Overview
The node "NASA Pics" allows users to retrieve data from NASA's public APIs. Specifically, for the resource Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) with the Get operation, it fetches the Astronomy Picture of the Day information from NASA's API. This is useful for applications that want to display or process daily astronomy images and their metadata, such as educational platforms, astronomy apps, or daily content feeds.
A practical example use case is automatically fetching the APOD each day to show on a website or in an app, optionally specifying a particular date to retrieve historical pictures.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Additional Fields | Optional extra parameters for the request. Currently supports: |
| - Date | The specific date of the Astronomy Picture of the Day to retrieve. Format: ISO date only |
Output
The node outputs JSON data representing the Astronomy Picture of the Day details returned by NASA's API. This typically includes fields such as:
date: The date of the picture.explanation: A description of the image.hdurl: URL to the high-definition image.media_type: Type of media (usually "image").service_version: API version.title: Title of the picture.url: URL to the image.
No binary data output is indicated for this operation.
Dependencies
- Requires an API key credential for NASA's API to authenticate requests.
- The base URL used is
https://api.nasa.gov. - No additional environment variables are specified beyond the API key credential.
Troubleshooting
Common issues:
- Missing or invalid API key will cause authentication errors.
- Requesting a date outside the valid range or future dates may result in errors or empty responses.
- Network connectivity issues can prevent successful API calls.
Error messages:
- Authentication errors usually indicate problems with the provided API key; ensure the key is valid and correctly configured.
- Date format errors can occur if the date is not properly formatted as ISO (YYYY-MM-DD); verify input formatting.
- API rate limits might be hit if too many requests are made in a short time; consider adding delays or caching results.
Links and References
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day API documentation: https://api.nasa.gov/#apod
- NASA API general info and sign-up: https://api.nasa.gov/