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.
Crew-1 Mission Launch Streak
Leaving planet Earth for a moment, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket arced into the early evening sky last Sunday at 7:27 pm EST from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. This 3…
A Double Star Cluster in Perseus
Most star clusters are singularly impressive. Open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884, however, could be considered doubly impressive. Also known as “h and chi Persei”, this unusual…
A Glowing STEVE and the Milky Way
What's creating these long glowing streaks in the sky? No one is sure. Known as Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancements (STEVEs), these luminous light-purple sky ribbons may…
Light and Glory over Crete
The month was July, the place was the Greek island of Crete , and the sky was spectacular. Of course there were the usual stars like Polaris , Vega , and Antares -- and that…
Edge-On Galaxy NGC 5866
Why is this galaxy so thin? Many disk galaxies are just as thin as NGC 5866, pictured here , but are not seen edge-on from our vantage point. One galaxy that is situated edge-on…
Venus, Mercury, and the Waning Moon
Yesterday, early morning risers around planet Earth were treated to a waning Moon low in the east as the sky grew bright before dawn . From the Island of Ortigia, Syracuse,…
The Tarantula Zone
The Tarantula Nebula , also known as 30 Doradus, is more than a thousand light-years in diameter, a giant star forming region within nearby satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic…
Comet ATLAS and Orion's Belt
With its closest approach to planet Earth scheduled for November 14, this Comet ATLAS (C/2020 M3) was discovered just this summer, another comet found by the NASA funded Asteroid…
Colors of the Moon
What color is the Moon? It depends on the night. Outside of the Earth's atmosphere, the dark Moon , which shines by reflected sunlight, appears a magnificent ly brown-tinged gray.…
The Central Soul Nebula Without Stars
This cosmic close-up looks deep inside the Soul Nebula . The dark and brooding dust cloud s near the top, outlined by bright ridges of glowing gas, are cataloged as IC 1871 .…
In Green Company: Aurora over Norway
Raise your arms if you see an aurora. With those instructions, two nights went by with, well, clouds -- mostly. On the third night of returning to same peaks, though, the sky not…
Martian Moon Phobos from Mars Express
Why is Phobos so dark? Phobos , the largest and innermost of two Martian moons, is the darkest moon in the entire Solar System . Its unusual orbit and color indicate that it may…
The Hercules Cluster of Galaxies
These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster, an archipelago of island universes a mere 500 million light-years away. Also known as Abell 2151, this cluster is loaded with gas and…
Moon over ISS
Completing one orbit of our fair planet in 90 minutes the International Space Station can easily be spotted by eye as a very bright star moving through the night sky. Have you…
North of Orion's Belt
Bright stars, interstellar clouds of dust and glowing nebulae fill this cosmic scene , a skyscape just north of Orion's belt . Close to the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, the wide…
Fifty Gravitational Wave Events Illustrated
Over fifty gravitational wave events have now been detected. These events mark the distant, violent collisions of two black holes , a black hole and a neutron star, or two neutron…
Tagging Bennu: The Movie
This is what it looks like to punch an asteroid. Last month, NASA's robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx descended toward, thumped into, and then quickly moved away from the small…
Half Sun with Prominence
What's happening to the Sun? Clearly, the Sun's lower half is hidden behind a thick cloud. Averaging over the entire Earth, clouds block the Sun about 2/3rds of the time ,…
In the Center of the Trifid Nebula
What's happening at the center of the Trifid Nebula? Three prominent dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear near the bottom,…
A Galaxy of Horrors
Explore extreme and terrifying realms of the Universe tonight. If you dare to look, mysterious dark matter, a graveyard galaxy, zombie worlds, and gamma-ray bursts of doom are not…
Fear and Dread: The Moons of Mars
On Halloween fear and dread will stalk your night skies, also known as Phobos and Deimos the moons of Mars. The 2020 opposition of Mars was on October 13, so the Red Planet will…
The Ghoul of IC 2118
Inspired by the halloween season, this telescopic portrait captures a cosmic cloud with a scary visage. The interstellar scene lies within the dusty expanse of reflection nebula…
NGC 6357: The Lobster Nebula
Why is the Lobster Nebula forming some of the most massive stars known? No one is yet sure . Cataloged as NGC 6357, the Lobster Nebula houses the open star cluster Pismis 24 near…
Venusian Volcano Imagined
What would an erupting volcano on Venus look like? Evidence of currently active volcanoes on Venus was announced earlier this year with the unexplained warmth of regions thought…
Viewing discoveries from 19 November 2020 through 27 October 2020.