A suitable Forward Base system has been located just under 750 LY from the Praei6 border. This system has an Earth-like World in a binary configuration with a terraformable high metal content world and there are two other terraformable planets and a non-terraformable water world with a landable moon, so plenty of potential for future development. The stellar density in the region is comparable to the bubble, nevertheless the closest 'green' system is less than 10 LY away and there is also an Ammonia World even closer than that. There are two more green systems within ~25 LY and a couple more that were recorded further afield. Several worlds with surface conditions compatible with organics have been noted but not yet investigated. A recent software update has, probably temporarily, cleared a graphical glitch so this is something I can now more readily attempt on my laptop before proceeding to survey the border.
[Journal] The Aronnax Expedition
- Thread starter Edelgard von Rhein
- Start date
The survey of the Praei border has scarcely begun but I thought it worthwhile to share this early highlight now rather than wait until the survey has been completed. Thuechu FW-C d90 AB 5a is a terraformable water world moon that has a landable moon of its own in an extremely close orbit - the orbital period is just 0.2 days.
I hoped to get a great view of the moon from its satellite and maybe to find some volcanism - AB 5aa also has surface conditions compatible with organics. What I found instead was the following view:
This was the view from inside a crater that I landed in but sadly I was so distracted by the view of the moon on approach, with many mist-filled craters and the details of the surface blurred by a finer mist elsewhere, that I did not record the co-ordinates. A similar view would have been seen anywhere, though - this crater was not unique. It was a very eerie experience and I took a SRV out for a short drive and located a group of metallic meteorites, although I have no particular need for the materials this moon offers (Tellurium and Tungsten were present in abundance). There was no chance of visually locating any organics in these conditions and nothing had shown up on my scanners on approach, so I left after taking some images.
.
The AB 5b moon is also a water world but is not a candidate for terraforming. It has thick polar caps and many stormclouds, in contrast to the thin but warm atmosphere of AB 5a. There is also a water giant in the system and one moon of AB 1 also has conditions compatible with organics. It is an interesting place that I might consider submitting to the Galactic Mapping Project.
.
The AB 5b moon is also a water world but is not a candidate for terraforming. It has thick polar caps and many stormclouds, in contrast to the thin but warm atmosphere of AB 5a. There is also a water giant in the system and one moon of AB 1 also has conditions compatible with organics. It is an interesting place that I might consider submitting to the Galactic Mapping Project.
Last edited:
Praei border report
No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in Praei gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. The closest I was able to any of the six Praei regions was 2.12 LY, which is the distance from Truechoae LH-L b37-0 to Praei5 QL-C b1-1.
.
A handful of planetary landings were made but no blue circles were observed. Numerous worlds with conditions compatible with organic structures were found, so the potential for future discoveries remains.
.
A suitable Forward Base location was found at Smootiae AK-I d9-212, where planet A3 is an Earth-like World that is in a binary configuration with a terraformable high metal content world. This system is 748.71 LY from the nearest Praei sector system that I could determine, being Praei6 AE-F b9. The closest 'green' system to this is Smootiae DF-P c19-56, 9.48 LY away and there are three more within about 50 LY, and two more over 100 LY away that were found whilst looking for a suitable forward base. There is an Ammonia World 8.99 LY away from the Forward Base system, Smootiae DF-P c19-11 A7.
.
A large icy landable was found, Smootiae HN-O b47-0 B 1, that has a radius of 19,861 km and an orbital period of 1.8 days around its L dwarf parent. Nine worlds were found with conditions compatible with organic structures, six of which are in Smootiae WD-K d8-57. One large ring system was found, the icy C ring of Smootiae SB-L b35-11 A 10 having a width greater than 3 million km.
.
The closest Neutron Star to the Forward Base is Smootiae MI-B d13-159, which lies several hundred LY in broadly the direction of Praei3. There are two more Neutron Stars several hundred LY closer to the Praei3 border that are also not far from Praei6, Truechoae RS-U d2-210 and Truechoae MM-W d1-146. Together these facilitate fast travel both towards and away from the border. Truechoae RS-U d2-210 is particularly useful, as it is also a 'green' system.
.
The combined size of the borders of the six Praei regions is so vast that, as at Bleia, the survey can barely be considered to have scratched the surface. Three separate regions along the border were surveyed and Earth-like, Ammonia World and 'green' systems were found at each, although in one instance the Earth-like World was found to bear a first discovery tag. Several different Commander tags were seen; previous surveys have visited the border to chart its extent, as the existing entry in the Galactic Mapping Project demonstrates. The Praei6 border was visited first, as this is closest to the Forward Base, then Praei3 and Praei5.
