docs/apod/apod_lookup.md

apod_lookup

The apod_lookup tool queries NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) API and returns details about the daily space image, including its title, description, image URL, and source link.

Function Constructor Parameters

Function fetches the APOD data and returns a structured dictionary:

{
    "title": "Astronomy Picture Title",
    "explanation": "A brief explanation of the APOD...",
    "image": "https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image.jpg",
    "url": "https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/apOD20240403.html"
}

If an error occurs, it returns:

{
    "error": "Failed to fetch APOD data"
}

API Parameters

No parameters are required; the tool fetches the latest APOD by default.

Example Usage

from gofannon.apod.apod_lookup import ApodLookup

# Create an instance of the tool
apod_tool = ApodLookup()

# Fetch the latest APOD
result = apod_tool.fn()

# Print the title and description
print(f"Title: {result['title']}")
print(f"Description: {result['description']}")

# Access the APOD image
if "image" in result and result["image"]:
    print(f"View image: {result['image']}")

Error Handling

The tool handles API errors gracefully by returning an error dictionary instead of raising exceptions, making it reliable for production use.

If the APOD API returns a non-200 status code, the tool will return:

{
    "error": "Failed to fetch APOD data"
}