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 August 7
   [2]A starry sky is seen through a rectangular rock opening. Three rocky
     peaks appear toward the right, while other peaks appear toward the
   left. Rising above the right peaks is the central band of our Milky Way
      Galaxy. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                       Milky Way Behind Three Merlons
   Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Donato Lioce; Text: [4]Natalia Lewandowska
                              ([5]SUNY Oswego)

   Explanation: To some, they look like battlements, here protecting us
   against the center of the [6]Milky Way. The Three [7]Merlons, also
   called the [8]Three Peaks of Lavaredo, stand tall today because they
   are made of dense dolomite rock which has better resisted [9]erosion
   than surrounding softer rock. They formed about [10]250 million years
   ago and so are comparable in age with one of the [11]great extinctions
   of life on [12]Earth. A leading hypothesis is that this great
   [13]extinction was triggered by an [14]asteroid about 10-km across,
   larger in size than [15]Mount Everest, impacting the Earth. [16]Humans
   have gazed up at the stars in the [17]Milky Way and beyond for
   centuries, making these battlefield-like formations, based in the
   [18]Sexten Dolomites, a popular place for [19]current and [20]ancient
   astronomers.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [36]Specific rights apply.
            [37]NASA Web Privacy, [38]Accessibility, [39]Notices;
                A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC,
                         [43]NASA Science Activation
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2408/DolomitesSky_Lioce_4681.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/donamour_photography/
   4. https://ww1.oswego.edu/physics/profile/natalia-lewandowska
   5. https://www.oswego.edu/physics/
   6. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlon
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tre_Cime_di_Lavaredo
   9. https://youtu.be/-43_HBy9huc
  10. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/timeline-of-a-mass-extinction/
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/the-great-dying/
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240324.html
  13. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/could-recent-supernovae-be-responsible-for-mass-extinctions/
  14. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110417.html
  16. https://www.nasa.gov/history/the-human-desire-for-exploration-leads-to-discovery/
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170726.html
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexten_Dolomites
  19. https://skywiseunlimited.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/scoper_05.jpg
  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_astronomy
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240806.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  27. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240807
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240808.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/