APOD → Short

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day → a ready-to-shoot 30–60s vertical short.

Purpose

NASA publishes a stunning image with an expert explanation every day. This skill converts one APOD entry into a complete vertical short package: a hook, a tight narration script, an on-screen caption track, a shot/animation list, and a rights line — so a creator can film/edit in one sitting without misstating the science or the licensing.

When it fires

• Keyword triggers: apod, astronomy picture of the day, daily space short, nasa image short, space reel
• File triggers: apod.json, apod-*.md
• Command triggers: /apod-to-short

Inputs

Workflow

1. Resolve the APOD — get title, date, explanation, media URL, and the exact image credit. If credit names a non-NASA party (ESA, an observatory, an individual), flag it for the rights step. ✅ Check: you have a verbatim credit string.
2. Extract the one idea — reduce the explanation to a single, true, surprising fact a non-expert can grasp. ✅ Check: it survives "what does that mean specifically?"
3. Write the hook (0–3s) — a question or claim that earns the first three seconds without clickbaiting the science.
4. Script the body — narration timed to length at ~2.5 words/sec. Keep every claim traceable to the explanation; never invent figures.
5. Build the caption track — short on-screen lines synced to beats (≤7 words each).
6. Write the shot list — Ken Burns push/pan on the still, plus any overlay labels (object name, distance, instrument). No fabricated footage.
7. Emit the rights line — exact attribution; route through rights-check-nasa-esa if credit is non-NASA.

Output contract

{
  "title": "string — APOD title",
  "hook": "string — 0–3s opener",
  "script": "string — full narration, timed",
  "captions": ["string — ≤7 words each"],
  "shot_list": ["string — shot/animation directions"],
  "rights_line": "string — exact attribution",
  "duration_sec": "number"
}

Tools & MCP

• Tools: WebFetch (resolve APOD), Read.
• MCP dependencies: none required. (Optional: a NASA-media MCP from starlight-mcp to fetch APOD JSON directly.)

Quality bar

• Every stated fact is traceable to the APOD explanation — no invented numbers.
• Rights line is verbatim and correct; non-NASA credit is flagged.
• Narration fits length at ~2.5 words/sec.
• Hook respects the audience's intelligence (no "scientists HATE this").

Example

See examples/example-01.md.

Built on SIP — Starlight Intelligence Protocol Substrate: starlightintelligence.org/protocol v1.1.0 Layers used: [file-contract, attestation, sovereignty] Vertical: starlight-agent-skills · portable capability layer