How to Navigate Around Col 70 Sector

[S.Bartfast]

Greetings Commanders.

I'm new to exploration and am just starting out on my first foray into the wide black yonder when I happened upon an impassable sector. I went for a quick jaunt out to the Horsehead Nebula, then while plotting my next move considered making a leap out to the Seagull Nebula but found all my routs were being thwarted by sector Col 70 so assume I'll need to plot a course around this sector, but I'm not exactly sure what the extent of Col 70 is.

While I've found a few brilliant visualizations of the ED Galaxy I haven't been able to find anything that show's exactly where Col 70 lies and thus how to plot a course around it. Could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Not sure on visualisations. I always used to go to +200 height or something like that and cruise over all the locked systems without much issue.

 

[Jackie Silver]

If you're on pc the map application in my signature should be helpful. It has all the sector boundaries.

(As ever, I really need to update it... keep saying I will, though the truth is that for anything except sector boundaries the other map tools are better!)

With modern jump ranges you can cross the border into witch head sector by jumping from outside right over col 70 at certain points.

 

[varonica]

Greetings Commanders.

I'm new to exploration and am just starting out on my first foray into the wide black yonder when I happened upon an impassable sector. I went for a quick jaunt out to the Horsehead Nebula, then while plotting my next move considered making a leap out to the Seagull Nebula but found all my routs were being thwarted by sector Col 70 so assume I'll need to plot a course around this sector, but I'm not exactly sure what the extent of Col 70 is.

While I've found a few brilliant visualizations of the ED Galaxy I haven't been able to find anything that show's exactly where Col 70 lies and thus how to plot a course around it. Could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

The first time I wandered out that way and found my path ahead blocked I just pointed down 50-100ly at a time until I could go the way I wanted. I had heard it was hard to get around out there but it's not really as long as you don't mind going around, people get to fixated on going through.

 

[S.Bartfast]

If you're on pc the map application in my signature should be helpful.

Wow, that is truly incredible!
I am most impressed with your work there Jackie.

Now to try and work out how to use it...

 

[Thatchinho]

Greetings Commanders.

I'm new to exploration and am just starting out on my first foray into the wide black yonder when I happened upon an impassable sector. I went for a quick jaunt out to the Horsehead Nebula, then while plotting my next move considered making a leap out to the Seagull Nebula but found all my routs were being thwarted by sector Col 70 so assume I'll need to plot a course around this sector, but I'm not exactly sure what the extent of Col 70 is.

While I've found a few brilliant visualizations of the ED Galaxy I haven't been able to find anything that show's exactly where Col 70 lies and thus how to plot a course around it. Could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

Hi Cmdr! Col 70 is basically a 1,000 ly diameter sphere. It's centred roughly on the Running Man Nebula. Col 70 systems are all Permit Locked, but there are a lot of unlocked regions within.

Which way did you go to reach the HorseHead? If you've gone past the WitchHead etc. then you've been inside Col 70 since you went from Synuefe into the WitchHead sector. If you follow your route back to the transition between the two, you'll see a thin line of Col 70 systems, which you'll have jumped past without noticing.

Anyway, assuming you did go that way, then your route out of Col 70 is to head to the right of the HorseHead (when I say right, I mean from a Bubble -> HorseHead perspective. The HorseHead Dark Region is permit locked but you should be able to find a route past it (on the right), which IIRC will take you out into another Col sector which is unlocked (Col 69, maybe).

If that all makes sense, give it a shot and see how you get on.

If not, can you post a shot of the Galmap, showing where you are?

 

[S.Bartfast]

Now to try and work out how to use it...

So, I've now spent a bit of time pouring over this tool and I think I'm starting to get the hang of things but am still a little confounded.

From what I can tell the closest star I can get to before entering the Col 70 Sector is "Barnard's Loop Sector CQ-Y D2" (730, -334, -1470). The next star, which is in Col 70, is "Col 70 Sector BK-Z D1" (710, -357, -1500), and a third star "Messier 78 Sector Wt-A C0" (700, -336, -1400) should also be near by.

If I understand your application correctly these are the locations of those three quadrants:

It appears a small section of the quadrant that contains the Barnard's Loop star is indeed inside the "Barnard's Loop Sector", the Messier 78 star appears to be in both the "Messer 78 Sector" as well as the "Barnard's Loop Sector" and the Col 70 star is in neither.

I assume the reason the Barnard's and Messier sectors overlap is because they occupy different "Z altitudes" but I don't really get how. What shape is the volume of the region in 3 dimensions, are they spheres or is it more complex than that? And what shape do the sectors make where they meat? I assume all stars belong to one and only one sector but I'm struggling to visualise how they fit together.

Also I'm not seeing any Col 70 sector at all. The large circle that is mostly cut off to the left is Col 69 but I can't find Col 70 anywhere.

I appreciate I can no doubt just travel vertically to either go over or under Col 70 but I would like to understand how to use this tool to plot around the sector as well.


Thanks,
Slarti.

 

[S.Bartfast]

Which way did you go to reach the HorseHead?

This is my first adventure out into the wide yonder and I headed straight out to the "Coal Sack" nebular.

As it is I happen to live in Australia so know the Southern Cross well and on several camping adventures out into "The Outback" (tm) I have actually observed the Coal Sack first hand so thought it would be a fitting destination for my first expedition*.

