Twenty years ago, Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell decided to contribute the to the growing Internet. How? Well, both, being active astronomy researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, decided to share images they stumbled upon during their research, or exchanged in their emails. They decided to start the Astronomy Photo of the Day, or APOD. The simple website features images, and occasionally videos, with descriptions written by professional astronomers.
Over the course of their lifetime, they have shared stunning images, such as this solar flare from March 2014. The image shows three ultraviolet wavelengths, highlighting highly ionized iron and helium atoms, and details the magnetic lines running through the Sun's atmosphere.
Images like these, as well as thousands more, have been posted since the website's humble beginnings in 1995.
The Verge recently interviewed both creators, the interview can be found here.
The link to APOD can be found here. They also have a Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page.
