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Credit & Copyright: Brad Goldpaint
(Goldpaint Photography)
Explanation:
What's older than these ancient trees?
Nobody you know -- but almost everything in the background of this picture.
The trees are impressively old -- each part of the
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest located in eastern
California,
USA.
There, many of the
oldest trees known are
located, some dating as
far back as about
5,000 years.
Seemingly attached to tree branches,
but actually much farther in the distance, are the
bright orbs of
Saturn (left) and
Mars.
These planets
formed along with the
Earth and the early Solar System much earlier --
about 4.5 billion years ago.
Swooping down diagonally from the upper left is the oldest structure pictured: the
central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy --
dating back around
9 billion years.
The featured image
was built from several exposures all taken from the same location --
but only a
few weeks ago.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mars - Milky Way
Publications with words: Mars - Milky Way
See also:
- APOD: 2025 February 9 Á Milky Way over the Australian Pinnacles
- Full Moon, Full Mars
- APOD: 2025 January 15 Á Wolf Moon Engulfs Mars
- APOD: 2024 December 3 Á Ice Clouds over a Red Planet
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 November 10 Á Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars
- APOD: 2024 November 5 Á Milky Way over Easter Island