J. Jones Astro

Join me on my adventures into amateur astrophotography and other space nerdery.

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A few taken by my teenager from the Washington State Star Party in Mansfield, Wa. this past week.

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3 nights on M97 the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major. A planetary nebula 2,030 light-years away, formed from the gas shed by a dying star. Follow me here to join me on my journey into amateur astrophotography!

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It’s unboxing day for my new Lunt 50mm HA scope. Nice and sunny here in Idaho today and really thought it would be first light, but didn’t account for the fact that it doesn’t come with a dovetail plate to mount it to my AM5 mount. So that’s been ordered and we now have to wait another week. Then maybe longer as I learn the ropes of solar imaging. I’ll get there though. ☀️

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My son launching his car payload lol.

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As I drove home at 5 am from imaging the eclipse this song came on in my car (yes I'm a super nerd and have the Apollo 13 soundtrack saved in my music lol) and it just seemed so appropriate. Enjoy!

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Guys...I'm tired.

Total Lunar Eclipse March 3, 2026

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Until I can learn to stack the 130 unguided frames I took, this one will do. Some things are worth getting up early for.

Total Lunar Eclipse March 3, 2026

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The Sun peeking through the clouds here in Idaho.

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Reprocessing old data. The Crescent Nebula NGC 6888 both with and without stars. An emission nebula 4,700 light-years away, and 25 light-years across, with a very windy star at the center. 1 light-year = 6 trillion or so miles!

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The Trifid Nebula M20. With weird gradients I can't seem to remove, but worth sharing anyway.

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Messier 13. The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules located 25 million light-years away. 4 hours of integration with calibration frames. Gear shit out overnight otherwise it would have been closer to 8 hours lol.

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17 hours on the Pinwheel...25 million light years away. 1 light year is 6 trillion miles if driven in a car!

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Palouse Astronomical Society star party Moscow, ID July 2025 out at Virgil Phillips Park.

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Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy or M81 and M82.

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The Wizard Nebula NGC 7380. Do you see it?

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IC 5146 The Cocoon Nebula in Cygnus.

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I got covered in fertilizer or something but it was worth the shot. Thank you strange farmer for allowing me to climb into your field.