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Jordan Maples

@maples-astro.bsky.social

Seattle based astrophotographer. Married to @codecoffeecode.bsky.social. Pour over is best coffee. Furry trash. Elsewhere I'm sloppyjaconda All photos posted are my own. #photography #astrophotography Former software engineer.

275 Posts720 Follower 1454 Folgt

Aabria Iyengar @aabria.bsky.social · last wk.

Actual footage of me fielding any question in a D20 production meeting

Game Changer@gamechanger.dropout.tv · last wk.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 2w ago

I've been chasing down guiding problems and various issues with the telescope for the last couple weeks. I've had to throw out a lot of data, but I was able to scrape together about 30 hours of narrowband data for the Crescent nebula. #astrophotography #photography

An image of the Crescent nebula and the surrounding gas fields. The Crescent nebula appears prominently in the center of the image as a pinkish red brain-like structure. It is immediately surrounded by a teal-blue shell of gas. Surrounding the Crescent are waves of red that play across the majority of the frame. To the left of the Crescent, across a starry region devoid of the red gas is a tiny bubble nebula. It is a nearly perfectly circular region of gas that is ghostly pink in front of the backing red.

A close crop of the Crescent nebula. The Crescent nebula appears prominently in the center of the image as a pinkish red brain-like structure. It is immediately surrounded by a teal-blue shell of gas. There are some of the backing red waves of gas that showed prominently throughout the wider version of this image, but it is far less and the star field is more prominently viewed in the closer view.

A cropped in image focusing on the bubble nebula. The bubble is a nearly perfectly circular region of gas that is ghostly pink in front of the backing red. The left side of the image has deep red gas clusters with some bok globules. The right is nearly devoid of the deep red gas with the stars prominently shining through.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 2w ago

I love how this picture of a grizzly turned out. It was just chilling in the pond, doing bear things and thinking bear thoughts. #photography #nature

A grizzly bear floating in a pond. Its paw is raised to its mouth making it look like the bear is deep in thought.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 2w ago

I went to Northwest Trek yesterday for the first time since I was a kid. It was pretty hot out so most of the animals were sleeping out trying to stay cool. These raccoons were pancaked out just being little cuties. #photography

A sunbathing raccoon laying on a broken log with its paw dangling down into the shade

A raccoon perched in a hole in a dead tree.

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️@rami.spaceaustralia.com · 4w ago

US FCC: “let’s do a consultation on how the community feels about this” Community: “we hate it, don’t do it, it’s real bad, this will impact a lot of people — astronomers, biodiversity, Indigenous communities, more” x 1800 responses FCC: “lol, we don’t care. APPROVED.”

But to expand the technology, Reflect Orbital envisions operating over 50,000 satellites by 2035, effectively surrounding the Earth with a fleet of mirrors. The proposal has faced stiff pushback from environmental groups and astronomers concerned that the satellites will unleash intrusive light pollution. The opposition has been so strong that the FCC received over 1,800 public comments on the application, many of them objecting to Reflect Orbital’s plan for Earendil-1.

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 4w ago

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK NOOOOO https://ca.pcmag.com/news/16760/fcc-approves-reflect-orbitals-giant-mirror-satellite-that-astronomers-hate

FCC Approves Reflect Orbital's Giant Mirror Satellite That Astronomers Hate

The FCC says the most controversial aspect of Reflect Orbital's Earendil-1 satellite, the giant mirror, falls out of its purview since the regulator mainly focuses on radio spectrum.

ca.pcmag.com

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 4w ago

NGC 6960 is one of the first narrowband targets that I captured back on my first telescope. I've always had a special place in my heart for this. So I figured it was time for a revisit. First up is the more popular HOO mapping. #astrophotography #photography

A nebula complex consisting primarily of red and teal colors. There are two primary objects in this image. On the left is Pickering's triangle. It is a mix of reds and blues and looks like waves of gasses are colliding together in a cosmic tide pool. From the bottom right of the triangle, a line of gasses continues out down and to the right across the whole frame. Above this line, in the top right of the frame, is the Veil Nebula. The Veil is often called the Witch's Broom. The blues in the veil twist and turn in a long line, almost looking like a twisted branch that could be used for a broom handle. Towards the bottom the blues fan out into a broom's bristle. All along the length of the broom are offshoots of red that wrap the blue core.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 4w ago

The other day I mentioned that I shot M106 and earlier this spring and forgot about it. I got to work on processing and here's the result. I still can't believe that I just forgot about 17 hours worth of data. Oh well, hopefully I don't misplace a dataset again. #astrophotography #photography

$A picture of space with a large spiral galaxy (M106) in the center. The galaxy has two distinct spiral arms and is fringed in blue starlight. The core of the galaxy has a warmer, redish hue to it. Surrounding the galaxy are other smaller galaxies that are scattered throughout the image. There are a few pronounced in the image with large diffraction spikes coming off of them.$

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · last mo.

