Browse NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day archive by date and media: Archive Discoveries
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Supernova 2025rbs in NGC 7331
A long time ago in a galaxy 50 million light-years away, a star exploded . Light from that supernova was first detected by telescopes on planet Earth on July 14th though, and the…
Coronal Loops on the Sun
Our Sun frequently erupts in loops. Hot solar plasma jumps off the Sun's surface into prominences , with the most common type of prominence being a simple loop. The loop shape…
A Helix Nebula Deep Field
Is the Helix Nebula looking at you? No, not in any biological sense, but it does look quite like an eye. The Helix Nebula is so named because it also appears that you are looking…
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Collision at Asteroid Dimorphos
Why was this collision so strange? In 2022, to develop Earth-saving technology, NASA deliberately crashed the DART spacecraft into the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos. The hope was…
Lightning over the Volcano of Water
Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? You're not alone. Details of what causes lightning are still being researched , but it is known that inside some clouds, internal…
Globular Cluster Omega Centauri
Globular star cluster Omega Centauri packs about 10 million stars much older than the Sun into a volume some 150 light-years in diameter. Also known as NGC 5139, at a distance of…
Twelve Years of Kappa Cygnids
Meteors from the Kappa Cygnid meteor shower are captured in this time-lapse composite skyscape. The minor meteor shower, with a radiant not far from its eponymous star Kappa…
Titan Shadow Transit
Every 15 years or so , Saturn's rings are tilted edge-on to our line of sight. As the bright, beautiful ring system grows narrower and fainter it becomes increasingly difficult to…
Fireball over Cape San Blas
Have you ever seen a fireball? In astronomy, a fireball is a very bright meteor -- one at least as bright as Venus and possibly brighter than even a full Moon . Fireball s are…
A Double Detonation Supernova
Can some supernovas explode twice? Yes, when the first explosion acts like a detonator for the second. This is a leading hypothesis for the cause of supernova remnant (SNR)…
Cat's Paw Nebula from Webb Space Telescope
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…
Lunar Nearside
About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside . But…
Messier 6
The sixth object in Charles Messier's famous catalog of things which are not comets, Messier 6 is a galactic or open star cluster . A gathering of 100 stars or so, all around 100…
ISS Meets Saturn
This month , bright planet Saturn rises in evening skies, its rings oriented nearly edge-on when viewed from planet Earth. And in the early morning hours on July 6, it posed very…
3I/ATLAS
Discovered on July 1 with the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, 3I/ATLAS is so designated as the third…
The Rosette Nebula from DECam
Would the Rosette Nebula by any other name look as sweet? The bland New General Catalog designation of NGC 2237 doesn't appear to diminish the appearance of this flowery emission…
Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars
What's happened in Hebes Chasma on Mars? Hebes Chasma is a depression just north of the enormous Valles Marineris canyon. Since the depression is unconnected to other surface…
NGC 2685: The Helix Galaxy
What is going on with this galaxy? NGC 2685 is a confirmed polar ring galaxy - a rare type of galaxy with stars, gas and dust orbiting in rings perpendicular to the plane of a…
Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create…
Clouds and the Golden Moon
As the Sun set, a bright Full Moon rose on July 10. Its golden light illuminates clouds drifting through southern hemisphere skies in this well-composed telephoto image from…
The Veins of Heaven
Transfusing sunlight as the sky grew darker, this exceptional display of noctilucent clouds was captured on July 10 , reflected in the calm waters of Vallentuna Lake near…
Lynds Dark Nebula 1251
Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula ( LDN ) 1251. About 1,000 light-years away and drifting above the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, LDN 1251 is also less appetizingly known as…
A Beautiful Trifid
The beautiful Trifid Nebula is a cosmic study in contrasts. Also known as M20 , it lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star…
The Pleiades in Red and Blue
If you have looked at the sky and seen a group of stars about the size of the full Moon, that's the Pleiades (M45) . Perhaps the most famous star cluster in the sky, its brightest…
Viewing discoveries from 31 July 2025 through 8 July 2025.