Astronomy Picture of the Day

Astronomy Picture of the Day is a website that any space enthusiast should find very interesting. Powered by NASA and the Michigan Technological University, it features images that depict various parts of our universe each day, along with helpful descriptions.

This desktop application was designed to help you navigate this database more easily, and it can also set pictures as your wallpaper or lock screen background.

For the most part, only photographs are listed on the website, but other kinds of images or even videos are occasionally featured. Regardless of the type of media, you can rest assured that they are always interesting.

By themselves, the pictures themselves would sometimes be confusing, but a description written by a professional is also provided. However, the hyperlinks included in the descriptions are not available in the desktop app.

The UI layout is quite basic, with a background image that cannot be changed or removed. Sadly, the text box is not wrapped around the image, so it may sometimes be displayed on top; however, you can hide the description at any time.

Sadly, Astronomy Picture of the Day does not offer a zoom function, and you cannot change the default download location.

Also, while you can set any picture as your wallpaper or lock screen, the application does not allow you to crop the image manually, which is often necessary for widescreen monitors.

Overall, this application is a good choice for those who follow the APOD website, or astronomy enthusiasts in general. It makes it easier to browse the picture database, as well as set images as your wallpaper or lock screen, but it would benefit from a redesigned UI and a couple of extra features.