﻿ 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 __________________________________________________________________ [21]< | [22]Archive | [23]Submissions | [24]Index | [25]Search | [26]Calendar | [27]RSS | [28]Education | [29]About APOD | [30]Discuss | [31]> __________________________________________________________________ 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/