.
Whilst the Ammonia Worlds ultimately formed the main highlights of the border survey, there was plenty of competition for outstanding scenery. A very interesting system was found early on and has been mentioned in my previous post: Thuechu FW-C d90. A terraformable water world moon with a landable moon in a very close orbit is an arrangement I do not remember encountering before and which produced some stunning and eerie images from the surface of the AB5aa moon as it was in eclipse. This moon also has surface conditions compatible with organics, although I did not see any ejecta craters. One other moon in the system, which is also a 'green' system, also has conditions suitable for organic structures and the AB5b moon is also a water world. Another rare and scenic orbital arrangement was found in Truechoae HD-J d9-29 which hosts three Helium-Rich Gas Giants, only the second time these rare planets have been encountered during the expedition (the first was about 1 KLY Sol-ward of the Soul Nebula and there were three in that system as well). In this system, the innermost planet is a Helium-Rich Gas Giant with a ring system and a water world in a very close but also highly-inclined orbit, providing a splendid view of the rings.
.
Another surprise was found in Thuechu PJ-T c6-55, where planet 2 is a large landable - but this is a rocky ice world! With a radius of 18,745 km it is one of the largest rocky ice worlds so far discovered. A handful of icy landables were later found near the Praei5 border in particular but another large-ish ringed rocky ice landable was found in Truechoae HD-J d9-50, where planet 4 has a radius of 14,414 km. In contrast, a very small world was found in Truechoae GI-J d9-20, where the metal-rich moon 1a has a radius of only 188 km. This moon was reported to have silicate vapour geysers by the detailed surface scanner but a handful of shallow glides and some time in normal flight failed to reveal any blue circle POIs.
.
Three Earth-like Worlds were found near the borders of Praei: Thuechu NY-U c5-11 2 was found less than 35 LY from Praei6, Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 was found less than 20 LY from Praei3 and Truechoae HX-K d8-4 2 is close to the Praei5 border, although this last Earth-like World was previously discovered. Thuechu NY-U c5-11 2 is very warm with a thick atmosphere whilst Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 is also warm but with an atmospheric pressure slightly below Earth standard. Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 was observed to have an Earth-like proportion of land mass to ocean and one continent had an extensive mountain range with many tall snow-capped peaks.
.
Of the seven Ammonia Worlds found, two were in Truechoae ID-J d9-3. Planet A7 in this system is an Ammonia World with no atmosphere but two rings and six landable moons, whereas planet B1 is an Ammonia World with a thin atmosphere but neither rings nor moons. This system is only 3.69 LY from Praei5 UD-A c1-13. Interesting as this was, the outstanding Ammonia World was Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6a, for several reasons: it is an Ammonia World moon (the third encountered during the expedition) and a moon of a water world, mirroring the worlds Chione (Earth-like moon) and Daedalion (large water world) in the Prism system; there are five worlds with surface conditions compatible with organics and the system in not only 'green', it is 'gold' with all elements available from surface mining and there are also all minable material types with two metallic asteroid belts and metal-rich, rocky and icy rings. Of the other Ammonia Worlds, Truechoae ZU-P d5-9 10 has a rocky ring system, Truechoae ZE-R d4-88 4 is in a trinary configuration with two high metal content worlds and Truechoae HD-J d9-48 6 is a behemoth with almost 180 Earth masses. In Truechoae HD-J d9-48 there are also two large ring systems: planet 2 has a rocky C ring that is more than 1.6 million km wide which is faint but clearly visible and planet 5 has an icy B ring that is more than 17.5 million km wide that is not visible, although it has a gas giant with Ammonia-based life with moons of its own orbiting outside of this range, which helps to warn you that you are getting close.
.
Several large ring systems were found but with the exception of Truechoae HD-J d9-48 2 all were invisible upon approach. The largest ring system found was the metal-rich C ring of Truechoae HD-J d9-4 7 with a width greater than 29 million km. In Truechoae QG-S c18-14 planet A5 has an icy ring almost 4.5 million km wide, sadly invisible, and also the A5b moon is in an inclined orbit and has an unusually low mass ring system of its own, with a single icy ring with a mass of just 32.7 MT. One very narrow ring system was observed: Thuechu SO-X d2-132 2 has a single ring, which is 1,799 km wide, and this system is also notable for having six worlds with conditions compatible with organics.
