Skip to main content

Milky Way Behind Three Merlons

Posted by Specola Profile 08/07/24 at 02:16PM Science - Tech - Astronomy See more by Specola

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

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

Photo by Donato Lioce; Text: Natalia Lewandowska (SUNY Oswego)

Share some of your memories and history of Camano Island

Serving Stanwood, Camano Island, South Skagit County, and North Snohomish.

olsonplumbingservice.com     -      425-504-0224

100% Satisfaction - 360-572-4737

Snohomish, Skagit and Island County

SECURITY & SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS - HOME AUDIO  425-379-7733

360-454-6973 - Camano Island, WA