The Blinking Nebula was clearly visible in the sky above WP6 on Blinking Sector PD-S b4-0 2 a at -69.32/-97.45.

It's an icy world, so not much fun to drive on, even if I had the time.

Today is a Saturday, and so I have more time than usual for travelling. I should be able to get a few waypoints in today.

First stop is WP5 on Veil West Sector DL-Y d68 D 4 e at -80.1/147.46.

The nearby Veil Nebula West is one of the prettier nebulas in the game, with the pink and blue clouds together.

WP4 is on LBN 623 Sector FW-W d1-100 6 a at 75.93/89.

There was a nice view of the nearby LBN 623 Nebula.

The was the end of my second day travelling.

WP3 is on GMM2008 22 3 a at 4.78/-92 in a bit of a gully.

There is a mountain next to it that looks quite climbable.

Sadly, I felt I had to keep travelling.

10 jumps got me to WP2 on HIP 23759 9 a at 9/-142.4. When I arrived it was completely dark due to an eclipse.

After a while the star began to come out from behind the gas giant and it started to lighten.

It quickly became fully lit and really quite bright.

I decided to call it a night at this point.

WP1 was 13 jumps away on T Tauri A 1 a at -72/99.4.

The nebula fills the sky, and I really wanted to get out in my SRV and drive down the nearby canyons, but I had to press on.

Before I left the system I visited the tourist beacon.

Lots of pretty views here.

I signed up to do the Small Worlds Expedition 2 even though I knew I had two holidays booked in - one with my family, the other with my friends.

As I write this a long time after the event, I can't remember why I didn't even try to attend the beginning of the expedition, which I could have done, do my holidays, and catch up when I got back. In hindsight, not doing that was a mistake. I would have been able to attend waypoints 0 through 4 before having to go away. By the time I returned, the expedition would have been up to waypoint 8 and I would have only missed 3 meetups.

Instead, I made the eleventh-hour decision to 'buckyball' the expedition, and ended up missing all the meetups.

On 6-July I switched from my Python to my DBX and set off.

The WP0 meetup was on BD+31 2290 4 c at -5.1/-74.76.

Just yesterday I visited an active Thargoid structure for the first time. Since then, it's been discovered that Thargoid technology does not react well at all with Guardian technology. Someone tried activating the central Thargoid machine using Guardian Relics with spectacular results:

I happened to have some Relics in my cargo hold, so I headed to the closest active Thargoid structure on Mel 22 Sector ZU-P c5-1 4 a at -63.5266/8.0136 to try it myself.

There I found Commanders Sebbedan and eastw00d and we all enjoyed the light show! Keep a good distance between the machine and your SRV - you will take damage, maybe enough to be destroyed!

An active (presumed) Thargoid structure had recently been found on HIP 14909 2 a at -26.4561/-27.4742, so naturally I had to go and see for myself.

To open the doors to get inside, your SRV needs to be carrying either a Thargoid Probe or a Thargoid Sensor. Inside the structure you find Thargoid Uplink Devices. In the center of the structure is a large room with three receptacles. Put one each of a Sensor, Probe and Uplink Device into the receptacles to activate the machine:

Amazing stuff. I have no idea if it's supposed to be a galaxy map or not. It just looks so cool.

At long last, after 3 years playing Elite Dangerous, I've finally got up to one of the so-called "end game" ships - an Anaconda.

Of course, I purchased it from a Li Yong-Rui controlled system, HIP 20485, so I could get the 15% discount.

That was a few days ago on 5-June. I'm now in the VV Cephei system admiring the view of the red super-giant.

However, if I turn to look the other way, there's something bright and shiny catching my eye...

NGC 7822 seems like a great place to take my new Anaconda to stretch its exploration legs.