.
Three landable worlds that are candidates for terraforming were found, all of which have surface conditions compatible with organics. In total, 12 'green' systems were recorded in the border region but there were many crowded systems found after locating these that were not fully investigated, so more green and even gold systems almost certainly are yet be found here.
.
A handful of other scenic or unusual worlds were found, sometimes both at once, and of these the highlight was Truechoae HD-J d9-2 A 6, which is an unusually massive ringed water world with four moons, one of which has a moon of its own. This planet is over 109 times as massive as Earth, with a radius of 22,202 km and surface gravity of 9.02g.
.
Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Smootiae AK-I d9-212 A 3 (748.71 LY from Praei6 AE-F b9)
.
Ammonia World (8.99 LY from Forward Base system): Smootiae DF-P c19-11 A 7
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Smootiae SX-L d7-56 (167.45): A1 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%); A2 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.5%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%)
Smootiae WD-K d8-57 (113.77): 1a (Nb 1.3%, V 4.7%); 1e (Cd 1.6%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.8%); 1f (Po 0.5%); 2b (Po 0.5%, Ge 5.9%); 2d (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.7%)
Smootiae AK-I d9-211 (50.85): A1 (As 2.1%); A2 (Po 0.6%, V 5.4%); A6 (Y 1.4%, Ge 4.8%, Nb 1.6%); A7 (Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%); B1 (Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.6%); B2 (Po 0.7%, Cd 1.8%)
Smootiae EA-P c19-50 (25.31): A1a (Po 0.5%, As 2.6%); A1c (Y 1.2%, Ge 5.9%); A1d (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, V 4.9%); A2a (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.8%)
Smootiae EA-P c19-59 (24.44): AB2a (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.5%); AB3a (Po 0.5%, As 2.5%, Ge 5.7%); AB4a (Y 1.2%, As 2.5%)
Smootiae DF-P c19-56 (9.48): 7a (Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, V 4.8%); 7b (Nb 1.4%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.6%); 9e (Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.6%); 9g (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.6%); 10a (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
.
Neutron Star systems
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Thuechu NY-U c5-11 2 (34.06 LY from Praei6 EP-E b7)
Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 (19.14 LY from Praei3 UY-Z d116)
Truechoae HX-K d8-4 2 (previously discovered)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Thuechu RE-T c6-19 A 4
Truechoae ZE-R d4-88 4
Truechoae ZU-P d5-9 10
Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6 a
Truechoae ID-J d9-3 A 7
Truechoae ID-J d9-3 B 1
Truechoae HD-J d9-48 6
.
Gold system: Truechoae DC-L d8-5: 3a (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 3c (As 2.5%, Ge 5.6%); 5c (Y 1.2%, As 2.5%, V 4.9%); 7ba (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.9%, Ge 5.9%); 8b (Po 0.5%)
.
Green systems:
Thuechu FW-C d90: A1 (Y 2.1%, Cd 2.1%, V 8.5%); A2 (Po 0.6%, As 2.1%); AB 1a (Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%); B2 (Y 2.2%, Ge 1.7%, V 9.1%); B3 (Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.6%)
Thuechu SO-X d2-132: 2 (Cd 1.3%, As 2.0%); 3b (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%, V 4.9%); 3e (Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.5%); 4b (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 7d (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.4%)
Thuechu PJ-T c6-14: 1e (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, V 4.6%); 1f (Nb 1.4%, Cd 1.6%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.9%); 3a (Y 1.0%, Cd 1.3%)
Thuechu PJ-T c6-1: A1b (Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%, Ge 3.5%); A1d (Cd 1.0%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.6%); A2b (Y 0.7%, Nb 0.8%, Ge 3.5%); A2c (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%, Ge 3.5%); A3b (Po 0.3%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%)
Thuechu TO-X d2-144: A1 (Po 1.0%, Cd 2.6%, V 8.1%); BC1 (Nb 1.5%, V 5.4%); BC2 (Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.5%); ABC 1c (As 2.5%); ABC 1d (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.8%)
Thuechu TO-X d2-154: 3a (As 2.5%, V 4.8%); 3b (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%); 3c (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%); 3d (Y 1.2%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.9%)
Truechoae RS-U d2-210: 2c (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, V 5.4%); 4a (Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 4b (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%, V 5.0%); 4d (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.6%); 4f (Cd 1.5%, As 2.6%, V 4.9%)
Truechoae XO-I c9-5: 1a (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%); 1c (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.6%, As 2.7%, V 5.2%); 1da (Cd 1.4%, Ge 5.8%)
Truechoae XO-I c9-6: A1 (Nb 2.2%, Cd 2.5%, V 8.1%); A6 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.5%, As 2.1%); B2 (Y 1.3%, V 5.5%); B7 (Nb 1.4%, Ge 4.5%)
Truechoae QF-U c17-4: A2 (As 2.2%, Ge 5.0%, V 5.9%); A5a (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.4%); A7 (Y 1.3%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%); A8 (Y 1.4%, Cd 1.9%, As 2.3%)
Truechoae JE-W c16-14: A1 (Po 0.7%, Cd 1.9%, As 2.3%, Ge 5.2%); A4 (Nb 1.5%, V 5.4%); A7 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.4%, V 5.2%)
Truechoae DC-L d8-43: A1 (high-g)(Y 1.3%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%); A2 (high-g)(Po 0.7%, Nb 1.7%, Cd 1.9%, As 2.3%, V 6.1%); A2a (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%); A2b (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%)
.
