How to get there?

[Gankkex]

Hi all, found this cluster of stars whilst heading towards the Omega nebula and wondered how I can use the galaxy map to change course and visit some of the stars shown in the centre of my screen?
Would be really useful if the galaxy map could be set to follow your ships current orientation, (not the first time I have wished this was possible) but as far as I know, it always defaults to the same.
I assume that all or most of the stars in that cluster are of the same type? Could maybe find a dense cluster of them that way, if I knew which type they are. Probably O, A or B, I'm guessing.

 

[Red_Beard_98]

I would say that your assumption they are O, B or A is probably correct, I would guess mostly B. You know the direction of the next system in your route from where you are currently and that cluster is in roughly the same direction. I would just sort out everything except O, B and A stars then just start moving around the galaxy map in a grid pattern until you find the blue blob. Maybe there's a more efficient way but I have had success in the past with locating things this way. I would guess they aren't more that 300 ish ly away given the brightness?? I could be way off on that though.

 

[Gankkex]

Thanks, Red Beard 98
They're type B stars. Once I got closer, I filtered out all star types bar A's then B's and then O's and it became obvious. You were right about their proximity, too. They aren't very far away from the Omega nebula at all. It's just that I've tried similar methods before and they haven't always worked, and trying to use nebulae as reference points in the galaxy map can be awkward, since the way they look in there compared to the way you're seeing them in space don't always mesh.

 

[Sapyx]

First, to answer your implied question: no, there isn't any way to select a remote object visible on the skybox through the cockpit window and plot a course there. You can do it for stars and planets within the same sytem that you are currently in, but for distant stars, you have to do it "the old fashioned way". Some tips:

"Star clusters" like this are usually composed of "real-world" stars, with data pulled from real-world star catalogues. So they're easy to spot on the galaxy map, because their names won't be the ED proc-genned formula "[Sector name] XY-Z c3-13".

Align your ship so that it's in the same plane as the galactic plane. That way, the direction you "look" in your ship, and the direction you look in the galactic map, should be the same. It's not a major issue where you are, near a large nebula, but it can help if you're not near any other obvious landmarks.

Check to see that the answer isn't "NGC 7822". For new explorers venturing outside of the bubble for the first time, the answer to the question "what's that weird fuzzy light over there" is almost always "NGC 7822" - a nebula with a cluster of bright O-class stars in its centre, visible from a couple thousand LY away to anyone heading in a southern or western direction from the bubble.

Ask for help. Chances are, you're not the first person to ask for help in finding whatever it is that you're looking at.

Finally, be prepared for disappointment when you get there. Weird things in the sky are "tourist magnets" - everyone can see them from far away, everyone wants to know what they are, everyone wants to go there - so they, and the entire region of space around them, are likely to be already thoroughly explored.

 

[Sapporo]

Drinks for NGC 7822 thread!

drinks

 

[Cpt Shadow Wolfe]

What I do is go to the Nav panel and select every system in range and find one that is in that direction. Then go to the Gal map and see where that system is, that gives me at least an idea of what direction I need to be looking in. Doesn't work too well on the fringe where there are fewer stars, there may not be any to select in the Nav panel, so you have to reverse it by going to the Gal Map and selecting another system, then go back to the cockpit and see if that selected system is in the desired direction. A bit time consuming. Too bad we just can't select a Star in the cockpit view and then go to the Gal Map to see where that star is......