Fairly new to exploration.. where are the black holes?

Malbek · Feb 26, 2016

Hey CMDRs,

I left for my greatest journey yet, planning to hit Sag A for the first time. I've been out of the bubble for 3 real days totaling about 20 hours of flight. I'm currently mid-way through the gap between two galaxy arms (basically heading in a more or less straight line to the core) and the stars are getting pretty sparse. In any event, on this or my previous expeditions I have failed to find any black holes. I haven't really gone looking for them but I've never even noticed one on the galactic map as I muse my route. Do they get more common as one approaches the galactic core or are they known to cluster somewhere? I've seen them on youtube and really want the experience of seeing them live. Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, I fly in open and I think one of the greatest discoveries one could make is a random encounter with a fellow explorer CMDR. Have you space Magellans ever ran into someone unplanned out there?

Katejina · Feb 26, 2016

Best place to look is starting about 10kly from Sag A*, at about -900 on the z-axis, below the galactic plane. These are the Neutron Fields and can be found in many places in the middle half of the galaxy, as long as you are fairly low on the axis.

Here and there you will find pockets of Black Holes and other various uncommon star types.

I would also suggest seeking for the "bright spots" on the GalMap, as many of those will also contain Black Holes.
My exploration tutorial may be of some further help:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=210881&

Malbek · Feb 26, 2016

Thanks, very appreciated!

Jackie Silver · Feb 26, 2016

You'll generally find them in systems of mass code "E" or above, e.g. SECTORNAME AA-A E0 or SECTORNAME AA-A E1-0.

Malbek · Feb 26, 2016

And now I know those system codes aren't just a arbitrary filing system, thanks mate!

-edit add-

I sure wish we could make heat sink refills in the synthesis tab, I'm down to my last 2. I've had several misfires, gotta stop doing that. Their lack seems an oversight, has Frontier said they'd be adding that in? Making new heat sinks seems a lot less complicated than detailed repairs on my scarab or boosting my jump range. Auto maintenance uses can be manufactured as well, why not heat sinks?

BanzaiZAP · Feb 26, 2016

Its in a bit of another direction, but Nebula NGC 7822 has a large number of black holes orbiting O-types. One system even has three! The nebula is about 2700 LY from the Bubble, so it makes a nice, several-day journey. Good for both new explorers and us old jaded types. Yes, you do occaisionally ump into other explorers, often near the Tourist Spots (like NGC 7288). Do keep a system locked for a high jump out, in case they turn nasty.

xmediawork · Feb 27, 2016

Are black holes still harmless? I popped into a system with one today and nearly crapped my pants when I realized what was going on and why I was moving even though my throttle was at zero.

Katejina · Feb 27, 2016

xmediawork said:
Are black holes still harmless? I popped into a system with one today and nearly crapped my pants when I realized what was going on and why I was moving even though my throttle was at zero.

They are harmless as long as you enter them at extremely slow speeds. And even if your throttle is set to zero, as long as you are in supercruise, you're still moving at 30 km/s. If you drop out of SC into the black hole, you may even find yourself flying through the event horizon. Not all BHs allow this, though.

Hanekura Shizuka · Feb 27, 2016

Katejina said:
Best place to look is starting about 10kly from Sag A*, at about -900 on the z-axis, below the galactic plane. These are the Neutron Fields and can be found in many places in the middle half of the galaxy, as long as you are fairly low on the axis.

Here and there you will find pockets of Black Holes and other various uncommon star types.

I would also suggest seeking for the "bright spots" on the GalMap, as many of those will also contain Black Holes.
My exploration tutorial may be of some further help:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=210881&

It's actually not even that far from A*. The place you point out is probably the closest to the inhabited areas; however, the nearest neutron star fields to A* are only about 1400 ly away. Just go about 1000 east or west, then about 1000 up or down.

A more detailed description can be found here.

Katejina · Feb 27, 2016

Hanekura Shizuka said:
It's actually not even that far from A*. The place you point out is probably the closest to the inhabited areas; however, the nearest neutron star fields to A* are only about 1400 ly away. Just go about 1000 east or west, then about 1000 up or down.

A more detailed description can be found here.

They aren't at Sag A* though. They are closer to the bubble/half-way point.