Astronomy Picture of the Day

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Infobox website Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University (MTU). It reads: "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The photograph does not necessarily correspond to a celestial event on the exact day that it is displayed, and images are sometimes repeated.<ref name="APODFAQ">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These often relate to current events in astronomy and space exploration. The text has several hyperlinks to more pictures and websites for more information. The images are either visible spectrum photographs, images taken at non-visible wavelengths and displayed in false color, video footage, animations, artist's conceptions, or micrographs that relate to space or cosmology.

Past images are stored in the APOD Archive, with the first image appearing on June 16, 1995.<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> This initiative has received support from NASA, the National Science Foundation, and MTU. The images are sometimes authored by people or organizations outside NASA, and therefore APOD images are often copyrighted, unlike many other NASA image galleries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

When the APOD website was created, it received a total of 14 page views on its first day. Template:As of, the APOD website has received over a billion image views throughout its lifetime.<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> APOD is also translated into 21 languages daily.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

APOD was presented at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in 1996.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its practice of using hypertext<ref name="APODFAQ"/> was analyzed in a paper in 2000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It received a Scientific American Sci/Tech Web Award in 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2002, the website was featured in an interview with Nemiroff on CNN Saturday Morning News.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2003, the two authors published a book titled The Universe: 365 Days<ref>The Universe: 365 Days: Robert J. Nemiroff, Jerry T. Bonnell: Books</ref> from Harry N. Abrams, which is a collection of the best images from APOD as a hardcover "coffee table" style book. APOD was the Featured Collection in the November 2004 issue of D-Lib Magazine.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

During the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, APOD continued its service on mirror sites.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>APOD mirror Template:Webarchive accessdate October, 4th, 2013</ref>

Robert J. Nemiroff and Jerry T. Bonnell were awarded the 2015 Klumpke-Roberts Award by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific "for outstanding contributions to public understanding and appreciation of astronomy" for their work on APOD.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The site was awarded the International Astronomical Union's 2022 Astronomy Outreach Prize.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pictures

• The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg

  Welcome to Planet Earth (March 25, 2007;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 13, 2010<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Opportunity's shadow sol 180 (PIA06739).jpg

  Shadow of a Martian robot (August 3, 2004;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> February 4, 2007;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> June 29, 2008;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> May 8, 2011;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> March 29, 2015;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> February 17, 2019<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Mammatus clouds regina sk june 2012.JPG

  Mammatus Clouds over Saskatchewan (October 23, 2012;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> October 18, 2015<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Eagle nebula pillars.jpg

  M16: Pillars of Star Creation (November 6, 1995;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> January 19, 1997;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> April 12, 1998;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> May 2, 1999;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> September 24, 2000;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> November 25, 2001;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> October 26, 2003;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> April 24, 2005;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> February 18, 2007;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> March 28, 2010;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 22, 2012;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> April 24, 2016<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Mars Valles Marineris.jpeg

  Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars (July 16, 1995;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 20, 1995;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> June 27, 1997;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> August 27, 2002;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> August 24, 2003;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 30, 2006;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> March 27, 2011;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> May 11, 2014;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> May 29, 2016<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Roll-cloud.JPG

  A Roll Cloud over Uruguay (January 5, 2010;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> June 2, 2013;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> June 12, 2016<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Cat's Eye Nebula.jpg

  The Cat's Eye Nebula (June 28, 1995;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 4, 1996;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> August 2, 1997;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> November 1, 1998;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> October 31, 1999;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> March 24, 2002;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> November 12, 2006;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> December 27, 2009;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> August 26, 2012;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 3, 2016<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Trifid Nebula.jpg

  Infrared Trifid (January 13, 2005;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 7, 2007;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 25, 2015;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> December 31, 2016<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Zeta Oph Runaway Star.jpg

  Zeta Oph: Runaway Star (December 29, 2012;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> July 5, 2015;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> April 8, 2017<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• 3C75 in Radio+Xray.jpg

  Two Black Holes Dancing in 3C 75 (April 12, 2006;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> November 9, 2008;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> March 14, 2010;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> September 28, 2014;<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref> October 22, 2017<ref>Template:Cite APOD</ref>)

• Fairy of Eagle Nebula.jpg

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• Bumper8 launch-GPN-2000-000613.jpg

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• Nucleosynthesis periodic table.svg

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External links

• Template:Official website
• APOD Archive
• About APOD – includes a list of mirror websites
• Astronomy Picture of the Day RSS Feed – Official RSS feed
• Official list of alternative (mirror) sites for when the NASA APOD site is down
• Observatorio – Spanish official translation, with web2.0 features
• Starship Asterisk* – APOD and General Astronomy Discussion Forum
• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) – Official Facebook Page
• Official APOD Telegram channel - Official channel in Telegram Messenger
• Astronomy Picture of the Day App – Official iOS mirror
• APOD email service
• List of APOD Mirrors and Social Sites