets, and a bright star gathered near the ecliptic plane in the September 18 morning sky over Veszprem Castle, Hungary. In this twilight skyscape, Mercury and…
The Big Corona
Most photographs don't adequately portray the magnificence of the Sun 's corona. Seeing the corona first-hand during a total solar eclipse is unparalleled . The human eye can…
Veil Nebula: Wisps of an Exploded Star
Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 7,000 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula . At the time, the expanding cloud…
Orion above Easter Island
Why were the statues on Easter Island built? No one is sure. What is sure is that over 800 large stone statues exist there. The Easter Island statues , stand, on the average, over…
Bright Spiral Galaxy M81
One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful M81 . This grand spiral galaxy can be found toward the northern…
Cassini's Final Image
As planned, the Cassini spacecraft impacted the upper atmosphere of Saturn on September 15, after a 13 year long exploration of the Saturnian System . With spacecraft thrusters…
100 Steps Forward
A beautiful conjunction of Venus and Moon, human, sand, and Milky Way is depicted in this night skyscape from planet Earth. The scene is a panorama of 6 photos taken in a moment…
Flare Well AR2673
Almost out of view from our fair planet , rotating around the Sun's western edge giant active region AR2673 lashed out with another intense solar flare followed by a large coronal…
NGC 6334: The Cat's Paw Nebula
Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble . Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw…
Calm Waters and Geomagnetic Storm
Very recognizable stars of the northern sky are a backdrop for calm waters in this moonlit sea and skyscape off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Taken on September 7 , the photo also…
The Great Gig in the Sky
There were no crowds on the beach at Phillips Lake, Oregon on August 21. But a few had come there to stand, for a moment, in the dark shadow of the Moon. From the beach, this…
The Flash Spectrum of the Sun
In clear Madras, Oregon skies, this colorful eclipse composite captured the elusive chromospheric or flash spectrum of the Sun. Only three exposures, made on August 21 with…
The Climber and the Eclipse
What should you do if your rock climbing picture is photobombed by a total eclipse of the Sun? Rejoice -- because your planning paid off . After months of considering different…
Europa and Jupiter from Voyager 1
What are those spots on Jupiter? Largest and furthest, just right of center, is the Great Red Spot -- a huge storm system that has been raging on Jupiter possibly since Giovanni…
Saturn's Rings from the Inside Out
What do Saturn's rings look like from Saturn? Images from the robotic spacecraft Cassini are providing humanity with this unprecedented vantage point as it nears the completion of…
A Waterspout in Florida
What's happening over the water? Pictured here is one of the better images yet recorded of a waterspout , a type of tornado that occurs over water. Waterspouts are spinning…
Milky Way Voyager
Launched in 1977 on a tour of the outer planets of the Solar System, Voyager 1 and 2 have become the longest operating and most distant spacecraft from Earth . Nearly 16…
Viewing discoveries from 28 September 2017 through 2 September 2017.