Astronomy Picture of the Day

"APOD" redirects here. For the gene, see APOD (gene).
Astronomy Picture of the Day
The APOD website on 31 December 2016, displaying that day's astronomy picture of Trifid Nebula in infrared
Type of site
Photography website
Available inEnglish (primary)
OwnerNASA and MTU
Created byRobert J. Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell
URLapod.nasa.gov
CommercialNo
LaunchedJune 16, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-06-16)
Current statusActive

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."[1] The photograph does not necessarily correspond to a celestial event on the exact day that it is displayed, and images are sometimes repeated.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

When the APOD website was created, it received a total of 14 page views on its first day. As of 2012, the APOD website has received over a billion image views throughout its lifetime.[5] APOD is also translated into 21 languages daily.[6]

APOD was presented at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in 1996.[7] Its practice of using hypertext[2] was analyzed in a paper in 2000.[8] It received a Scientific American Sci/Tech Web Award in 2001.[9] In 2002, the website was featured in an interview with Nemiroff on CNN Saturday Morning News.[10] In 2003, the two authors published a book titled The Universe: 365 Days[11] 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.[12]

During the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, APOD continued its service on mirror sites.[13][14]

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.[15][16] The site was awarded the International Astronomical Union's 2022 Astronomy Outreach Prize.[17][18]

  1. ^ Nemiroff, Robert; Jerry Bonnell (April 3, 2007). "APOD homepage". NASA. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Nemiroff, Robert; Jerry Bonnell. "APOD Frequently Asked Questions". NASA. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  3. ^ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (16 June 1995). "Neutron Star Earth". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  4. ^ Nemiroff, Robert; Jerry Bonnell. "About APOD Image Permissions". NASA. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  5. ^ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (16 June 2012). "APOD Turns 17". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  6. ^ "About APOD". APOD. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  7. ^ "AAS Meeting 187th Program". American Astronomical Society. 1996. Archived from the original on September 7, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  8. ^ Carr, Leslie; Hall, Wendy; Miles-Board, Timothy (February 29, 2000). "Writing and Reading Hypermedia on the Web". Technical Report, Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton. Archived from the original on December 11, 2005. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  9. ^ "Sci/Tech Web Awards 2001—Astronomy and Astrophysics". Scientific American. May 14, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  10. ^ "Saturday Morning News — Astronomy Picture of Day transcript". CNN. September 21, 2002. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  11. ^ The Universe: 365 Days: Robert J. Nemiroff, Jerry T. Bonnell: Books
  12. ^ Wilson, Bonita (November 2004). "Featured Collection". D-Lib Magazine. 10 (11). doi:10.1045/november2004-featured.collection.
  13. ^ "How to follow APOD during a US government shutdown – Starship Asterisk*".
  14. ^ APOD mirror Archived October 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine accessdate October, 4th, 2013
  15. ^ "Klumpke-Roberts Award of The Astronomical Society of the Pacific". Astronomical Society.
  16. ^ "The Astronomical Society of the Pacific Announces Its 2015 Award Recipients For Astronomy Research And Education". Astronomical Society.
  17. ^ "IAU Announces Winners of First Prizes for Astronomy Outreach, Development and Education". International Astronomical Union. June 9, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day Recognized for Decades of Outreach". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. June 22, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.