iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 06/10/2026

I got the eclipse version just in time for Aug 12. It's very impressive but I'm curious about what you mean by cam and chip codes? Anyway here's how it handled the eclipse:

Image from Aug 12 Total Eclipse taken with Seestar S50 Pro Eclipse edition with solar filter attached.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 04/10/2026

Finally a clear night and even though I have Bortle 7 skies the upgraded Origin has done an impressive job. 🔭 🧪 Time for bed said Zebedee . . .

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 28/08/2026

Almost the opposite of this wonderful picture taken by my wife during the total solar eclipse. What a pair of images!

The diamond ring at the end of the total solar eclipse, August 12, 2026.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 12/08/2026

Lots of nice pictures of the sun and moon taken through the telescopes but the wife wins with the perfect diamond ring taken on her iPhone. Maybe she should publish that one!

Diamond ring just before totality during the 2026 total eclipse. In the foreground are the peaks of gazebos used to shelter the public who were viewing the event from when the Sun was a bit hotter.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 24/07/2026

My new toy Just arrived so I'll be taking three solar capable smart scopes and my big Celestron Powertank!

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 23/07/2026

And at the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland unveils its plan for a combined Lunar Lander, and when you've eaten the Marshmallow Core, a useful habitation module: 🔭 🧪

A giant Tunnocls tea cake with fireworks shooting downwards from its base hangs above the stage of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 15/07/2026

@specsaversuk.bsky.social appear to be letting their BlueSky account go to rot but elsewhere on social media . . .

Wednesday 15 July

Dear referees,

Forty years ago, one of football's most famous moments happened because the officials missed what millions of fans could clearly see.

As England prepare to face Argentina once again, we'd love to help make sure history doesn't repeat itself.

We've sent a top team of Specsavers optometrists to Atlanta to provide complimentary eye tests for the match officials ahead of the semi-final. Think of it as a final pre-match check, alongside the whistle and the cards.

VAR may provide an extra pair of eyes, but it never hurts to make sure the first pair are in top form

Our team is ready to test at a moment's notice. All you have to do is say yes.

Kind regards,

Specsavers
The Specsavers Team

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 11/07/2026

Testing the DWARF LAB 3 with a low sun in advance of the trip to Spain for the total eclipse. Fast stack of 20 frames. Not bad for a slightly polluted sky in Milton Keynes.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 11/07/2026

That'll be Milton Keynes. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poi...

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 22/04/2026

Will probably decide precise location on the day depending on weather, but we are staying in a hotel to the north west of Madrid so we have the whole of Northwest Spain as an option.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 14/04/2026

Or, the actual mags posted version:

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 10/04/2026

Alt Text especially for the 🔭 community

Jellyfish.

No, not aliens, I said jellyfish!

I KNOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE BUT THEY ARE JELLYFISH NOT ALIE . . . OH FFS!

You can believe what you like Mr. Loeb, but they aren't aliens.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 14/12/2025

I've been unwell so had precious little time, added to sucky weather, so here is a shot from last year and was the first image taken on my Celestron Origin

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 09/11/2025

Do you think this applies to their News outlet as well?

Image of a TV screen showing FOX NFL coverage with a subtitle saying "We apologise for the loss of vision from our host broadcaster".

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 28/09/2025

OMG! A family member who is a brilliant artist has immortalised me and it's brilliant because I actually live in Springfield!!!!

A picture of me, Chris Rolland FRAS, drawn in the style of The Simpsons!

I'm wearing a New Glenn T-shirt, my flat cap, and I have my dialysis dressing on my arm!!!

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 10/09/2025

One thing we all missed yesterday is Apple launching the Trump phone. Seriously that is the colour they have chosen alongside the usual monotones!!

The new nuclear orange coloured iPhone 17 Pro.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 18/07/2025

If you see this, post a video game that transports you to your childhood. (Thanks to PC Mag, as mine is a Teletype game)

A text printout of the game "colossal cave adventure"

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 07/06/2025

Yet MAGA was fine with this . . .

Representation of the last supper with Donald Trump in place of Jesus.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 29/05/2025

Found a great little tripod to set up my lipstick camera for use in my STEM sessions with pupils. Tried it out with a school in Northern Ireland today and it worked brilliantly. Much better than me trying to do it handheld.

Picture of my lipstick camera set up on a small Joby portable tripod. Whole thing about 6 to 7 inches high and gives me plenty of space to put my meteorite samples in view of the camera.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 24/05/2025

"We're Not Here Because We're Free. We're Here Because We're NOT Free." static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp...

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 07/05/2025

Live images from the Vatican as the cardinals prepare for the Papal Conclave.

A line of monks in robes chanting and occasionally hitting their heads on a wooden plank

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 25/04/2025

Normal service (for me) can now resume:

A Covid lateral flow test showing a negative result

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 21/03/2025

Interesting lesson and at last night's stargazing party with the primary school kids. the Celestron Origin will not initialise until the skies are *really* dark but we still got some wonderful images.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 01/03/2025

Here I the ad as an image for you all to download.

Spoof Tesla Ad with Elon standing in a Tesla like a certain German dictator giving his "salute". Headline "Goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds". Tagline "Tesla. The Swasticar".

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 17/02/2025

*Sniff* Always been great as a UK STEM Ambassador to get feedback from schools and the pupils but one local school, who I have put a lot of time into, just sent me this - filled with individual message from all the pupils. Stiff upper lip failing. I don't do it for this but it's gratifying.

A group of handmade cards, postcards and letters from children at a local school thanking me for spending time with them and telling them all about space subjects.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 02/01/2025

And here for comparison is 30 minutes of my Celestron Origin in Bortle 6 skies. 1/8 of the time of the Seestar S50 but eight times the price. I think that's a pretty good equivalency. maybe that's my PhD thesis.

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 01/01/2025

Pfft. Amateurs. IBM 3350 DASD. IIRC 635MB PER CABINET! Between that and the 10MB drives on the IBM PC-AT these were my first encounters with "winchester disks"

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 26/12/2024

A bumper haul of books this Christmas - some to help with my work as a STEM Ambassador and some for knowledge and learning. 🧪 🔭

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 12/09/2024

First Light on my Celestron Origin last night. Bit cloudy and the light pollution sucks (waiting for the filter to arrive) but here is good old M31 (Andromeda) and the Eastern Veil Nebula. 🔭 #astrophotography

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Chris Rolland FRAS @celtuk.eurosky.social · 24/08/2024

I think we were rumbled: just got this in my inbox. "Sales suspended. B/O cancelled". Worth a try. I wonder if I'll get my 10 cents back 🤣 if not then it was worth it just for the fun.