Horizons Can't scan neutron star

[Surl Tesh-echer]

I don't know what happened, but I can't scan neutron star. It's unexplored and it doesn’t want to be scanned. I flown to the other system, there was white dwarf dc there and everything worked, I scanned it, got the name of the system etc. I got back to the system with neutron star and still I can’t scan it*. I launched the game again but still the same thing – white dwarf unexplored and can’t be scanned.


All of these are of course unexplored bodies but it’s not important.


What I think I did wrong is… I minimalized window with the game when neutron star was first scanning – I think it worked then, but when I maximized window again, it stopped working.
*there is also “normal” star in that system but it’s pretty far and I didn’t try to scan the second body yet.

 

[ebbrell]

Are you in supercruise...

 

[Surl Tesh-echer]

Sir, yes sir! o7

 

[Cpt Shadow Wolfe]

One problem that occurs every so often is when you jump into a system and ADS "honk" it, for some reason the information from the scan doesn't get into the ships computer, the objects will show up in your view screen, but just because you see them doesn't mean the ship sees them, so therefore, can't scan what it can't see. The fix is simple, rehonk the system. Another possible reason is if the system is populated, but you would already have the information if that were the case and there would be no need to scan anything.

 

[LifesAJourney]

OP, what is the distance between the star and your ship? When there is more than one star in the system, the ship is often located beyond 5 Ls scanning distance limit after the jump and the scanner does not work until you get closer.

 

[D.D.Hariman]

OP, what is the distance between the star and your ship? When there is more than one star in the system, the ship is often located beyond 5 Ls scanning distance limit after the jump and the scanner does not work until you get closer.

Humnnn. The more dense/higher gravity the body, the farther away it can be scanned with a DSS. I have never had problems scanning a Neutron Star out at 1000ls.

Now, if the OP is still on the Basic Scanner, I have no idea how close would be close enough. I got the DSS as soon as I could afford it so I could collect the extra CR's for the data.

 

[LifesAJourney]

Humnnn. The more dense/higher gravity the body, the farther away it can be scanned with a DSS. I have never had problems scanning a Neutron Star out at 1000ls.

You are mixing up the Discovery Scanner (a "honk" which reveals bodies at 500 Ls or 1000 Ls or all within the system, depends on the scanner level) with the Detailed Surface Scanner. An Advanced DS can scan a neutron star (and any other star/planet) from any distance within the system. A DDS needs you to be closer - in my case, DDS engineered to fast scan, it's 5 Ls for neutrons. With scanner engineered to long range, it can be several more Ls, but not 1000 for sure. And you need a DDS to change "unexplored" body to "explored".

Or I mixed up by assuming that OP's problem is with surface scanning of a neutron star.

 

[Para Handy]

You are mixing up the Discovery Scanner (a "honk" which reveals bodies at 500 Ls or 1000 Ls or all within the system, depends on the scanner level) with the Detailed Surface Scanner. An Advanced DS can scan a neutron star (and any other star/planet) from any distance within the system. A DDS needs you to be closer - in my case, DDS engineered to fast scan, it's 5 Ls for neutrons. With scanner engineered to long range, it can be several more Ls, but not 1000 for sure. And you need a DDS to change "unexplored" body to "explored".

Or I mixed up by assuming that OP's problem is with surface scanning of a neutron star.

Wow - so much error!!

First off - a level 2 scan is a scan of a body just using a discovery scanner (any grade) and this changes the body from "unexplored" to it's designation / name. Even an ADS cannot surface-scan at large distances - the range it can do a level 2 scan is determined by the mass of the body being scanned (N.B. surface scan not discovery scan).

A level 3 scan is a scan of a body using Detailed Surface Scanner (DSS - not DDS) - not only gives you the body's designation but also it's detailed surface (or ring) composition and this type of scan is necessary to give you a "first discovered by" tag if you are the first to sell it's data.

The OP doesn't tell us if they have a DSS fitted or what grade of Discovery Scanner they have. In any case, since they are dropped from h-jump at a safe distance from the NS then it is possible that it is beyond the surface-scan range of whatever they have fitted.

More info needed from OP to make a better guess.

 

[ChipStar65]

Even an ADS cannot surface-scan at large distances - the range it can do a level 2 scan is determined by the mass of the body being scanned...

Are you quite sure about this? All else I agree with, but my impression is that the "surface scan" by an ADS is dependent on the body's diameter, not mass. Hence needing to get within 5 LS to scan a black hole, whose mass is greater than many stars one encounters that can be scanned at thousands of ellsecs, but with essentially zero diameter (not sure if the event horizon is counted as a "surface" for the purposes of scanning). A neutron star is also a very small, though incredibly dense, object, so it may require much closer (and riskier?) approach than expected. I don't recall whether this applies to white dwarf stars as well, as I have not scanned one in a long time, but I do recall having to get closer than with, say, a type A giant.

 

[Para Handy]

Are you quite sure about this? ...........

Quite sure it is mass, I am happy to be corrected though. It is a very VERY long time since I did a level 2 scan of anything other than an arrival star. Maybe one of the E D Illuminati will stop by and chip in.

 

[D.D.Hariman]

Are you quite sure about this? All else I agree with, but my impression is that the "surface scan" by an ADS is dependent on the body's diameter, not mass.

