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.
Jupiter Engulfed and the Milky Way
This is a good month to see Jupiter. To find our Solar System 's largest planet in your sky, look toward the southeast just after sunset -- Jupiter should be the brightest object…
The Local Void in the Nearby Universe
What does our region of the Universe look like? Since galaxies are so spread out over the sky, and since our Milky Way Galaxy blocks part of the distant sky, it has been hard to…
A Total Solar Eclipse Reflected
If you saw a total solar eclipse, would you do a double-take? One astrophotographer did just that -- but it took a lake and a bit of planning. Realizing that the eclipse would be…
Rumors of a Dark Universe
Twenty-one years ago results were first presented indicating that most of the energy in our universe is not in stars or galaxies but is tied to space itself. In the language of…
Mimas in Saturnlight
Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Mimas lies in near darkness alongside a dramatic sunlit crescent . The mosaic was captured near the Cassini spacecraft's…
Chamaeleon II Dark Cloud
A small constellation hiding near the south celestial pole , The Chamaeleon boasts no bright stars. Stars are forming within its constellation boundaries though, in a complex of…
Elements in the Aftermath
Massive stars spend their brief lives furiously burning nuclear fuel. Through fusion at extreme temperatures and densities surrounding the stellar core, nuclei of light elements…
IC 1795: The Fishhead Nebula
To some, this nebula looks like the head of a fish . However, this colorful cosmic portrait really features glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds in IC 1795, a star forming region…
Star Forming Region NGC 3582 without Stars
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…
Lightning over the Volcano of Water
Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? Join the crowd. Details of what causes lightning are still being researched , but it is known that inside some clouds, internal…
The North America Nebula in Infrared
The North America Nebula can do what most North Americans cannot -- form stars. Precisely where in the nebula these stars are forming has been mostly obscured by some of the…
Chandrayaan 2 Launch
On July 22nd this GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) MkIII rocket vanished from sight into a cloud bank an instant after this dramatic snapshot was taken. Launched…
The Veins of Heaven
Transfusing sunlight through a still dark sky, this exceptional display of noctilucent clouds was captured earlier this month, reflected in the calm waters of Vallentuna Lake near…
Cygnus Skyscape
In brush strokes of interstellar dust and glowing hydrogen gas , this beautiful skyscape is painted across the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy near the northern end of the Great…
Zodiacal Road
What's that strange light down the road? Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just…
M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind
Why is the Cigar Galaxy billowing red smoke? M82 , as this starburst galaxy is also known, was stirred up by a recent pass near large spiral galaxy M81 . This doesn't fully…
HDR: Earth's Circular Shadow on the Moon
What could create such a large circular shadow on the Moon? The Earth. Last week's full Moon -- the Buck Moon -- was so full that it fell almost exactly in a line with the Sun and…
Moonquakes Surprisingly Common
Why are there so many moonquakes? Analyses of seismometers left on the moon by the Apollo moon landings reveals a surprising number of moonquake s occurring within 100 kilometers…
Apollo 11 Landing Panorama
Have you seen a panorama from another world lately? Assembled from high-resolution scans of the original film frames, this one sweeps across the magnificent desolation of the…
Tranquility Base Panorama
On July 20 , 1969 the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle safely touched down on the Moon. It landed near the southwestern corner of the Moon's Mare Tranquillitatis at a landing site…
Shadowed Moon and Mountain
On July 16 the Moon celebrated the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11 with a lunar eclipse visible from much of planet Earth. In this view part of the lunar disk is…
Apollo 11: Descent to the Moon
It had never been done before. But with the words "You're Go for landing", 50 years ago this Saturday, Apollo 11 astronauts Aldrin and Armstrong were cleared to make the first…
Apollo 11 Launches Humans to the Moon
Everybody saw the Moon. Nobody had ever been there. Humans across planet Earth watched in awe 50 years ago today as a powerful Saturn V rocket attempted to launch humans -- to the…
The Space Station Crosses a Spotless Sun
That's no sunspot. It's the International Space Station (ISS) caught passing in front of the Sun. Sunspot s, individually, have a dark central umbra , a lighter surrounding…
Viewing discoveries from 7 August 2019 through 15 July 2019.