Site is wavering from original concept

[tytower]

It looks like there are not as many stars as we think because the powers to be on the site don't seem to be able to stick with astronomical pics but rather are veering to vary the product like a chemist selling groceries or a dentist doing accounting on the side.

I would prefer they stick to the Chandra and Hubble stuff. All these earth shots are boring although I don't mind a bit of the ISS from time to time .
Who wants to look at artic lights or dawn over the desert

[neufer]

Who wants to look at artic lights or dawn over the desert

Someone named Art who has a daughter named Dawn.

[jerbil]

And I think that whoever is running this site has a difficult enough job in producing a new picture every single day. I agree that every now and again (or maybe more frequently) some observers are disappointed at the current APOD, but this is vastly overweighed by the truly stunning examples produced on other days. Also, one always has a series of references to expand one's knowledge,

[Chris Peterson]

It looks like there are not as many stars as we think because the powers to be on the site don't seem to be able to stick with astronomical pics but rather are veering to vary the product like a chemist selling groceries or a dentist doing accounting on the side.

I would prefer they stick to the Chandra and Hubble stuff. All these earth shots are boring although I don't mind a bit of the ISS from time to time .
Who wants to look at artic lights or dawn over the desert

The site has always featured the occasional image that might be considered non-astronomical, or at least "astronomical" would be a stretch. However, the vast majority of images are inarguably astronomical. I'm certainly willing to cut the editors some slack in choosing images that meet their own requirements so far as qualifying for APOD inclusion.

(FWIW, both auroras and the rising sun qualify as "astronomical" by any reasonable definition.)

[bystander]

Twice before, that I'm aware of, Dr. Robert Nemiroff (RJN), APOD Editor, has posted replies to critisisms of APOD content.

Once was the infamous July 22, 2008, APOD: Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth, Asterisk* Discussion.

I posted that video to APOD. About once a month or so, APOD posts an image that is not strictly related to the classical definition of astronomy or space science. Reasons for this are several, including broadening APOD's reader base. APODs like these, in my opinion, interest people in space, science, and astronomy who might not normally have or follow such interests. In my view, the web appears to stratify people by interests, and many times people in one interest group will not wander into other interest areas. Eclectic APODs like this are therefore an attempt to reach across disciplines.

Additionally, in my view, APOD is also about planet Earth, exploration, and making connections between science and things not classically related to science. In this case, this APOD focussed on humans specifically, who have never been highlighted on APOD before. This also gives APOD a "human" link usable inside of future APODs.

- RJN

The other time I remember was the January 22, 2008, APOD: Shelf Cloud Over Saskatchewan, Asterisk* Discussion.

I chose and wrote this APOD, and here are some of my thoughts on the criticism that this APOD is not true to APOD's astronomy theme.

First of all, I do think that this criticism does have some merit. How would I feel if my favorite classic-rock radio station suddenly played Beethoven? Possibly the same way -- especially if the radio station advertised that it played rock music.

They why did we run this image? Well, in some sense APOD is like a blog. Sometimes Jerry or I will just run things we think are cool. Fuzzy ideas that swim around in my brain when choosing a non-astronomical cool image include the wow factor of the image, whether the sky is at all involved, the educational content of the image, the scientific content of the image, and whether the image could be useful in the future as a link from a more main-stream astronomically-oriented APOD. I also hope that non-astronomy images are useful in drawing people with more diverse interests to view APOD and therefore become interested in astronomy.

Other arguments include "the Earth is also a planet" and that the term "astronomy" is actually somewhat vague these days. See: Wikipedia: Use of terms "astronomy" and "astrophysics". If one is to take the term "astronomy" at its Greek roots then APOD should only show star images! But these reasons are secondary.

APOD runs non-astronomy images about once a month or so. We have always done this. If you don't like it, I apologize, but I think it will continue. I still hope that, for the most part, everyone, even the astronomy purists, will still find APOD enjoyable and educational.

- RJN

[canuck100]

I love APOD!!
I don't expect, though to love every picture.
I love that for the pictures I DO like, there are further links and informative discussions on this BB.
It only takes a second to click away from a picture that does not interest me.
Any sky feature is relevant as understanding our own planet's sky forms a basis for appreciating the 'sky' of other moons and planets.
Even the occasional optical illusion is relevant as it dramatically illustrates perceptual bias and remind us that many first perceptions or instinctive inferences fail the test of scientific scrutiny.

Thank you APOD folks for making so many fascinating pictures and information available free to anyone with an internet connection. This educational outreach makes you wonderful ambassadors for astronomy.

[kovil]

I love APOD, warts and all !!!

It's the number one site for great photos that show the multiplicity of the world, solar system, galaxy, and cosmos we live in.

Yeah I may disagree with the photo descriptions or some of the discussion posters, but that's to be expected,
and it's great that we can all voice our thoughts. That's what America's all about, and Bravo !

So keep up the great work guys !!!

[I'll bet tytower hasn't seen any April 1st APOD's yet !]