iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I just adopted a pixel on one of the first images from NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope, and you can too! Just visit: science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/adopt-a-pixel/

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

🚨🚀 Countdown to Lehigh Valley Space Fest 2026! Sat., Sep. 26, 2026 (10am-4pm)- A free, fun event for the whole family! Located at Lehigh University's Mountaintop Campus, Building C Full event details at www.lvspacefest.org, including free parking! Presenting Sponsor & Host: @lehighu.bsky.social

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Jonathan Serrie @jonathanserrie.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Next-generation Moon rocket targets April 1 launch for first deep space astronaut mission in more than half a century My Substack: substack.com/home/post/p-...

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Jonathan Serrie @jonathanserrie.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Good morning from Kennedy Space Center! Weather forecast still 80% favorable for April 1 launch of #Artemis2

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

NASA’s launch window for the crewed Artemis II mission around the Moon will open this Wednesday, April 1, 2026 through April 6- Current scheduled liftoff is at 6:24pm ET on April 1 and will send 4 astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon and back to Earth on board the Orion capsule.

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Thanks to @pbs.org for including my processed image of the Apollo 11 landing site in their latest episode of “Horizons,” but @NASA did the heavy lifting by actually going to the Moon, and the ISRO sent their lunar satellite in 2021 which spotted it while conducting other surveys! 🤣🚀👨‍🚀👨‍🚀🛰️

Apollo 11 landing site imaged by the Indian Space Research Organization, processed by Marty McGuire

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

🚀 Big news! My processed images of the Apollo 11 & 12 landing sites are being included in @pbs.org’s next episode of "Horizons" this Friday March 20, 2026 around 7 PM ET online at www.pbs.org/show/horizons, or Saturday evening on your local PBS station. (Check your local listings)

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

🚀 Starting my 10th year as a NASA #SolarSystemAmbassador! 🎤 My next free, public event (registration required) is Saturday, April 11, 2026, 2pm at the Bethlehem Area Public library main branch pabapl. Details on my website BackyardAstronomyGuy.com

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Got some much needed telescope time tonight- enjoy my shots of Jupiter and our Moon! 🔭 Sky Watcher AZ-GTI/SkyMax 127 📷 Canon EOS R6 Mark III

Jupiter and its Galilean Moons among the stars

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

🌕 Full “Snow” Moon rising: February 1, 2026 Which one do you like better? Image 1 taken at 5:41pm ET, Image 2 taken at 6:19pm. 📷 Canon R6 Mark III/RF 24-240 @ 240 & cropped.

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

During the Artemis I uncrewed test mission around the Moon in November 2022, I had a special message displayed in the Orion cockpit! This message was shown at Mission Elapsed Time (MET) of 02:09:35:21 (2 days, 9 hours, 35 minutes, 21 seconds), at a distance of 189,616 miles from Earth!

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Cold 2-hour hike through Jacobsburg State Park today on my last day of vacation & playing around with my Canon USA R6 Mark III’s settings.

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

This is still my best telescope photo of the International Space Station from April 2021, with NASA’s reference in next post of what was docked at that time. 🔭📷: 10” Dobsonian (manually tracked!) & Canon 60D

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

From NASA JPL: Make a 2026 Moon Phases Calendar, and follow the lunar cycle all year long! 🌖 All you need is a printer, scissors, tape, and a brass fastener: www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resource...

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Tonight’s 7.5% illuminated waxing crescent Moon’s “Earthshine” was quite a view, which can only be seen a few days before and after the new Moon. Earthshine is Earth’s reflected sunlight on the Moon’s night side. 📷 @canonusa R6 Mark III, RF 24-240 lens @240 and cropped.

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Before sunrise, December 16, 2025. 🛩️🌘 📷 Canon R6 Mark III Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Getting creative with the Full Moon and my new Canon R6 Mark III 📷. Which one do you like best?

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Caught a comet tonight! I stacked 75 images of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), using my Canon 60D/300mm lens. Wish I could do better! I aligned all the images on the comet nucleus, showing some movement relative to stars and a satellite?

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

I captured my first 22-degree solar halo with sun dogs! 📍Nazareth, Pennsylvania September 30, 2025 at 5:30pm ET

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Finally freeing up laptop storage by deleting 10 years’ worth of “bad astronomy.” Thousands of giant .CR2 files of blurry stars, overexposed moons, and what I once swore was Saturn but was clearly just camera shake or bad focus. Hoping to make a new gallery at the end of it all!

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 16/09/2025

A satellite photo of a volcano taken from space FROM THE SIDE

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Send your name on NASA’s Artemis II Mission around the Moon, launching in 2026! nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Sun rising at 7:13am ET, with some sunspots visible! First two images taken with my iPhone 16 Pro in Raw Max @ 25x zoom, exposure -2.0 and brightness slider turned to lowest setting. Last image is current data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (different orientation than my pics)

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Behold… my 66% illuminated #moon photo from September 1, 2025. 🌔

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

🛰️🌎 Space & Earth lovers: I highly recommend you download the free Sen app and view a 4K livestream of Earth or prerecorded videos of scenic locations around our planet, all from the Sen camera on the ISS! 📲 iOS: apps.apple.com/jm/app/sen/i... 📲 Google Play: play.google.com/store/apps/d...

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

August 7, 2025: 98% illuminated Waxing Gibbous #Moon. Full Moon on August 9!

