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.
Pandora's Cluster of Galaxies
This deep field mosaicked image presents a stunning view of galaxy cluster Abell 2744 recorded by the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam. Also dubbed Pandora's Cluster, Abell…
Elephant's Trunk and Caravan
Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story , the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission region and young star cluster complex IC 1396 , in the high and far off…
M94: A Double Ring Galaxy
Most galaxies don't have any rings of stars and gas -- why does M94 have two? First, spiral galaxy M94 has an inner ring of newly formed stars surrounding its nucleus, giving it…
Star Eats Planet
It’s the end of a world as we know it. Specifically, the Sun-like star ZTF SLRN-2020 was seen eating one of its own planets. Although many a planet eventually dies by spiraling…
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,…
Color the Universe
Wouldn't it be fun to color in the universe? If you think so, please accept this famous astronomical illustration as a preliminary substitute. You, your friends , your parents or…
Charon: Moon of Pluto
A darkened and mysterious north polar region known to some as Mordor Macula caps this premier high-resolution view. The portrait of Charon , Pluto's largest moon, was captured by…
Messier 101
Big, beautiful spiral galaxy M101 is one of the last entries in Charles Messier's famous catalog, but definitely not one of the least. About 170,000 light-years across, this…
Recycling Cassiopeia A
Massive stars in our Milky Way Galaxy live spectacular lives. Collapsing from vast cosmic clouds, their nuclear furnaces ignite and create heavy elements in their cores. After a…
Simulation: A Disk Galaxy Forms
How did we get here? We know that we live on a planet orbiting a star orbiting a galaxy, but how did all of this form? Since our universe moves too slowly to watch, faster-moving…
M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
Is this what will become of our Sun? Quite possibly. The first hint of our Sun 's future was discovered inadvertently in 1764 . At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list…
Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland
What glows there? The answer depends: sea or sky? In the sea, the unusual blue glow is bioluminescence . Specifically, the glimmer arises from Noctiluca scintillans ,…
Ida and Dactyl: Asteroid and Moon
This asteroid has a moon. The robot spacecraft Galileo on route to Jupiter in 1993 encountered and photographed two asteroids during its long interplanetary voyage. The second…
Crescent Neptune and Triton
Gliding through the outer Solar System , in 1989 the Voyager 2 spacecraft looked toward the Sun to find this view of most distant planet Neptune and its moon Triton together in a…
Virgo Cluster Galaxies
Galaxies of the Virgo Cluster are scattered across this nearly 4 degree wide telescopic field of view . About 50 million light-years distant, the Virgo Cluster is the closest…
Cat's Eye Wide and Deep
The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary nebulae in the sky. Its more familiar outlines are seen in the brighter central region of the nebula in this…
Observatory Aligned with Moon Occulting Jupiter
Sometimes we witness the Moon moving directly in front of -- called occulting -- one of the planets in our Solar System . Earlier this month that planet was Jupiter. Captured here…
Jupiter's Swirls from Juno
Big storms are different on Jupiter. On Earth, huge hurricanes and colossal cyclones are centered on regions of low pressure, but on Jupiter, it is the high-pressure, anti-cyclone…
Supernova Discovered in Nearby Spiral Galaxy M101
A nearby star has exploded and humanity's telescopes are turning to monitor it. The supernova, dubbed SN 2023ixf , was discovered by Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki three days…
Tardigrade in Moss
Is this an alien? Probably not, but of all the animals on Earth, the tardigrade might be the best candidate. That's because tardigrades are known to be able to go for decades…
Galileo's Europa
Looping through the Jovian system in the late 1990s, the Galileo spacecraft recorded stunning views of Europa and uncovered evidence that the moon's icy surface likely hides a…
Curly Spiral Galaxy M63
A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is nearby, about 30 million light-years distant toward the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. Also cataloged as NGC 5055,…
WR 134 Ring Nebula
Made with narrowband filters, this cosmic snapshot covers a field of view about the size of the full Moon within the boundaries of the constellation Cygnus. It highlights the…
Sunspot with Light Bridge
Why would a small part of the Sun appear slightly dark? Visible is a close-up picture of sunspot s, depressions on the Sun's surface that are slightly cooler and less bright than…
Viewing discoveries from 9 June 2023 through 17 May 2023.