I was going through targets to punch into target scheduler and thought, "I haven't done M106 in a while. Maybe I should point the scope at it for a bit". I guess I spent 18 hours looking at it in March. I can't believe I forgot about an entire project's dataset.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · last mo.

I don't remember how I came across the coordinates for Le Gentil 3, but I'm glad I did. Idk much about it but it's a cool bit of dark nebula with a super dense star field. I'm not sure if I'm done editing it or if I want to keep trying processing it. Thoughts? #astrophotography #photography

The center of the frame is dominated by a dark nebula, whose filaments stretch largely across the screen. The dark cuts through a very dense star field whose stars have an overall redish hue to them. Three stars with blue halos dominate the top left of the frame.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · last mo.

Here’s a 4 panel mosaic of the Elephant Trunk Nebula that I’ve been working on. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a mosaic and this was a fun one to brush off the cobwebs with. #astrophotography #photography #astronomy #space

Distinct layers of different colored gasses appear as you approach the edges of the frame. From the center, the colors progress from violet to blue then green and yellow before ending in an orange red shell before being replaced by the blackness of deeper space.
There are some sections of dark nebula throughout but the most prominent in the center bottom of the frame, it is the object most people refer to as the Elephant Trunk. It starts with a wall of bright bluish white wall against the dark orange-red of the dark nebula. The dark nebula continues down cutting through the gradients. Though the edges are far brighter than the background. Where there was green and yellow in the background you now have a golden glow. The elephant’s trunk ends at the edge of the larger complex, blending softly into the edge colors.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · last mo.

I’m finally editing some fresh space data again. I forgot what a pain in the ass mosaics can be though. Why did I decide to start the summer with a 2x2 and a 3x3???

Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Apropos of nothing, I hope there's a hell. Anyway

Gernot Wagner@gwagner.com · 2mo ago

The perfect obit headline for this particular climate denier, who knew better but preferred to live a lie heatmap.news/daily/lee-raymond

Lee Raymond, 311 ppm – 421 ppm
The former ExxonMobil CEO left his legacy both on the Earth and in the sky.
Robinson Meyer
•
June 11, 2026

Benthicben @benthicben.bsky.social · 2mo ago

How big are Mina and Hornet anyway? Mina the Hollower accidentally digs up Hallownest's Princess. Scaling speculation in both size and combat abilities are very welcome! Who is having a boss fight and who is just getting annoyed?

Manuel Huss @manuelhuss.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Maybe one of my top 3 favorite deep-sky objects: (parts of) the Sadr nebula complex. 25 hours of exposure. Details & tech info: www.astrobin.com/xsvzqa/ #astrophotography

Yacht Club Games @yachtclubgames.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Mina the Hollower is OUT NOW!🐭🕯️ After 6 years of development, our fright-filled action-adventure is finally in your hands. Whip foes, burrow beneath danger, uncover secrets, and descend into Tenebrous Isle today. Thank you for joining us on this journey. ⚔️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQZM...

Mina the Hollower - Out Now!

YouTube video by Yacht Club Games

youtube.com

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 3mo ago

So I went and made a website for all of my astrophotography. It's slow going as I set it up but it's coming together. It should be better for viewing than bsky. jordanmaplesastro.photography. I need to redo some of the things like the tag line and description.

Jordan Maples Astrophotography | Explore the Cosmos Today

Discover stunning astrophotography by Jordan Maples, capturing the cosmos from remote locations. Explore celestial images and photography projects today.

jordanmaplesastro.photography

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I saw a very photogenic crow while we were out on a walk today. I'm starting to learn how to use Darktable for non-astro stuff and it's a cool piece of software. It definitely has a steep learning curve but it's really satisfying to use. BTW I do have fresh space data coming up soon!

