Overview
This node fetches the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) from a public API. It is useful for users who want to retrieve daily astronomy images along with their descriptions and metadata, such as the date the picture was taken. Typical use cases include educational content creation, astronomy-related apps, or simply displaying the daily space image in dashboards.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Additional Fields | Optional extra parameters to customize the request. Currently supports: |
| - Date | Specify the date of the APOD to retrieve. If not set, the current day's picture is used. |
Output
The node outputs JSON data representing the Astronomy Picture of the Day. This typically includes fields such as:
- The URL of the image or video.
- Title and explanation of the picture.
- Date of the picture.
- Media type (image or video).
- Other metadata provided by the APOD API.
No binary data output is indicated.
Dependencies
- Requires access to the Astronomy Picture of the Day API endpoint at
/planetary/apod. - An API key or authentication token may be required depending on the API's access policy (not explicitly shown in the code snippet).
- No additional environment variables or credentials are explicitly mentioned beyond a generic API authorization header.
Troubleshooting
Common issues:
- Invalid or missing date format in the "Date" field can cause the API request to fail.
- Network connectivity problems or API downtime will prevent fetching the APOD.
- Missing or invalid API authentication token if the API requires one.
Error messages:
- HTTP 400 errors may indicate an invalid date parameter.
- HTTP 401 or 403 errors suggest authentication issues.
- Timeout or network errors indicate connectivity problems.
To resolve these, ensure the date is correctly formatted (ISO 8601, YYYY-MM-DD), verify API credentials if needed, and check network connectivity.