Landable candidates for terraforming:
Thuechu PJ-T c6-18 2 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%)
Truechoae ZE-R d4-231 4
Truechoae RM-Q c19-5 1
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
.
The Praei borders turned out to be a region of great natural beauty and I was spoilt for choice when selecting images for the Gallery. The region seems to have an abundance of everything and several regions close to the borders were surveyed and Earth-like Worlds, Ammonia Worlds and systems with plentiful resources were found near each, whilst several neutron stars facilitate travel between the Forward Base system and the border.
.
Credit must go to the Commanders who previously charted the extent of the Praei borders. They are indeed vast, with six separate permit-locked zones each being 1 KLY across. The tiny proportion of the border my visit surveyed seems insignificant but by finding a range of outdoor worlds and systems with plentiful resources, I hope that I have laid a strong foundation for future visitors.
.
Next comes the longest journey of the expedition: the 40 KLY stretch to Dryman. I shall be passing through some of the least-visited parts of the galaxy on the way there, so I may stop and explore them locally. I do not want to rush there - I did that getting to Bleia and burned out for almost a week. I would rather take longer and do some exploring on the way. As such, I do not expect to arrive there until January 3304. Although I have now completed 7 of the 10 surveys, with the distance still to travel I certainly do not consider the expedition to be in its closing stages, yet.
.
Terraformable water world moon with a close-orbiting landable moon: Thuechu FW-C d90 AB 5 a
Large ring system: Truechoae HD-J d9-4 7 C ring inner radius = 1,211,406 km outer radius = 30,395,848 km
Low mass ring system: Truechoae QG-S c18-14 A 5 b A ring mass = 32.7 MT
Large rocky ice landable: Thuechu PJ-T c6-55 2 radius = 18,745 km
Small metal-rich landable: Truechoae GI-J d9-20 1 a radius = 188 km
Ammonia World moon of a Water World: Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6 a
System with two Ammonia Worlds: Truechoae ID-J d9-3 (planets A 7 and B 1)
Water World moon in a highly-inclined close orbit of ringed helium-rich gas giant: Truechoae HD-J d9-29 1 a
.
Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6 a Ammonia World moon with its parent water world in the background.
Truechoae DC-L d8-5 3 gas giant crescent with its 3a moon orbiting close to the rings also in a crescent phase.
Thuechu NY-U c5-11 2 Earth-like World crescent against the Galactic Plane.
Truechoae DC-L d8-48 3 ringed terraformable water world with its ringed gas giant co-orbital companion.
Truechoae ID-J d9-3 A 7 airless ringed Ammonia World, in crescent phase from outside the ring plane.
Truechoae XO-I c9-39 4 close-up view of the swirling clouds of a blue-white class I gas giant.
Truechoae HD-J d9-29 1 a water world moon in a close, highly-inclined orbit of a ringed Helium-rich Gas Giant.
The Pierre Aronnax making a close flyby of a high mountain range on the Earth-like World Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9.
Praei Border report
.Key Findings
.No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in Praei gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. The closest I was able to any of the six Praei regions was 2.12 LY, which is the distance from Truechoae LH-L b37-0 to Praei5 QL-C b1-1.
.
A handful of planetary landings were made but no blue circles were observed. Numerous worlds with conditions compatible with organic structures were found, so the potential for future discoveries remains.
.