What I am quite sure of is that you won't get a "surface scan" with an ADS or a Basic Discovery Scanner or the Intermediate Discovery Scanner.

Without a Detailed Surface Scanner you will not get a surface scan.

Now as to how far away you can scan, It has always seemed to me that the distance at which the DSS will kick in is dependent on the gravity/mass of the body.

 

[ChipStar65]

What I am quite sure of is that you won't get a "surface scan" with an ADS or a Basic Discovery Scanner or the Intermediate Discovery Scanner.

Without a Detailed Surface Scanner you will not get a surface scan.

Now as to how far away you can scan, It has always seemed to me that the distance at which the DSS will kick in is dependent on the gravity/mass of the body.

The nomenclature is just to differentiate between the infinite-range "honk" scan the ADS provides and that which identifies the planetoids' names and basic details, which has a subject-defined range. The Detailed Surface Scan is indeed different, and provides the composition data, etc.

And again, if gravity/mass determines scan distance, why must one get within 5LS of a black hole with over 2 solar masses (e.g., Gaia Black Hole), whereas red dwarfs with under a solar mass can be scanned at 1000+ LS? Same is true for a neutron star -- huge mass, extremely small diameter (smaller than a planet and even most moons), and apparently cannot be scanned from a typical "stellar" distance.

 

[D.D.Hariman]

The nomenclature is just to differentiate between the infinite-range "honk" scan the ADS provides and that which identifies the planetoids' names and basic details, which has a subject-defined range. The Detailed Surface Scan is indeed different, and provides the composition data, etc.

And again, if gravity/mass determines scan distance, why must one get within 5LS of a black hole with over 2 solar masses (e.g., Gaia Black Hole), whereas red dwarfs with under a solar mass can be scanned at 1000+ LS? Same is true for a neutron star -- huge mass, extremely small diameter (smaller than a planet and even most moons), and apparently cannot be scanned from a typical "stellar" distance.

Humnnnn.... Got the DSS scan of the only black hole I have scanned before I got the video recording stuff working so I have no record (that I know of) of what the distance was.

Now I have something else to put on my to watch for list.. Don't find all of them before I get a chance to find another one.

 

[ChipStar65]

Both black holes I have scanned are in the Pleiades cluster. The first, in Maia system, I approached ever so carefully, expecting significant gravitational effects, but it was quite a let-down, just a little visual lensing of the background and that's it. The second I won't name openly in case you have not yet found it, but it also scanned only at very close range. Both were of comparable mass. From this and many other non-detailed "surface scans" I've come to the conclusion that the diameter of the planetoid/stellar remnant/star determines scan distance. Since most smaller objects are also less massive, it would not be unusual to assume mass is the determinant, but in the case of compact stellar remnants -- white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes -- diameter seems to make the difference, as they are all more massive than many stars that can be scanned from much farther away.

 

[Para Handy]

What I am quite sure of is that you won't get a "surface scan" with an ADS or a Basic Discovery Scanner or the Intermediate Discovery Scanner.

Without a Detailed Surface Scanner you will not get a surface scan.

Now as to how far away you can scan, It has always seemed to me that the distance at which the DSS will kick in is dependent on the gravity/mass of the body.

You are very mistaken. As I clearly explained above, a level 2 scan is obtained by targeting a body when you don't have a DSS fitted but do have a discovery scanner of any grade fitted. It resolves the body's name and limited info about it but does not provide surface materials or ring composition. This type of scan changes a body from "unexplored" to it's correct nomenclature and is cashed-in for a value (yellow in the graphic below) more than a level 1 scan (honk) but less than a level 3 scan (DSS).

I suggest you store your DSS and go check out an unexplored system with just a discovery scanner fitted, looking at what a level 2 scan does.

 

[kpmop]

One problem that occurs every so often is when you jump into a system and ADS "honk" it, for some reason the information from the scan doesn't get into the ships computer, the objects will show up in your view screen, but just because you see them doesn't mean the ship sees them, so therefore, can't scan what it can't see. The fix is simple, rehonk the system. Another possible reason is if the system is populated, but you would already have the information if that were the case and there would be no need to scan anything.

This. Occasionally I've flown into a binary system, scanned the main star and turned to scan the second star only for the scanner to ignore it -- turns out sometimes I forget to ADS the system, so although I can see the massive ball of fusing hydrogen my ship can't. So yeah, try honking the ADS/IDS/BDS "again" ... ;-)

 

[Para Handy]

............... the infinite-range "honk" scan the ADS provides and that which identifies the planetoids' names and basic details, ..........

The "Honk" doesn't give you that info - it merely detects (discovers) the presence of astronomical objects (bodies), all listed as "Unexplored" - you have to scan each body, either a level 2 with a disco scanner or a level 3 with a DSS, to get any info at all about a body's name or make-up.

(P.S. I think I have brought up this use of "planetoid" before - that just refers to minor bodies so using it in this context is a bit "off".)

 

[Para Handy]

One problem that occurs every so often is when you jump into a system and ADS "honk" it, for some reason the information from the scan doesn't get into the ships computer, the objects will show up in your view screen, ..........

This used to happen a lot, caused by a failure of communication with F D's server. I have not had it happen to me since they revamped some server issues over a year ago, so if you experience this a lot, you might want to investigate your F D server communication,