The Retired Engineer

Dyffryn Gardens is a National Trust property near Cardiff, Wales.

Sarn Helen refers to several stretches of Roman road in Wales.

August 2026 was notable in the UK for having two prominent eclipses.

The Rosette Nebula is “a vast star-forming region, 100 light-years across, that lies at one end of a giant molecular cloud in the constellation Monoceros.

My Samsung Galaxy S22 phone has an extra free camera app called “Expert Raw“.

The 1990s were an interesting time for consumer grade electronic music.

I’ve moaned on here a few times recently about the inclement weather but the other night the clouds parted and I got a clear view of the sky for once.

One of the characteristics of living on the south western side of the British Isles is that you get up close and personal with the occasional bit of serious weather.

We’ve just returned from another week’s cross country skiing and walking in the Vosges mountains in France.

Every now and again you come across some industrial relic and wonder “what’s that doing there?”

This is the super moon from the night of 4th December 2025, taken using the Seestar S50.

A recent image from the Seestar S50 smart telescope.