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Jules Stoop

@julesstoop

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—The best camera is the one you have with you— I share pictures from my everyday life; mostly shot on iPhone, and some #astrophotography

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Capturing the Summer Milky Way 🌌✨
Short summer nights in the Netherlands mean limited darkness, but when the skies clear, the Cygnus region sits directly overhead in all its glory. Over July and August, I focused on five incredible emission nebulae:
🧵 Eastern Veil Nebula (NGC 6992): Delicate, filamentary shockwaves from an ancient supernova.
🦅 Pelican Nebula (IC 5070): A fierce cosmic nursery shaped by intense radiation from massive young stars.
🧱 Cygnus Wall (NGC 7000): A massive cliff of ionized gas within the North America Nebula complex.
🐘 Elephant’s Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A): Dense, dark dust columns sculpting new star systems in Cepheus.
🫧 Crescent (NGC 6888) & Soap Bubble (PN G075.5+01.7): A violent Wolf-Rayet stellar wind shell paired with an ultra-faint planetary nebula discovered in 2008 barely visible near the bottom edge of the image.
📸 Tech specs: Askar 120APO | ZWO ASI2600MC | Dual Narrowband (Hα-OIII) | 4h–18h exposure per object; Bortle 7-8.
#astrophotography #deepsky #cygnus #nebula #warmondobservatory taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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24 days ago

Just north of Leiden lies a small patch of countryside that acts as a quiet green getaway for the locals. With wide-open views to the west, it was the perfect spot for a spontaneous eclipse viewing. A fellow enthusiast brought a telescope with a solar filter—drawing a curious crowd—and while my camera setup wasn’t strictly ideal for solar imaging, that didn’t spoil the fun. Seeing sunspots for the first time sparked great conversations; street-level science education is brilliant.

Since the maximum coverage here reached about 90%, the eclipse was heavily hyped in the media. While enthusiasm for science is always welcome, expectations were set a bit high—some expected dramatic darkness and total silence, leaving them slightly underwhelmed.
Yet, for those paying attention, there was plenty to see. It got noticeably dimmer—far more than I anticipated. Because the remaining sliver of sunlight acted like a point source, shadows became strangely crisp. I could even see the sharp shadow of individual strands of my own hair projected onto someone’s white shirt a few meters away!

Moments like these bring people together. I’d almost say we should do this more often—it makes the community feel connected again.
#SolarEclipse
#Astrophotography
#StreetScience
#AstronomyLovers
#Warmond taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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2 months ago

Three completely different shapes in the night sky, yet all three follow the exact same cosmic script. 🌌✨
Swipe through to see Messier 27 (Dumbbell Nebula), ➡️➡️Messier 57 (Ring Nebula), and ➡️Messier 97 (Owl Nebula)—all captured from my backyard in Warmond #warmondobservatory

Despite their radically different appearances, these planetary nebulae are essentially identical phenomena: Sun-like stars in their final act. As the star sheds its outer layers, a blazing hot white dwarf is left at the center, lighting up the expanding gas that was released before like a cosmic neon sign. Unveiling the structure of the ongoing slow motion version of a star explosion. This is nothing like a supernova, it’s how way less massive stars say goodbye.

So why do they look so different to us?
1️⃣ Perspective: M27 is viewed side-on, revealing its hourglass shape. M57 is viewed end-on, looking straight down the “barrel” of the gas cylinder.
2️⃣ Age: M97 represents a much later stage, where stellar winds have carved out holes (the “eyes”), showing a nebula slowly dissolving into interstellar space.
In about 5 billion years, our own Sun will go through this exact same transformation.
📸 Tech specs:

Shot with the Askar 120APO (840mm) using a mix of RGB and Dual-Narrowband (H-alpha & OIII) data. Total integration time spans up to 11.5 hours per object.

#astrophotography #deepskyobject #nightsky #backyardastronomy taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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3 months ago

Messier 13: The Great Hercules Cluster ✨ (+ a side of galactic cannibalism 🌌)
Behold the spectacular globular cluster Messier 13, located about 25,000 light-years away. While it’s an absolute classic astrophotography target, some of the science behind it is just as classic.
🪐 Reading by Starlight
Stellar density in the core of M13 is incredibly high. Because of unpredictable gravitational interactions (it’s basically a chaotic mess of multi-body problems), stable planetary systems can’t form here. No aliens, unfortunately… 🛸
But imagine the night sky from a hypothetical planet near the center: the stars would be so densely packed and brilliant that you could easily read a book by starlight alone. Instead of the few thousand stars we see on Earth, the sky would be ablaze with over 100,000 stars—many bright enough to be seen during the day!
🍽️ Cosmic Outsiders
While M13 likely formed alongside our Milky Way 13 billion years ago, astronomers think about a third of all globular clusters are actually the stripped, skeletal remnants of swallowed dwarf galaxies. When a giant galaxy devours a smaller neighbor, intense tidal forces tear it apart, leaving only the ultra-dense core behind to masquerade as a massive globular cluster today (like Omega Centauri).
🔎 Bonus Background Target:
In the upper right of the main image, you can spot spiral galaxy NGC 6207, sitting a casual 30 million light-years in the background. There are dozens of even smaller background galaxies scattered across the frame, assuming they survived Instagram’s brutal compression algorithms 😉
Let me know what you think in the comments. 👇
⚙️ Gear & Acquisition:
Scope: Askar 120APO @ f/5.6 & @ f/7
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Air
Mount: ZWO AM5N
Integration: ~7 hours total RGB (150s subs)
Location: Warmond, Netherlands (Bortle 7-8)
Processing: APP, PixInsight, Affinity Photo
(Note: Wide-field overview shot was originally captured in 2022 with a Canon 6D MkII + 135mm lens, freshly re-processed for this project).
Clear skies! 🔭

