Revisiting 1996 via the AI Time Machine.

Whilst recently cataloguing a bunch of my old black and white 35mm prints I happened upon this 1996 memory.

The photo was taken sometime in that  inbetween gap of the Summer and Autumn of 1996, at my parents' farm in Llanycefn. 

It was a glorious night, the stars were waking up and the Moon shone brightly, and all around was touched with that warmth that only comes from several weeks of summer heat.

The horses in the foreground where quietly going about their business. 

I was quietly going about mine with my Olympus OM10 35mm camera.

The above picture was developed and printed in my attic darkroom, and over the years has been lost and found again on several occasions.  

It's last incarnation has one of my haiku poems attached to it.

Recently having been "found" again I wanted to rejuvenate the picture, remove the haiku and possibly add a "1996" mood filter!

It seemed a great challenge for the modern darkroom, otherwise known as Gemini AI to undertake.

Here is Gemini's result:

Considering the visual quality of the original black and white image, it did a great job of reconstructing my "1996" memory of that night.  

As yet, I'm not sure what I think about the AI revolution... time will tell!

For now I sit on the fence, and look at the stars.

Quick peeps from Goodwick

Out with 60mm/800fl red Tasco. 

Eyepieces binoculars? 12.5mm x64.

Quick observe tonight as the mist was rising fast and obscuring much.

Jupiter near/below Gemini.

Splendid as always, showing two distinct bands and satellites. 

Castor  showing primary smaller and slightly grey/purplish colouring. x64.

Algieba was the top dog tonight.

The secondary was a beautiful 'green' colour. 

Primary was whitish but that secondary was "Opal Fruits" green, a similar green to that of the Gamma Delphinus comes.

No moon up yet, just a quick observe to keep my eyes trained. 

The Tasco is doing a fine job at x64. 

Algieba especially put on a great show, considering how tight that double is at x64.

Alas the mist took soon took hold and I retired to the warmth of Martha.

Night-time Highlights of the April sky.

Here are some of the celestial highlights for our Pembrokeshire Skies of April 2026.

​Naked-Eye Highlights:

​The Spring Triangle: 

This is the dominant seasonal pattern. 

Look south around 10:00 PM to find a giant triangle made of:

​Arcturus: A bright orange giant in Boötes (the brightest star in the northern sky)

​Spica: A blue-white star in Virgo.  

​Denebola: The "tail" of Leo the Lion.  

​

The Planetary Duo (Evening): Throughout April, Venus and Jupiter are the stars of the show.  

​Venus will be incredibly bright and low in the west shortly after sunset.  

​Jupiter sits higher in the sky within the constellation Gemini. It remains visible for most of the night.  

​Lyrid Meteor Shower: 

Peaking on the night of April 21–22. 

Because the Moon is in its crescent phase and sets early, the skies will be dark enough to spot about 15–18 meteors per hour.  

​Moon Conjunctions:

​April 19: A thin crescent Moon will sit close to Venus (with the Pleiades sat between the two of them) in the evening twilight.  

​April 22: The Moon will be positioned near Jupiter, making for a striking pairing in Gemini.  

​

Binocular Highlights:

​With a standard pair of 10x50 or 8x42 binoculars, the Pembrokeshire coast reveals objects that are usually hidden by city lights.

​Star Clusters:

​The Beehive Cluster (M44): Located in the heart of Cancer. To the naked eye, it looks like a fuzzy patch; through binoculars, it explodes into dozens of individual stars.

​The Pleiades (M45): Though setting earlier in the evening, this "Seven Sisters" cluster is still visible in the west. It is one of the most beautiful sights in binoculars.

​M35 in Gemini: Look near the "feet" of the twins (Gemini) to find this dense, shimmering cluster of stars.  

​

Deep Sky Targets:

​The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51): Under Pembrokeshire's dark skies, you can spot this as a faint, glowing smudge near the end of the "handle" of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). 

 

​M3 Globular Cluster: Located between Boötes and Coma Berenices, this looks like a "fuzzy star" in binoculars but is actually a sphere of hundreds of thousands of stars.

​Observing Tips for Pembrokeshire:

​This year's  Full "Pink" Moon occurs on April 2. 

While it isn't actually pink, it will be quite large and bright, which is great for landscape viewing but will wash out fainter stars and galaxies for a few days.  

​Aurora Potential: 

April 2026 falls near the solar maximum. Keep an eye on the northern horizon from high vantage points like Strumble Head for a chance to see the Northern Lights.

One of the best displays I have seen in this current solar maximum was from near Newgale.