I was looking through the "Links" section of EDDB, when I found the "Galactic Book of Records" (link). One entry in particular was very interesting: "Closest systems to each other" (Slide 9), which listed Cl Pismis 13 and 19 with a distance of 50.3 ls. Not lightyears, but lightseconds. So, I decided to check it out and see what happens if you try to supercruise to another system. I made this the destination of my first ever exploration trip, in my newly enigneered Conda (build).
Now, a bit of explanation. There is a difference between the arrival point and the arrival star. They're not in the same location. On lightyear scales, the difference gets lost in rounding. In this particular instance, however, the difference is very much noticeable. I think that the CMDRs responsible for this record entry (Gouzaku & Kaiden Exeider) were using some kind of automated tools to record notable discoveries, because, as it turns out, the entry is only half correct.
Let me explain my observations:
(I have the game set to Russian because the font doesn't hurt my eyes, unlike the default one, and it has lowercase letters. May be correlated.)
When viewed from the arrival point of Cl Pismis 13, 19 is indeed ~50 ls away (slightly different each time). However, the main star of 13 is also that same distance away. They are, in fact, in the same exact location.
(Insert image seems to be broken)
Thus, you're unable to jump directly from 13 to 19, even though the marker is solid.
Note that this does NOT mean that the stars are overlapping. Firstly, this wouldn't be possible (more on that later) and secondly, this is not the star, but the arrival point. The main star of 13 and the arrival point of 19 share the same location. So, you're unable to do anything here, except for exploring this weird system (some planets are bright pink).
But what happens if you view it from Cl Pismis 19? Surprisingly, it's different. (To get there, you first have to jump to another nearby system because of the obstruction issue.)
The thing you notice is that now, the arrival point of 13 is ~95k ls away. It's unobstructed, making it a valid jump destination. Yes, this has to be the shortest jump possible. The fuel usage doesn't even show up on the fuel gauge, but then again, this is a 68.46 ly range ship with 224t of fuel capacity. Maybe it would show up on something like a Gunship with a downclassed tank. Not trying that any time soon.
So, what happens if you supercruise to another system? Nothing. You can't. Let me explain:
I tried to do that. First of all, the systems are separate areas. If you're in another system, you can only jump to the arrival point. If this wasn't the case, you would be able to see the bodies of other systems, which is not the case. Also, there's a factor which makes it very difficult to approach the arrival point. The max supercruise speed seems to depend on the gravitational influence of nearby bodies. At that distance from the main star of 19, it's really hard to approach this specific location. I was able to get my distance into the megameters, at which point the marker started jumping around like crazy. After a while of waiting at zero throttle, I was able to drop into normal space at some hundred km. However, once I dropped, the distance changed to 0m on the target info panel and it was jumping around uncontrollably. I fired up my thrusters, but wasn't able to get any closer. The distance just didn't change at all (but the ETA did), except for the random jumps.
It seems that normal thrusters aren't even considered when it comes to hyperspace distances, which makes perfect sense.
Now, I was still able to charge up for the shortest jump in ED history (420km nice)
Even though this is somewhat disappointing, this was still a very interesting and unique experiment.
@FDev, if you're reading this: Don't even think about fixing these systems. It's a unique place within the galaxy, much like Mitterand Hollow. And also, can we PLEASE have an option to change the font?
Now, a bit of explanation. There is a difference between the arrival point and the arrival star. They're not in the same location. On lightyear scales, the difference gets lost in rounding. In this particular instance, however, the difference is very much noticeable. I think that the CMDRs responsible for this record entry (Gouzaku & Kaiden Exeider) were using some kind of automated tools to record notable discoveries, because, as it turns out, the entry is only half correct.
Let me explain my observations:
(I have the game set to Russian because the font doesn't hurt my eyes, unlike the default one, and it has lowercase letters. May be correlated.)
When viewed from the arrival point of Cl Pismis 13, 19 is indeed ~50 ls away (slightly different each time). However, the main star of 13 is also that same distance away. They are, in fact, in the same exact location.
(Insert image seems to be broken)
Rich (BB code):
Rich (BB code):
Note that this does NOT mean that the stars are overlapping. Firstly, this wouldn't be possible (more on that later) and secondly, this is not the star, but the arrival point. The main star of 13 and the arrival point of 19 share the same location. So, you're unable to do anything here, except for exploring this weird system (some planets are bright pink).
But what happens if you view it from Cl Pismis 19? Surprisingly, it's different. (To get there, you first have to jump to another nearby system because of the obstruction issue.)
The thing you notice is that now, the arrival point of 13 is ~95k ls away. It's unobstructed, making it a valid jump destination. Yes, this has to be the shortest jump possible. The fuel usage doesn't even show up on the fuel gauge, but then again, this is a 68.46 ly range ship with 224t of fuel capacity. Maybe it would show up on something like a Gunship with a downclassed tank. Not trying that any time soon.
So, what happens if you supercruise to another system? Nothing. You can't. Let me explain:
I tried to do that. First of all, the systems are separate areas. If you're in another system, you can only jump to the arrival point. If this wasn't the case, you would be able to see the bodies of other systems, which is not the case. Also, there's a factor which makes it very difficult to approach the arrival point. The max supercruise speed seems to depend on the gravitational influence of nearby bodies. At that distance from the main star of 19, it's really hard to approach this specific location. I was able to get my distance into the megameters, at which point the marker started jumping around like crazy. After a while of waiting at zero throttle, I was able to drop into normal space at some hundred km. However, once I dropped, the distance changed to 0m on the target info panel and it was jumping around uncontrollably. I fired up my thrusters, but wasn't able to get any closer. The distance just didn't change at all (but the ETA did), except for the random jumps.
Rich (BB code):
Now, I was still able to charge up for the shortest jump in ED history (420km nice)
Rich (BB code):
@FDev, if you're reading this: Don't even think about fixing these systems. It's a unique place within the galaxy, much like Mitterand Hollow. And also, can we PLEASE have an option to change the font?