Forward Base
.A suitable Forward Base location was found at Smootiae AK-I d9-212, where planet A3 is an Earth-like World that is in a binary configuration with a terraformable high metal content world. This system is 748.71 LY from the nearest Praei sector system that I could determine, being Praei6 AE-F b9. The closest 'green' system to this is Smootiae DF-P c19-56, 9.48 LY away and there are three more within about 50 LY, and two more over 100 LY away that were found whilst looking for a suitable forward base. There is an Ammonia World 8.99 LY away from the Forward Base system, Smootiae DF-P c19-11 A7.
.
A large icy landable was found, Smootiae HN-O b47-0 B 1, that has a radius of 19,861 km and an orbital period of 1.8 days around its L dwarf parent. Nine worlds were found with conditions compatible with organic structures, six of which are in Smootiae WD-K d8-57. One large ring system was found, the icy C ring of Smootiae SB-L b35-11 A 10 having a width greater than 3 million km.
.
The closest Neutron Star to the Forward Base is Smootiae MI-B d13-159, which lies several hundred LY in broadly the direction of Praei3. There are two more Neutron Stars several hundred LY closer to the Praei3 border that are also not far from Praei6, Truechoae RS-U d2-210 and Truechoae MM-W d1-146. Together these facilitate fast travel both towards and away from the border. Truechoae RS-U d2-210 is particularly useful, as it is also a 'green' system.
.
Border Zone
.The combined size of the borders of the six Praei regions is so vast that, as at Bleia, the survey can barely be considered to have scratched the surface. Three separate regions along the border were surveyed and Earth-like, Ammonia World and 'green' systems were found at each, although in one instance the Earth-like World was found to bear a first discovery tag. Several different Commander tags were seen; previous surveys have visited the border to chart its extent, as the existing entry in the Galactic Mapping Project demonstrates. The Praei6 border was visited first, as this is closest to the Forward Base, then Praei3 and Praei5.
.
Whilst the Ammonia Worlds ultimately formed the main highlights of the border survey, there was plenty of competition for outstanding scenery. A very interesting system was found early on and has been mentioned in my previous post: Thuechu FW-C d90. A terraformable water world moon with a landable moon in a very close orbit is an arrangement I do not remember encountering before and which produced some stunning and eerie images from the surface of the AB5aa moon as it was in eclipse. This moon also has surface conditions compatible with organics, although I did not see any ejecta craters. One other moon in the system, which is also a 'green' system, also has conditions suitable for organic structures and the AB5b moon is also a water world. Another rare and scenic orbital arrangement was found in Truechoae HD-J d9-29 which hosts three Helium-Rich Gas Giants, only the second time these rare planets have been encountered during the expedition (the first was about 1 KLY Sol-ward of the Soul Nebula and there were three in that system as well). In this system, the innermost planet is a Helium-Rich Gas Giant with a ring system and a water world in a very close but also highly-inclined orbit, providing a splendid view of the rings.
.
Another surprise was found in Thuechu PJ-T c6-55, where planet 2 is a large landable - but this is a rocky ice world! With a radius of 18,745 km it is one of the largest rocky ice worlds so far discovered. A handful of icy landables were later found near the Praei5 border in particular but another large-ish ringed rocky ice landable was found in Truechoae HD-J d9-50, where planet 4 has a radius of 14,414 km. In contrast, a very small world was found in Truechoae GI-J d9-20, where the metal-rich moon 1a has a radius of only 188 km. This moon was reported to have silicate vapour geysers by the detailed surface scanner but a handful of shallow glides and some time in normal flight failed to reveal any blue circle POIs.
.
Three Earth-like Worlds were found near the borders of Praei: Thuechu NY-U c5-11 2 was found less than 35 LY from Praei6, Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 was found less than 20 LY from Praei3 and Truechoae HX-K d8-4 2 is close to the Praei5 border, although this last Earth-like World was previously discovered. Thuechu NY-U c5-11 2 is very warm with a thick atmosphere whilst Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 is also warm but with an atmospheric pressure slightly below Earth standard. Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 was observed to have an Earth-like proportion of land mass to ocean and one continent had an extensive mountain range with many tall snow-capped peaks.
.