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

🚀👨‍🚀👨‍🚀 On this day: July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon during NASA's Apollo 11 mission. The clearest photos of the Apollo 11 & 12 Lunar Descent Stages that were left on the surface from were taken in 2021 by the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO)…

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Thank you NASA & JPL for my surprise mail this weekend! Being present for the 2024 total solar eclipse at Tupper Lake, NY was the astronomical highlight of my life. Check out my timelapse video of totality! youtu.be/w3Tjr6xWgcA

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

David Rankin @asteroiddave.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

FACT THREAD on New Interstellar Object #A11pl3Z This story unfolded pretty fast yesterday for a few reasons. The object was discovered on July 1st UTC by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS team. A #NASA funded survey at the University of Hawaii. atlas.fallingstar.com 🔭🧪

Orbit diagram of interstellar object A11pl3Z

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Snapped this #sunset on my way home with some snow geese flying through. February 18, 2025 📷 iPhone 16 Pro

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 12/02/2025

#NASARoman: NASA has successfully joined the sunshade to the Roman observatory’s ‘exoskeleton.’ The visor-like sunshade will help prevent unwanted light from entering the telescope: go.nasa.gov/4hQItFR

Workers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center are surrounding a covered spacecraft on a platform in a clean room environment.

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Kevin M. Gill @kevinmgill.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Large white oval storm system with associated turbulent flows on Jupiter. Mid-northern latitudes. Juno Perijove 65, Sept. 20, 2024. flic.kr/p/2qLfcvy

Twisty cloud and gas flows.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Kevin M. Gill @kevinmgill.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Jupiter’s North Equatorial Belt and areas north as seen by Juno during Perijove 69, January 28th. flic.kr/p/2qJPSQQ

Brown and white bands of Jupiter.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Maybe, just maybe… everyone should stop getting so excited about SpaceX launches.

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Nearing the end of book One of the Silo series and thought I found a hidden note on “precious paper” tucked into the spine- IYKYK. I’m really sitting here trying to peel it out carefully to see if it’s a secret message, or just a manufacturing defect. How cool would that be?

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Kevin M. Gill @kevinmgill.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Ok. Chill out, Kevin. Here’s one of my absolute favorites from the Cassini mission: Saturn on September 13 2017. The data for it was downlinked only hours before Cassini descended into Saturn. I was so excited when the data did come down, I ran outside and showed a gathering of friends :-)

Saturn from the unlit side. Ringshine is very apparent.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Kevin M. Gill

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Behind the scenes from last night’s Lunar occultation of Mars 🔭 ✅ I used SkySafari Pro to plan the occultation start timing. ✅ Inside & warm I setup my Sky-Watcher USA SkyMax127 and AZ-GTi mount, connected to a 2x Barlow, universal variable adapter with a 20mm 1.25” plossl lens inside, & Canon 60D.

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I captured my best video of Mars during tonight’s lunar occultation! January 13, 2025 Sky-Watcher SkyMax 127 & AZ-GTi mount, Canon 60D. #solarsystemambassador

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Are you looking tonight at the #Moon like me? Which picture do you like better- 1 or 2?

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Sunrise with some light snow last night. 📍Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

The total eclipse from April 7, 2024 was absolutely the astronomical highlight of my life! Please enjoy the entirety of this 3-minute video, combining 3 different videos that I captured into individual 20x time-lapse sequences.

youtu.be

Total Eclipse Time Lapse (April 8, 2024)

YouTube video by Backyard Astronomy Guy

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

In April 2021, The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)'s Chandrayaan2 Orbiter captured images of NASA's Apollo 11 & 12 landing sites and Lunar Modules. I decided to learn how to view the raw imagery myself from ISRO: www.backyardastronomyguy.com/apollo-isro

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 09/01/2025

This image of Mercury was taken yesterday. The joint ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission snapped this photo during its sixth and final flyby of Mercury; it will enter orbit at the end of 2026. And fun fact: the plain shown by the arrow, Mearcair Planitia, was named by me.

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Hello world. Just an amateur astronomer in love with the cosmos & a volunteer #NASA #JPL #SolarSystemAmbassador BackyardAstronomyGuy.com

Marty McGuire, standing in front of a window outside the NASA Goddard clean room with the Webb Space Telescope being assembled inside.

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Dr. Amber Straughn (she/her) @astraughnomer.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Incredible! 44 individual *stars* observed in a galaxy 6.5 BILLION light years away! Light we're seeing from these stars was emitted before the Earth formed 🤯 This is only possible because of the fun physics of gravitational lensing! Read more: abcnews.go.com/Technology/h... #JWST #NASA #space

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Santa told me I’m on the Nice list and should get lots of clear skies in 2025 🔭😄🌌🪐

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Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador @backyardastroguy.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Don’t miss it: Join me LIVE on December 5, 2024 at 7 PM eastern time on YouTube where I join the “National Capital Area Skeptics” to show how I processed the Indian Space Research Organization’s lunar orbiter imagery of the Apollo 11 and 12 landing sites. www.youtube.com/live/xcNV2uQ...

youtube.com

YouTube

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Reposted by Marty McGuire, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador

Caltech @caltech.edu · 02/12/2024

Caltech planetary scientists anticipate future discoveries from the Europa Clipper mission, which successfully launched on October 14 and is now making its way toward Jupiter’s icy moon. www.caltech.edu/about/news/w...

caltech.edu

With NASA's Europa Clipper Launch, Researchers Look Ahead to Scientific Discoveries

Caltech planetary scientists anticipate future discoveries from the Europa Clipper mission, which successfully launched on October 14 and is now making its way toward Jupiter’s icy moon.

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