Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 November 5
    [2]A grassy hill appears in the foreground with tall statues of human
    heads embeddd. High overhead the central band of the Milky Way galaxy
     crosses horizontally. Above the Milky Way is a dark sky filled with
      stars. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                        Milky Way over Easter Island
                      Credit & Copyright: [3]Josh Dury

   Explanation: Why were the statues on Easter Island built? No one is
   sure. What is sure is that over 900 large stone statues called [4]moais
   exist there. The [5]Rapa Nui (Easter Island) moais stand, on average,
   over twice as tall as a person and have over 200 times as much mass. It
   is thought that the [6]unusual statues were created about 600 years ago
   in the images of local leaders of a vibrant and ancient civilization.
   Rapa Nui has been declared by [7]UNESCO to a [8]World Heritage Site.
   [9]Pictured here, some of the [10]stone giants were imaged last month
   under the [11]central band of our [12]Milky Way galaxy. [13]Previously
   unknown moais are [14]still being discovered.

          Alternative Multi-APOD Front Page: [15]MyUniverseHub.com
                     Tomorrow's picture: comet mountain
     __________________________________________________________________

      [16]< | [17]Archive | [18]Submissions | [19]Index | [20]Search |
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    Authors & editors: [27]Robert Nemiroff ([28]MTU) & [29]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([30]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [31]Specific rights apply.
            [32]NASA Web Privacy, [33]Accessibility, [34]Notices;
                A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC,
                         [38]NASA Science Activation
                           & [39]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2411/IslandMoai_Dury_2831.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/josh_dury_photomedia/
   4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai
   5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island
   6. https://youtu.be/luv9B2fJIEM
   7. https://www.unesco.org/
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site
   9. https://www.instagram.com/p/DA6GNhAslfT/
  10. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/civilization/giants.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110710.html
  12. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/
  13. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/new-easter-island-moai-statue-discovered-in-volcano-crater
  14. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-scottish-fold-cat-head-600nw-1276621966.jpg
  15. https://myuniversehub.com/
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241104.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  20. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  22. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  25. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241105
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241106.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  30. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  38. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  39. http://www.mtu.edu/