Of the seven Ammonia Worlds found, two were in Truechoae ID-J d9-3. Planet A7 in this system is an Ammonia World with no atmosphere but two rings and six landable moons, whereas planet B1 is an Ammonia World with a thin atmosphere but neither rings nor moons. This system is only 3.69 LY from Praei5 UD-A c1-13. Interesting as this was, the outstanding Ammonia World was Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6a, for several reasons: it is an Ammonia World moon (the third encountered during the expedition) and a moon of a water world, mirroring the worlds Chione (Earth-like moon) and Daedalion (large water world) in the Prism system; there are five worlds with surface conditions compatible with organics and the system in not only 'green', it is 'gold' with all elements available from surface mining and there are also all minable material types with two metallic asteroid belts and metal-rich, rocky and icy rings. Of the other Ammonia Worlds, Truechoae ZU-P d5-9 10 has a rocky ring system, Truechoae ZE-R d4-88 4 is in a trinary configuration with two high metal content worlds and Truechoae HD-J d9-48 6 is a behemoth with almost 180 Earth masses. In Truechoae HD-J d9-48 there are also two large ring systems: planet 2 has a rocky C ring that is more than 1.6 million km wide which is faint but clearly visible and planet 5 has an icy B ring that is more than 17.5 million km wide that is not visible, although it has a gas giant with Ammonia-based life with moons of its own orbiting outside of this range, which helps to warn you that you are getting close.
.
Several large ring systems were found but with the exception of Truechoae HD-J d9-48 2 all were invisible upon approach. The largest ring system found was the metal-rich C ring of Truechoae HD-J d9-4 7 with a width greater than 29 million km. In Truechoae QG-S c18-14 planet A5 has an icy ring almost 4.5 million km wide, sadly invisible, and also the A5b moon is in an inclined orbit and has an unusually low mass ring system of its own, with a single icy ring with a mass of just 32.7 MT. One very narrow ring system was observed: Thuechu SO-X d2-132 2 has a single ring, which is 1,799 km wide, and this system is also notable for having six worlds with conditions compatible with organics.
.
Three landable worlds that are candidates for terraforming were found, all of which have surface conditions compatible with organics. In total, 12 'green' systems were recorded in the border region but there were many crowded systems found after locating these that were not fully investigated, so more green and even gold systems almost certainly are yet be found here.
.
A handful of other scenic or unusual worlds were found, sometimes both at once, and of these the highlight was Truechoae HD-J d9-2 A 6, which is an unusually massive ringed water world with four moons, one of which has a moon of its own. This planet is over 109 times as massive as Earth, with a radius of 22,202 km and surface gravity of 9.02g.
.
Summary
.Forward Base
.Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Smootiae AK-I d9-212 A 3 (748.71 LY from Praei6 AE-F b9)
.
Ammonia World (8.99 LY from Forward Base system): Smootiae DF-P c19-11 A 7
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Smootiae SX-L d7-56 (167.45): A1 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%); A2 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.5%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%)
Smootiae WD-K d8-57 (113.77): 1a (Nb 1.3%, V 4.7%); 1e (Cd 1.6%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.8%); 1f (Po 0.5%); 2b (Po 0.5%, Ge 5.9%); 2d (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.7%)
Smootiae AK-I d9-211 (50.85): A1 (As 2.1%); A2 (Po 0.6%, V 5.4%); A6 (Y 1.4%, Ge 4.8%, Nb 1.6%); A7 (Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%); B1 (Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.6%); B2 (Po 0.7%, Cd 1.8%)
Smootiae EA-P c19-50 (25.31): A1a (Po 0.5%, As 2.6%); A1c (Y 1.2%, Ge 5.9%); A1d (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, V 4.9%); A2a (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.8%)
Smootiae EA-P c19-59 (24.44): AB2a (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.5%); AB3a (Po 0.5%, As 2.5%, Ge 5.7%); AB4a (Y 1.2%, As 2.5%)
Smootiae DF-P c19-56 (9.48): 7a (Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, V 4.8%); 7b (Nb 1.4%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.6%); 9e (Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.6%); 9g (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.6%); 10a (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Smootiae WD-K d8-57 1b, 1c, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f
Smootiae AK-I d9-126 3
Smootiae DF-P c19-56 3, 10a
Smootiae AK-I d9-126 3
Smootiae DF-P c19-56 3, 10a
Neutron Star systems
Smootiae MI-B d13-159
Truechoae RS-U d2-210
Truechoae MM-W d1-146
Truechoae RS-U d2-210
Truechoae MM-W d1-146
Border
.Earth-like Worlds:
Thuechu NY-U c5-11 2 (34.06 LY from Praei6 EP-E b7)
Truechoae ZE-R d4-228 9 (19.14 LY from Praei3 UY-Z d116)
Truechoae HX-K d8-4 2 (previously discovered)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Thuechu RE-T c6-19 A 4
Truechoae ZE-R d4-88 4
Truechoae ZU-P d5-9 10
Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6 a
Truechoae ID-J d9-3 A 7
Truechoae ID-J d9-3 B 1
Truechoae HD-J d9-48 6
.
