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Birthday · November 5, 2024

Milky Way over Easter Island

November 5, 2024

You were born into motion: oceans turning, continents drifting, clouds forming, planets circling, galaxies wheeling through the dark.

Milky Way over Easter Island

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APOD published November 5, 2024. Credit: Josh Dury. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

Behind the image

Milky Way over Easter Island

Original APOD · November 5, 2024

Why were the statues on Easter Island built? No one is sure. What is sure is that over 900 large stone statues called moais exist there. The 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 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 UNESCO to a World Heritage Site. Pictured here, some of the stone giants were imaged last month under the central band of our Milky Way galaxy. Previously unknown moais are still being discovered. Alternative Multi-APOD Front Page: MyUniverseHub.com

Image credit: Josh Dury

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