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The weather down at Starfront has been pretty bad for the last month and a half so I guess that means it's time to reprocess some old data. First up is M31 the Andromeda Galaxy! Same data different processing in quote post. Let me know which you like more. #astrophotography #photography

$The Andromeda Galaxy stretches across the frame, starting at the bottom left and continuing all the way to the top right. It has a warm yellow glow throughout, however there are some variations of note: along the fringes of the galaxy are blue regions of stars, there are brighter red H2 regions also along the fringes of the disk and dotting the dust lanes, it has a brighter yellow/white core, and spiraling out from the core are the dust lanes. There are two smaller dwarf galaxies, one to the left of the core of Andromeda that touches the disk and the other is separate from the main body of Andromeda down and to the right of the galactic core. Additionally, there are a myriad of closer, colorful stars from the Milky Way dotting the frame. Some of these stars have diffraction spikes due to the way their brightness interacts with my Newtonian telescope..$

Jordan Maples@maples-astro.bsky.social · 11mo ago

I just had to shoot Andromeda again. It felt only right with my gear down at Starfront. This image is about 22 hours of LRGB with an additional 10 hours of HA data pulled in to highlight the H2 regions. #astrophotography #galaxy #space #photography

The Andromeda Galaxy. The galaxy has a bright core with dark dust lanes throughout the disk. Within the galactic disk, there are brighter red regions which are the H2 regions. There are two smaller dwarf galaxies, one to the left of the core of Andromeda that touches the disk and the other is separate from the main body of Andromeda down and to the right of the galactic core.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Without saying your age, post your favorite film that released the year you turned 18

Christine Ridgway [Commissions Closed]@skidarstudios.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Without saying your age, post your favorite film that released the year you turned 18

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Still haven’t figured out a workaround to get PixInsight to launch. My hope is that there’s a new nvidia driver soon and that is the actual fix. I don’t really want to have to work off of my MacBook or reinstall windows or something

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I updated my Nvidia drivers and PixInsight is just crashing on boot now... great. I was hoping to reprocess a couple shots from a couple months ago but I guess I just have to wait for a new driver to come out. Anyone else having issues with launching PI w/ nvidia-open-dkms 595.58.03-1?

Daniel Probst @skepteis.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A DLSS5 ON/OFF meme where with off, the ram costs 99 dollars, with on 700.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 4mo ago

M101 - The Pinwheel galaxy. I can see some artifacts that need to be cleaned up with more data. I'll probably need another 15-20 hours collecting data before I think I can truly give this target justice. We'll see if I can find time in the schedule. #astrophotography #photography

The Pinwheel galaxy, is aptly named. It is a head on view of a spiral galaxy whose many arms resemble those from a pinwheel. Its core is a yellow-red and blue arms spiral out with magenta pink dots along the lengths. Towards the core are subtle dark dust lanes that spiderweb out to the inner sections of the arms.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I promise this is my last version upload of the Orion Nebula for the year (probably). I combined my 15 hours of narrowband and the 2 hours of broadband data into a single image. I spent a lot more time isolating the dust from the background. #photography #astrophotography

The Orion Nebula is in the center of the frame, it has a bright white core from where I overexposed the data. The center is surrounded by rich magentas and violet clouds with deep, dark dust lanes extending from the center. The Running Man is present in this frame as well, sitting just above and to the right of the Orion Nebula, it shares the majority of the same colors, but they are more subtle and the magenta reds hide behind the much paler violet blues

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Looks like my M101 finished capturing last night so it's time to preprocess. With any luck I'll have some time to give it a full process today.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Damn, I missed getting a screenshot at 666 followers.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I spent a couple nights looking at the Whirlpool galaxy. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I had a blend of 3 min subs and 10 min subs on the luminance to try bring out as much of the shell as possible and I think it worked. #astrophotography #photography

The Whirlpool galaxy has a warm yellow/white core with two distinct, predominantly blue arms with red dust lanes running down the length. At the tip of the arm that ends on the left side of the frame is a dwarf galaxy whose stars appear to be flung away from its core and pulled into the Whirlpool galaxy itself.

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I processed the Whale and Hockey Stick galaxies the other day. I love the colors that I was able to pull out in the whale. I think there’s the tiniest hint of IFN in the background, maybe I’ll come back and do some 10min subs on the lum to try pulling it out. #photography #astrophotography

Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The Jellyfish nebula in HOO. The signal in this one is pretty hard to tame. The Ha is just so strong compared to everything else. The SHO version kind of looked like radioactive mountain dew colored piss and I'd rather just spare you all from seeing that... unless.... #photography #astrophotography

A strikingly red nebula structure. The right side of the frame resembles a jellyfish with white tendrils evoking a jellyfish's tentacles. The left side of the red nebula has soft smooth gradients of red that are broken by deep, dark structures.