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.

                                 2022 May 16
   [2]The featured image shows a hill in the French Alps with rock spires
    known as hoodoos. In the background is the Milky Way Galaxy complete
    with bright stars, dark dust clouds, and red nebulae. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                      Milky Way over French Alp Hoodoos
                Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Benjamin Barakat

   Explanation: Real castles aren't this old. And the background galaxy is
   even older. Looking a bit like an alien castle, the pictured rock
   spires are called [4]hoodoos and are likely millions of years old.
   Rare, but found around the world, [5]hoodoos form when dense rocks slow
   the [6]erosion of [7]softer rock underneath. The [8]pictured hoodoos
   survive in the [9]French Alps and are named [10]Demoiselles
   [11]Coiffées -- which translates to English as "[12]Ladies with
   Hairdos". The background galaxy is part of the [13]central disk of our
   own [14]Milky Way galaxy and contains [15]stars that are typically
   billions of years old. The photogenic [16]Cygnus sky region -- rich in
   dusty [17]dark clouds and red [18]glowing nebulas -- appears just above
   and behind the hoodoos. The [19]featured image was taken in two stages:
   the foreground was captured during the evening [20]blue hour, while the
   background was acquired from the same location later that night.

                     Tomorrow's picture: shells of stars
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [36]Specific rights apply.
              [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC
                           & [41]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2205/CoiffeesMW_Barakat_6700.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/benjaminbarakat/
   4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170328.html
   6. https://youtu.be/ChEHQUMEkXw
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness
   8. https://youtu.be/jvn7COsd6ak
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Alps
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demoiselles_Coiffées_de_Pontis
  11. https://epod.usra.edu/blog/2021/11/les-demoiselles-coiffées.html
  12. https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/maru-hairstyles-0.jpg
  13. https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/bad-astronomy-the-milky-ways-thick-disk-is-much-older-than-thought
  14. https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/milkyway1.html
  15. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200826.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201122.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070214.html
  19. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcnZiOXtCBK/
  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_hour
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220515.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.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220516
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220517.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://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  41. http://www.mtu.edu/