Gold system: Truechoae DC-L d8-5: 3a (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 3c (As 2.5%, Ge 5.6%); 5c (Y 1.2%, As 2.5%, V 4.9%); 7ba (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.9%, Ge 5.9%); 8b (Po 0.5%)
.
Green systems:
Thuechu FW-C d90: A1 (Y 2.1%, Cd 2.1%, V 8.5%); A2 (Po 0.6%, As 2.1%); AB 1a (Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%); B2 (Y 2.2%, Ge 1.7%, V 9.1%); B3 (Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.6%)
Thuechu SO-X d2-132: 2 (Cd 1.3%, As 2.0%); 3b (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%, V 4.9%); 3e (Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.5%); 4b (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 7d (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.4%)
Thuechu PJ-T c6-14: 1e (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, V 4.6%); 1f (Nb 1.4%, Cd 1.6%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.9%); 3a (Y 1.0%, Cd 1.3%)
Thuechu PJ-T c6-1: A1b (Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%, Ge 3.5%); A1d (Cd 1.0%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.6%); A2b (Y 0.7%, Nb 0.8%, Ge 3.5%); A2c (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%, Ge 3.5%); A3b (Po 0.3%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%)
Thuechu TO-X d2-144: A1 (Po 1.0%, Cd 2.6%, V 8.1%); BC1 (Nb 1.5%, V 5.4%); BC2 (Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.5%); ABC 1c (As 2.5%); ABC 1d (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.8%)
Thuechu TO-X d2-154: 3a (As 2.5%, V 4.8%); 3b (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%); 3c (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%); 3d (Y 1.2%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.9%)
Truechoae RS-U d2-210: 2c (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, V 5.4%); 4a (Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 4b (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%, V 5.0%); 4d (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.6%); 4f (Cd 1.5%, As 2.6%, V 4.9%)
Truechoae XO-I c9-5: 1a (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%); 1c (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.6%, As 2.7%, V 5.2%); 1da (Cd 1.4%, Ge 5.8%)
Truechoae XO-I c9-6: A1 (Nb 2.2%, Cd 2.5%, V 8.1%); A6 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.5%, As 2.1%); B2 (Y 1.3%, V 5.5%); B7 (Nb 1.4%, Ge 4.5%)
Truechoae QF-U c17-4: A2 (As 2.2%, Ge 5.0%, V 5.9%); A5a (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.4%); A7 (Y 1.3%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%); A8 (Y 1.4%, Cd 1.9%, As 2.3%)
Truechoae JE-W c16-14: A1 (Po 0.7%, Cd 1.9%, As 2.3%, Ge 5.2%); A4 (Nb 1.5%, V 5.4%); A7 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.4%, V 5.2%)
Truechoae DC-L d8-43: A1 (high-g)(Y 1.3%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%); A2 (high-g)(Po 0.7%, Nb 1.7%, Cd 1.9%, As 2.3%, V 6.1%); A2a (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%); A2b (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%)
.
Landable candidates for terraforming:
Thuechu PJ-T c6-18 2 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%)
Truechoae ZE-R d4-231 4
Truechoae RM-Q c19-5 1
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Thuechu FW-C d90 AB 1a, AB 5aa
Thuechu SO-X d2-132 3c, 3d, 4c, 4d, 6a, 7a
Thuechu PJ-T c6-18 2
Truechoae RS-U d2-210 2a, 2ca
Truechoae ZE-R d4-231 4
Truechoae XO-I c9-29 1a
Truechoae XO-I c9-5 1a, 1da
Truechoae WO-I c9-33 1a
Truechoae ZU-P d5-9 3a, 4a
Truechoae DC-L d8-48 2a
Truechoae DC-L d8-5 4, 5a, 7a, 7ba, 7da
Truechoae ID-J d9-3 A3
Truechoae RM-Q c19-5 1
Thuechu SO-X d2-132 3c, 3d, 4c, 4d, 6a, 7a
Thuechu PJ-T c6-18 2
Truechoae RS-U d2-210 2a, 2ca
Truechoae ZE-R d4-231 4
Truechoae XO-I c9-29 1a
Truechoae XO-I c9-5 1a, 1da
Truechoae WO-I c9-33 1a
Truechoae ZU-P d5-9 3a, 4a
Truechoae DC-L d8-48 2a
Truechoae DC-L d8-5 4, 5a, 7a, 7ba, 7da
Truechoae ID-J d9-3 A3
Truechoae RM-Q c19-5 1
General Comments
.The Praei borders turned out to be a region of great natural beauty and I was spoilt for choice when selecting images for the Gallery. The region seems to have an abundance of everything and several regions close to the borders were surveyed and Earth-like Worlds, Ammonia Worlds and systems with plentiful resources were found near each, whilst several neutron stars facilitate travel between the Forward Base system and the border.