#messier13 #askar #zwoam5 #deepskyastrophotography #globularcluster taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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4 months ago

Messier 81 and Messier 82
These well-known galaxies are some 12 million light-years away from our place in the universe which means they’re among our closest galactic neighbors outside of the Local Group of galaxies. Both galaxies bear the marks of their cataclysmic gravitational interaction. Especially Messier 82–the exploding cigar, classified as a starburst galaxy—is ridden with star formation and supernova-activity.

The image was captured from my Bortle 8-backyard in the Netherlands using a 400 mm as well as a 735mm telescope. It consists of over thirty hours of both RGB and dual narrowband sub frames captured with a ZWO ASI 2600MC Air camera.

#warmondobservatory #Messier81 #Messier82 #astrophotograpy #zwoasi taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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7 months ago

A few iPhone shots from yesterday’s (jan. 19) auroras. Displays this bright are very rare at our latitude (~52°N). #northernlights #aurora #auroraborealis #shotoniphone taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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9 months ago

Messier 1, the Crab Nebula — #warmondobservatory
M1 is not a tranquil cloud of gas but the aftermath of a cosmic catastrophe: a massive star that exploded as a supernova in the year 1054. Located about 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, this event was recorded by astronomers in China, Japan, and the Middle East as a “new star” bright enough to be visible in daylight. What remains today is a rapidly expanding nebula of gas, dust, and magnetic structures.

At its heart lies a neutron star—a pulsar—spinning about thirty times per second. This ultra-dense stellar remnant—roughly the size of Amsterdam, yet more massive than the Sun—injects enormous amounts of energy into the surrounding nebula, driving shock waves, magnetic fields, and high-energy synchrotron radiation. As a result, the Crab Nebula emits light across nearly the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. Of this immensely broad spectrum, I recorded only two narrow emission bands of ionized hydrogen and oxygen. These primarily reveal filaments tracing the ionized remains of the original star’s outer layers. Remarkably, the Crab Nebula is close enough that its expansion can be measured on human timescales, making it a rare example of a cosmic disaster still unfolding before our eyes.

Total integration: ~ 3hrs. of Hα-OIII
Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Air
OTA: 152 mm f/4.8 Maksutov-Newtonian
Mount: iOptron GEM28
Location: Warmond, Netherlands (Bortle 7–8)

#CrabNebula
#Messier1
#Astrophotography
#DeepSkyAstro taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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9 months ago

Horsehead Nebula in Orion
#warmondobservatory
This image captures a famous region of Orion containing the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33), the emission nebula IC 434, and the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024). Although all are part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, their appearance is shaped by different physical mechanisms.

NGC 2024 is a highly active star-forming region. Hidden behind dark dust lanes lies a young stellar cluster whose most massive members emit intense ultraviolet radiation, ionizing the surrounding gas and causing the nebula to glow. IC 434, the red emission region behind the Horsehead, is ionized mainly by the multiple star system Sigma Orionis, visible near the top of the image. Star formation also occurs there, but in a more diffuse and less concentrated manner.

The Horsehead Nebula itself is a dense extension of the dust cloud Lynds 1630. Its opacity creates a remarkably sharp silhouette against the bright background, rendering it invisible visually but ideal for photographic discovery—first achieved in 1888 by Williamina Fleming.

Together, these objects illustrate multiple stages of stellar birth and interaction, revealing how radiation, gas, and dust shape the interstellar medium over millions of years.
Total integration time: 5hr. 40min. (dual narrowband, Hα/O III); camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Air; ota: 152 mm f/4.8 Maksutov-Newtonian; location: Warmond, NL: (Bortle 7-8)
#horsehead #astrophotography #deepsky taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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9 months ago

IC 63 & IC 59 — The Ghost of Cassiopeia
Light and shadow around Gamma Cassiopeiae

#warmondobservatory IC 63 and IC 59, together known as Sharpless 2-185 or the Ghost Nebula, are faint nebulae in Cassiopeia located a few hundred light-years from Earth. Both are illuminated by the nearby B0-type star Gamma Cassiopeiae, whose intense ultraviolet radiation drives the physical processes visible in this image.

