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.
Toolondo Totality Trails
In this composited night skyscape, stacked exposures trace graceful star trails above Lake Toolondo, Victoria, Australia, planet Earth. Captured while the lunar eclipse of March 3…
A Near-Full Rotation of Uranus
For the first timewe are witnessing outer planetUranus take center stage andpirouette.Uranus is one of the Solar System’s strangest planets, lying on its side and spinning like a…
CG 4: The Globule and the Galaxy
Is this a cosmic monster ready to devour an unsuspecting galaxy? Thankfully, that is not the case. The red “monster” shown in the featured image is Cometary Globule CG 4 , 1,300…
Sky Glows over Paranal Observatory
Are lasers from giant telescopes being used to defend the Earth? No. Lasers shot from telescopes are now commonly used to help increase the accuracy of astronomical observations.…
The Cranium Nebula from the Webb Telescope
What's going on inside the head of this nebula? Dubbed the Exposed Cranium Nebula for its similarity to the human brain , what created the nebula remains a mystery. One thought is…
The Aurora Tree
Yes, but can your tree do this? Pictured is a visual coincidence between the dark branches of a nearby tree and bright glow of a distant aurora. The beauty of the aurora --…
Two Eclipses of Saros 133
Centered on maximum eclipse, these two total lunar eclipse sequences look almost identical. Yet the one shown on top is composed of images recorded in February 2008, while at the…
The Astrosphere of HD 61005
Do young stars blow bubbles? The larger view shows a stellar field observed with the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, and the inset highlights HD 61005 , a star…
Total Lunar Eclipse over Tsé Bit'a'í
Earlier this week, Earth’s shadow swept across the full Moon in the year’s only total lunar eclipse . This stunning sequence combines images showing the Moon’s path across the…
Shapley 1: An Annular Planetary Nebula
What’s looking back at you isn’t a cosmic eye, but Shapley 1 , a beautifully symmetric planetary nebula . Shapley 1, also known as the Fine Ring Nebula or PLN 329+2.1 , bejewels…
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Flying over the North Pole of Mars
If you could fly over the North Pole of Mars , what would you see? Images from ESA’s Mars Express mission in 2019 were compiled into the featured video which shows just such a…
The Dusty Surroundings of Orion and the Pleiades
How well do you know the night sky? OK, but how well can you identify famous sky objects in a very deep image? Either way, here is a test: see if you can find some well-known…
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The Moon During a Total Lunar Eclipse
How does the Moon's appearance change during a total lunar eclipse? The featured time-lapse video was digitally processed to keep the Moon bright and centered during the 5-hour…
Lunar Occultation of Mercury
Fans of the western sky after sunset have lately enjoyed this month's remarkable array of bright planets. Witnessed from some locations, on February 18 planet Mercury even…
Sharpless 249 and the Jellyfish Nebula
Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught in this alluring telescopic field of view . Floating in the interstellar sea, the nebula is anchored right and left by…
Webb and Hubble: IC 5332
What does the universe look like through infrared goggles ? Our eyes can only see visible light , but astronomers want to see more. Today’s APOD shows spiral galaxy IC 5332 as…
The Egg Nebula from the Hubble Telescope
Ever wonder what it would look like to crack open the Sun? The Egg Nebula , a dying Sun-like star , can unscramble this question. Pictured is a combination of several visible and…
Planet Parade over Sydney Opera House
Look up this week and see a whole bunch of planets. Just after sunset, looking west (mostly), planets Mercury , Venus , Saturn , and Jupiter will all be visible to the unaided eye…
Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster
Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the…
Shadow of a Martian Robot
What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human ? Then you might be the Opportunity rover exploring Mars. Opportunity explored the Red Planet from 2004 to 2018, finding…
Twilight with Moon and Planets
Only two days after the February New Moon's annular eclipse of the Sun, a slender lunar crescent poses near the western horizon in this wintry twilight skyscape. Its nightside…
B93: A Dark Interstellar Ghost
“A ghost in the Milky Way…” says Christian Bertincourt, the astrophotographer behind this striking image of Barnard 93 (B93). The 93rd entry in Barnard’s Catalogue of Dark Nebula…
IC 2574: Coddington's Nebula
Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory, flaunting their young, bright, blue star clusters in beautiful, symmetric spiral arms. But small, irregular galaxies form…
Orion's Cradle
Cradled in red-glowing hydrogen gas, stars are being born in Orion. These stellar nurseries lie at the edge of the giant Orion molecular cloud complex , some 1,500 light-years…
Viewing discoveries from 13 March 2026 through 18 February 2026.