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.
Sonified: Eagle Nebula Pillars
Yes, but have you ever experienced the Eagle Nebula with your ears? The famous nebula M16 is best known for the feast it gives your eyes, highlighting bright young stars forming…
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Chasing the International Space Station
Blasting into the predawn sky on Tuesday, October 13, a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are headed for low Earth orbit in this stunning timelapse video captured from Indian…
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Comet NEOWISE Rising Over the Adriatic Sea
This sight was worth getting out of bed early. Just over four years ago, Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) rose before dawn to the delight of northern sky enthusiasts awake that early. Up…
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Witness XZ Andromedae Wink
Is this star winking at us? The central object in today’s animation is not one but two stars. XZ Andromedae, indicated by the bold lines, is an Algol-type eclipsing binary with a…
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Launch of the Roman Space Telescope
A new telescope has been launched into space to study the universe. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST) has the same size main mirror as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)…
Cassini Approaches Saturn
What would it look like to approach the grand planet Saturn? One doesn't have to just imagine -- the Cassini spacecraft did just this in 2004, recording thousands of images along…
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Time Lapse of the Star S301 Orbiting the Black Hole in the Center of the Galaxy
What does it feel like to zoom around a spinning supermassive black hole? The featured video is an animation showing a time-lapse of 4 years of observations of the star S301…
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The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
Whatdunit? What disappeared while crossing a partially eclipsed Sun? Let’s present the evidence. The 24 frames-per-second video was taken in Spain (40°34'30.3"N 1°12'28.8"W) at…
Psyche Receives Gravity Assist from Mars
Solar System bodies make deep space exploration more fuel efficient! Today’s video shows the Psyche spacecraft gaining speed and changing its trajectory with minimal fuel spent…
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Simulation TNG50: A Galaxy Cluster Forms
How do clusters of galaxies form? Since our universe moves too slowly to watch, faster-moving computer simulations are created to help find out. One famous effort is TNG50 from…
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Auroras from Space
What do auroras look like from above? Behold! From the ground, auroras dance high above clouds , frequently causing spectacular displays . From space, they look a bit different.…
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Swift Boost Mission
Sometimes we can all use a little help from a friend . NASA 's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory needs a boost to stay in orbit after almost 22 years of service. This video shows an…
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SDO Observes a Coronal Mass Ejection
Why does the Sun throw stuff at us? The Sun’s surface is a churning soup of energetic electrons and ions called plasma . The motion of those charged particles creates magnetic…
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Flying Past Neptune's Moon Triton
What would it look like to fly past Triton , the largest moon of planet Neptune ? Only one spacecraft has ever done this -- and the images of this dramatic encounter have been…
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A Martian Eclipse: Phobos Crosses the Sun
What's that passing in front of the Sun? It looks like a moon, but it can't be Earth's Moon , because it isn't round. It's the Martian moon Phobos . The featured video was taken…
Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a…
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Supernova in a Sideways Spiral
A long time ago, in a distant galaxy , a massive star was destroyed in a supernova explosion. The light of this event travelled for tens of millions of years and reached Earth…
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Superplumes Inside Earth
Why are there huge, unusual masses inside the Earth? No one is sure. By noting how earthquakes rumble through our planet 's interior, humanity has discovered two deep structures…
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Waves on Titan
Have you ever thought about surfing on an alien world? We can now expand the search for the perfect wave from Earth to the rest of the Solar System, and beyond . Scientists have…
Earthset with an iPhone
What does it mean for the Earth to set? Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman gave us another spectacular view of Earth from their historic flyby of the Moon. Commander Wiseman's…
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Destruction of Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS)
As the crew of Artemis II travelled towards the Moon this week, Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was expected to have its closest approach to the Sun on Monday. At this point, comet and Sun…
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The Path of Artemis II
Why doesn't Artemis II land on the Moon? The main reason is that Artemis II is primarily a test mission designed to make a future Artemis missions -- which will land humans on the…
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A Gravity Map of Earth
Is gravity the same over the surface of the Earth? No -- in some places you will feel slightly heavier than others. The featured Earth map video shows in colors and exaggerated…
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Leaving Earth
What would it look like to leave planet Earth? Such an event was recorded visually in great detail by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it swung back past the Earth in 2005 on its way…
Viewing discoveries from 18 October 2026 through 22 March 2026.