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.
NGC 188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an effort by J. L. E. Dreyer to consolidate the work of astronomers…
The Conjunction of Comet R3 PanSTARRS and the Orion Nebula
Today’s composite image features something old , something new, something borrowed, and something blue! Comet R3 PanSTARRS , streaking across the right of the image, likely…
Comet R3 PanSTARRS and Orion
Orion never had a sword like this. As Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) heads out of the inner Solar System, it is putting on quite a show for long exposure cameras . Currently seen…
Messier Craters in Stereo
Many bright nebulae and star clusters in planet Earth's sky are associated with the name of astronomer Charles Messier from his famous 18th century catalog. His name is also given…
Comet R3 PanSTARRS Before Rigel
Which way is Comet R3 PanSTARRS going? Not towards the star at the top of the image, because that is Rigel , which, being far in the background, is unrelated to the comet. Not…
The Retrograde Dance of Saturn and Neptune
What does it mean for Saturn and Neptune to be in retrograde? Featured is a composite of images taken over 34 nights from May 2025 to February 2026 tracing Saturn (brighter,…
Orion over Mount Teide
Orion is rarely seen like this. To achieve this majestic vista , you need a camera capable of taking such long duration exposures that faint features in the night sky become…
Trifid Pillars and Jets
Dust pillars are like interstellar mountains . They survive because they are more dense than their surroundings, but they are slowly being eroded away by a hostile environment.…
Seeing Titan
Shrouded in a thick atmosphere, the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan , is really hard to see. Small particles suspended in Titan's upper atmosphere cause an almost…
Markarian's Chain
Near the heart of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster , a string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain stretches across this telescopic field of view. Anchored in the frame at bottom right…
The Moon, Venus, and the Pleiades
No, Earth did not recently acquire six more moons! Today’s APOD is a combination of images following the Moon, Venus, and the Pleiades across a southern Sicilian sky as twilight…
CG 30: Cometary Globules
They're like mountain peaks, but they are forming stars. Bright-rimmed, flowing shapes gather near the center of this rich starfield toward the borders of the nautical southern…
Comet R3 PanSTARRS Behind Satellite Trails
Can you find the comet? Somewhere through this web of satellite trails is Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) , a bright visitor passing through the inner Solar System . Now, the orbiting…
Mystic Mountain Monster being Destroyed
Inside the head of this interstellar monster is a star that is slowly destroying it. The huge monster, actually an inanimate series of pillars of gas and dust, measures light…
The Persistence of Sunlight
This seaside sunset offered a surreal experience, captured in a sea and skyscape from the west coast of Sardinia, Italy, planet Earth. The Daliesque scene is a composition of…
Young Moon and Sister Stars
Sunlit arms of a crescent moon seem to embrace the faint lunar night side in this dramatic celestial view from planet Earth. The single telephoto exposure tracking the sky was…
Large Scale Structure of the Universe
This is a map of the universe. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Kitt Peak National Observatory , Arizona , has finished its five-year survey . It observed more…
Three Sky Arches over Snowy Alps
Why are there three arches across the sky instead of two? Last month, after being dropped off by a helicopter at a high mountain peak in the Alps near the Swiss Italian border, an…
Comet R3 PanSTARRS over a Himalayan Valley
The best way to see comet R3 PanSTARRS’s long tail is with a camera. This week, the recently brightened comet appears in northern skies to the east just before dawn, but is only…
Eye on the Milky Way
Have you ever had stars in your eyes ? It appears that the eye on the left does, and moreover, it appears to be gazing at even more stars. The featured 27-frame mosaic was taken…
PanSTARRS and Planets
Near the eastern horizon before sunrise, Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS is getting brighter . Readily visible in binoculars and small telescopes, the comet may be just on the verge of…
M82: Starburst Galaxy with a Superwind
Messier 82 is a starburst galaxy with a superwind. In fact, through supernova explosions and powerful winds from massive stars, the burst of star formation in M82 is driving a…
South Celestial Tree
If you live in the northern hemisphere , you may have learned how to locate the North Star, Polaris , in the night sky. It can be used to find north, and it approximately marks…
The ISS Transits the Moon
Nope, that is not an alien spaceship landing on the Moon! This is an image of the International Space Station (ISS) as it begins to transit in front of the Moon . The ISS is in…
Viewing discoveries from 13 May 2026 through 15 April 2026.