If you follow your route back to the transition between the two, you'll see a thin line of Col 70 systems, which you'll have jumped past without noticing.

Interesting. I don't believe I actually did come that way but am thinking I might as well head back that way, just for kicks. How would I identify the thin slither? Is it just a matter of clicking on each star and noticing that some belong to a different sector or is there a more direct method?

By the way, I'm not particularly wedded to the idea of making it out to the Seagull nebular itself, I'm more just curious to learn how the sectors themselves work.


Thanks,
Slarti.


* Note, although relatively large in the sky one needs exceptionally good viewing conditions to be able to see the Coalsack nebular as rather than being a regular feature of the night sky it's a region of the Milky Way that actually appears darker than it's surroundings:

 

[Thatchinho]

This is my first adventure out into the wide yonder and I headed straight out to the "Coal Sack" nebular.

As it is I happen to live in Australia so know the Southern Cross well and on several camping adventures out into "The Outback" (tm) I have actually observed the Coal Sack first hand so thought it would be a fitting destination for my first expedition*.


Interesting. I don't believe I actually did come that way but am thinking I might as well head back that way, just for kicks. How would I identify the thin slither? Is it just a matter of clicking on each star and noticing that some belong to a different sector or is there a more direct method?

By the way, I'm not particularly wedded to the idea of making it out to the Seagull nebular itself, I'm more just curious to learn how the sectors themselves work.


Thanks,
Slarti.


* Note, although relatively large in the sky one needs exceptionally good viewing conditions to be able to see the Coalsack nebular as rather than being a regular feature of the night sky it's a region of the Milky Way that actually appears darker than it's surroundings:
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/AList/coalsack.jpg

Ah, great reason to go there!

For spotting the sliver (or any other permit locked areas for that matter), there aren't any markings or ways to highlight it, so you just need to look at the system names for changes in the sector. If you navigate to the WitchHead nebula in the Galmap and follow a line from there to the bubble, you'll see the name of the systems change from 'Witchhead Sector....' to 'Synuefe....'. Where that change happens you should also be able to spot some Col 70 Sector systems between the Witchhead and Synuefe systems. It should only be about one Col 70 Sector system thick at that point.

For comparison, if you go to Col 70 Sector FY-N C21-3 in the Galmap, and look forwards and back from there, you'll see that what's effectively the outer wall of the Col 70 Sector is about 200 ly thick at that point.

Anyway, similarly, you should be able to follow the shape of the Col 70 sector round from where you are to see where you can get out and head to the Seagull Nebula if you still want to progress that way.

There's an asteroid base in both the Orion Nebula and Witchhead Nebula, which are worth calling in at if you decide to head further into Col 70 at some point!

 

[Jackie Silver]

I assume the reason the Barnard's and Messier sectors overlap is because they occupy different "Z altitudes" but I don't really get how. What shape is the volume of the region in 3 dimensions, are they spheres or is it more complex than that? And what shape do the sectors make where they meat? I assume all stars belong to one and only one sector but I'm struggling to visualise how they fit together.

Also I'm not seeing any Col 70 sector at all. The large circle that is mostly cut off to the left is Col 69 but I can't find Col 70 anywhere.

The "real" sectors - like Col 70 - are all spheres, but if these overlap the smaller one takes precedence, so the effect is that you have a sphere with a spherical hole cut out of it. Or in the case of the area around Barnard's loop, a sphere with a lot of overlapping holes inside it.

That's a zoomed out view of Col 70 with other sectors inside it at Z=-373

If you click the "fills" box it should fill in sectors that you can't visit with red so you get something like this:

I think I need to make a better user guide when I finally get round to uploading the next version. *blushes*

 

[S.Bartfast]

The "real" sectors - like Col 70 - are all spheres however, if these overlap the smaller one takes precedence, so the effect is that you have a sphere with a spherical hole cut out of it. Or in the case of the area around Barnard's loop, a sphere with a lot of overlapping holes inside it.

Arr, interesting!

So, I take it the Witch Head Sector is accessible but is completely encompassed by the off limits Col 70 Sector, however if you have sufficient jump range you can leap the forbidden zone in a single bound and enter the sector from the NNW –which is the "Thin Line" Thatchinho mentioned:

Alternatively, if for some reason you weren't able to make such a jump you could climb to Z: -357 and potentially find a route in from the south:

As for the mess that is the Orion Sector I take it it is an accessible sector that is completely encompassed by the in accessible Horsehead sector, which intern is completely encompassed by the inaccessible Col 70 (kind of like Vulcan Point Island in the Philippians ). However an access into Col 70 can be made via Col 69. Then, although Col 69 does not have access to the Horsehead Sector access can be gained via the Trapezium?? Sector. No wonder I was having trouble visualising what was going on!

I think I need to make a better user guide when I finally get round to uploading the next version. *blushes*

Arr, documentation. Forever the code monkeys second choice
If every you do get around to it I may well be able to help you with the docs

 

[S.Bartfast]

Hmm, just noticed the "Cone Sector" (containing the Cone Nebula) a little to the south and above Col 70.
It seems to be completely engulfed by the inaccesable NGC 2264 Sector at all heights.

Is there any way to access it?

 

[S.Bartfast]

Is there any way to access it?

Seems not: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/279488-Cone-Nebula-Explorers