IC 63 appears primarily as an emission nebula, where hydrogen gas is ionized by UV photons and emits characteristic Hα light during recombination. IC 59, located farther from the star, receives less ionizing radiation and shows weaker emission, combined with reflection of the star’s blue-white light by interstellar dust. The result is a subtle interplay of emission and reflection produced by the same illuminating source.

This region is astrophysically interesting because it marks the transition between illuminated and shielded gas. Dense dust structures create photodissociation regions (PDRs), where molecules are broken apart while the gas remains only partially ionized. These zones are extremely faint and difficult to observe.

The image was acquired with just under four hours of exposure using a dual narrowband Hα/O III filter, allowing effective suppression of broadband sky glow and stellar light. This approach makes it possible to capture such low-surface-brightness structures even from a Bortle 7–8 suburban location.

#ic63 #astrophotography #deepsky #zwoasi2600mcpro taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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10 months ago

This image of IC 405 (the Flaming Star Nebula) combines data acquired across two imaging seasons and using two different acquisition strategies. Nearly 15 hours of RGB data were collected in spring 2025. In December 2025, an additional 2 hours and 15 minutes of dual narrowband data (Hα and O III) were added.

Despite the relatively modest increase in total integration time, the image quality improved significantly. This is primarily due to the use of a dual narrowband filter (Optolong L-eNhance), which selectively transmits light around the emission lines of ionized hydrogen (656 nm) and ionized oxygen (495–501 nm), while strongly suppressing broadband light from stars, moonlight, and light pollution.

By isolating these emission lines, the contrast between the intrinsically faint nebular signal and the sky background is greatly enhanced. This allows efficient imaging of emission nebulae from light-polluted environments (Bortle 7–8) and enables noticeable gains in signal-to-noise ratio and structural detail with relatively little additional exposure time.

#flamingstarnebula #IC405 #Astrophotography #DeepSky #ZWOASI2600mcpro taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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10 months ago

NGC 281, better known as the Pacman Nebula, is a large emission nebula about 10,000 light-years away in Cassiopeia, surrounding the young star cluster IC 1590. Despite its modern nickname—chosen because part of the nebula visually resembles the arcade character—the object was already discovered in 1883 by Edward Emerson Barnard.

Barnard is more famous for identifying Barnard’s Star, a faint red dwarf only about six light-years away. Extremely old and low-mass, it moves rapidly across the sky and may host several small planets. Although interesting in its own right, Barnard’s Star has nothing to do with NGC 281.

The Pacman Nebula’s red glow comes from hydrogen ionized by the cluster’s hottest and most massive member: HD 5005, an O6.5 V star and the primary of a five-star system. Its intense radiation and stellar wind have carved a cavity in the nebula, exposing dark Bok globules where stars are forming.

Compared with my previous image—the Bubble Nebula—NGC 281 is more evolved: its central star has already swept much of the surrounding gas aside.

This image was captured in november 2025 from Warmond (Bortle 7-8) with almost four hours of exposure time—modest, but enough to reveal the nebula’s structure and active star-forming regions. The telescope used is a 152 mm f/4.8 Maksutov-Newtonian with a ZWO ASI 2600 MC Air-camera and a dual narrowband filter.

#pacmannebula #NGC281 #StarFormation #Astrophotography #DeepSky #CosmicBeauty #nebula #Cassiopeia #MilkyWay #BackyardAstro #AstroPhotographyLovers #StarsAndNebulae #SpaceArt #backyardastrophotography #longexposure #teylingen #warmond #leiden #ZWOASI2600mcpro taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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a year ago

NGC 7635, better known as the Bubble Nebula, lies more than 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.
#warmondobservatory

At its heart sits an extremely hot, young O-type star, about 45 times more massive than the Sun. This star floods its surroundings with intense ultraviolet radiation, ionizing the surrounding gas and making it glow—just as gas discharge lamps on Earth emit light when energized.

The star also drives a ferocious stellar wind, which pushes into the surrounding nebula and carves out a vast cavity about six light-years across. The expanding shock front between the wind and the nebular material forms the thin, glowing bubble for which NGC 7635 is famous. This structure is only about 40,000 years old and will gradually fade as the shock wave weakens and disperses.

Around the bubble, denser cloud fragments resist the onslaught a little longer. Some of these regions may harbour other young stars still forming within their dusty cocoons, though they will not have much time before the expanding wind clears the neighbourhood completely.

This image was taken in September 2025 from Warmond (Bortle 7–8) using a 152 mm f/4.8 Maksutov–Newtonian telescope, a ZWO ASI 2600 MC Air-camera, a dual narrowband filter, and a total exposure time of about 11 hours.

#bubblenebula #NGC7635 #StarFormation #Astrophotography #DeepSky #CosmicBeauty #nebula #Cassiopeia #MilkyWay #BackyardAstro #AstroPhotographyLovers #StarsAndNebulae #SpaceArt #backyardastrophotography #longexposure #teylingen #warmond #leiden #ZWOASI2600mcpro taken in Warmond by @julesstoop

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a year ago