APOD: 2026 July 28 – Barnards Loop over Twin Volcanoes

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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.

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Barnards Loop over Twin Volcanoes

Explanation: What’s connecting these two volcanoes? In ancient folklore, the two volcanoes, Parinacota (left) and Pomerape (right), are connected by representing a mythical prince and princess who engaged in a forbidden romance. Beneath the ground, the two peaks are not known to be connected by a common pool of hot magma, and neither volcano has erupted in the past 1000 years. Above the ground, there is usually nothing in the sky that connects them — except if you use careful timing and look from a specific location. The featured well-planned image was captured from Bolivia in mid-April with a series of camera exposures taken on the same day and from the same location. Then, Barnard’s Loop appeared to connect the volcanic peaks. Also visible in the image is the Orion Nebula in the center, the star Betelgeuse on the right, and the Rosette Nebula on the upper right.
Tomorrow’s picture: open space

Date

July 28, 2026

Credit

Gonzalo Laserna Vargas

Authors & editors:

Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe

A service of:

ASD at NASA / GSFC,NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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