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.
Spitzer's Orion
Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like the Orion Nebula , an immense stellar nursery some 1,500 light-years away. Spanning about 40 light-years across the region, this…
NGC 7129 and NGC 7142
This wide-field telescopic image looks toward the constellation Cepheus and an intriguing visual pairing of dusty reflection nebula NGC 7129 (right) and open star cluster NGC…
M27: Not a Comet
While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century France, astronomer Charles Messier diligently kept a list of the things he encountered that were definitely not comets.…
Messier 61 Close Up
Image data from the Hubble Space Telescope , the European Southern Observatory, and small telescopes on planet Earth are combined in this magnificent portrait of face-on spiral…
Dark Dust and Colorful Clouds near Antares
Why is the sky near Antares and Rho Ophiuchi so dusty yet colorful? The colors result from a mixture of objects and processes. Fine dust illuminated from the front by starlight…
NGC 2170: Angel Nebula Still Life
Is this a painting or a photograph? In this classic celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 , also known as the Angel Nebula , shines near the…
Leaving Earth
What it would look like to leave planet Earth? Such an event was recorded visually in great detail by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it swung back past the Earth in 2005 on its way…
Millions of Stars in Omega Centauri
Globular star cluster Omega Centauri , also known as NGC 5139, is some 15,000 light-years away. The cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun within a…
NGC 1499: The California Nebula
Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of the United States. Our own Sun…
Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945
Large spiral galaxy NGC 4945 is seen edge-on near the center of this cosmic galaxy portrait . In fact, it's almost the size of our Milky Way Galaxy . NGC 4945's own dusty disk,…
The Orion You Can Almost See
Do you recognize this constellation? Although it is one of the most recognizable star groupings on the sky, this is a more full Orion than you can see -- an Orion only revealed…
Animation: Spiral Disk around a Black Hole
What would it look like to orbit a black hole? Many black holes are surrounded by swirling pools of gas known as accretion disks. These disks can be extremely hot, and much of the…
Lenticular Clouds over Mount Etna
What's happening above that volcano? Although Mount Etna is seen erupting, the clouds are not related to the eruption . They are lenticular clouds formed when moist air is forced…
Human as Spaceship
You are a spaceship soaring through the universe. So is your dog . We all carry with us trillions of microorganisms as we go through life. These multitudes of bacteria , fungi ,…
1901 Photograph: The Orion Nebula
By the turn of the 20th century advances in photography contributed an important tool for astronomers. Improving photographic materials, long exposures, and new telescope designs…
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula in Cepheus
Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story , the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396 , in the high and far off…
The Perseids and the Plough
Despite interfering moonlight, many denizens of planet Earth were able to watch this year's Perseid meteor shower . This pastoral scene includes local skygazers admiring the…
Saturn Behind the Moon
What's that next to the Moon? Saturn . In its monthly trip around the Earth -- and hence Earth's sky -- our Moon passed nearly in front of Sun -orbiting Saturn earlier this week.…
Supernova Cannon Expels Pulsar J0002
What could shoot out a neutron star like a cannon ball? A supernova. About 10,000 years ago, the supernova that created the nebular remnant CTB 1 not only destroyed a massive star…
Perseid Meteors over Slovakia
Tonight is a good night to see meteors. Comet dust will rain down on planet Earth, streaking through dark skies during the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower . The featured…
Arp 87: Merging Galaxies from Hubble
This dance is to the death. Along the way, as these two large galaxies duel, a cosmic bridge of stars, gas, and dust currently stretches over 75,000 light-years and joins them.…
M16 Close Up
A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed image of the…
Atlas at Dawn
This single, 251-second long exposure follows the early flight of an Atlas V rocket on August 8, streaking eastward toward the dawn from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, planet…
Curiosity at Teal Ridge
Part of a 360 degree panorama, this view looks out from the Mars rover Curiosity's current location on the Red Planet dubbed Teal Ridge. The mosaicked scene was captured by the…
Viewing discoveries from 31 August 2019 through 8 August 2019.