Milky Way over Easter Island

Milky Way over Easter Island

Credit & Copyright:
Josh Dury

Explanation:
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.