NASA has a pretty cool challenge going on, to create an API for SkyMorph, a database of optical images and catalogs generated by the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program. According to the NASA description, SkyMorph provides:
access to imagery by time and position or searching by specific asteroid or other moving object. The time dimension, unique to SkyMorph, allows users to discover changes in the intensities of stars, e.g. supernovae, or to discover moving objects, e.g. comets
NASA is challenging us to help build a RESTful interface that would enable developers and citizen scientist to access SkyMorph imagery, lowering the barrier of access to the data and encouraging innovation around the program.
Ok, how cool is that! APIs that enable everyone to help track on and understand objects in the sky, along with NASA. It is projects like the SkyMorph API Challenge that keep me excited about APIs.