.
Credit must go to the Commanders who previously charted the extent of the Praei borders. They are indeed vast, with six separate permit-locked zones each being 1 KLY across. The tiny proportion of the border my visit surveyed seems insignificant but by finding a range of outdoor worlds and systems with plentiful resources, I hope that I have laid a strong foundation for future visitors.
.
Next comes the longest journey of the expedition: the 40 KLY stretch to Dryman. I shall be passing through some of the least-visited parts of the galaxy on the way there, so I may stop and explore them locally. I do not want to rush there - I did that getting to Bleia and burned out for almost a week. I would rather take longer and do some exploring on the way. As such, I do not expect to arrive there until January 3304. Although I have now completed 7 of the 10 surveys, with the distance still to travel I certainly do not consider the expedition to be in its closing stages, yet.
.
Minor Points of Interest
.Terraformable water world moon with a close-orbiting landable moon: Thuechu FW-C d90 AB 5 a
Large ring system: Truechoae HD-J d9-4 7 C ring inner radius = 1,211,406 km outer radius = 30,395,848 km
Low mass ring system: Truechoae QG-S c18-14 A 5 b A ring mass = 32.7 MT
Large rocky ice landable: Thuechu PJ-T c6-55 2 radius = 18,745 km
Small metal-rich landable: Truechoae GI-J d9-20 1 a radius = 188 km
Ammonia World moon of a Water World: Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6 a
System with two Ammonia Worlds: Truechoae ID-J d9-3 (planets A 7 and B 1)
Water World moon in a highly-inclined close orbit of ringed helium-rich gas giant: Truechoae HD-J d9-29 1 a
.
Gallery
.Truechoae DC-L d8-5 6 a Ammonia World moon with its parent water world in the background.
Last edited:
The Journey to Dryman, part 1
The journey to distant Dryman is progressing well, with approximately a third of the est. 40KLY distance covered. There has been one brief scare: upon jumping into the quintuple star system Pro Auwsy VO-Z d13-26, the Pierre Aronnax arrived very close to the exclusion zone of the secondary red dwarf star. I pulled away but, with the heat rising rapidly past 100%, the FSD struggling against the gravity well of both the M dwarf secondary and the very close G type primary and with modules taking damage, I decided to use a heat sink to prevent excessive damage. As a result, the total module damage was minimal. Planet ABC 1 in this system is a terraformable water world with a landable moon, so I dropped out of supercruise close to the moon and set my AFMU to work repairing all the damaged modules before continuing on my way at full strength once more.
.
During this part of the journey I have paid a brief visit to Derthek's Folly (Drooteou PW-I a36-4), located on the exact opposite side of the Milky Way to Sol, and have crossed the route that the Distant Worlds Expedition took between waypoints 18 and 19 (The Greeroi Veil and Rendezvous Point). Now I am proceeding into the less-charted parts of the Eurus region. There have been a number of visual highlights and one of scientific interest discovered in this phase of the journey and I am glad that I have not been rushing too much and have taken the time to do some scanning and orbital flybys of these worlds, which has included four Ammonia Worlds and two Earth-like Worlds.
.
The scientific highlight is undoubtedly Preae Auwsy DJ-P c19-4 1, which is possibly the least massive and smallest terraformable high metal content world known, with mass = 0.0659 Earth masses and a radius of 2,582 km. This beats the previous record holder on the Universal Cartographics website but that has not been updated for a while, so something might have surpassed that since, however I have not seen records pertaining specifically to terraformable worlds on Elite Galaxy Online or EDSM. A defining characteristic for terraformability seems to be that the surface gravity must be at least 0.40g, as it is here, which means that the world's composition is the key to being a record-breaker: this planet has a very high 36.1% metal. The other high metal content worlds in this system are 33.3% metal, so this world seems to have formed close to the region where metal-rich worlds are normally found. The world has some mountain ranges but its dark brown surface shows no sign of impact craters, probably due to erosion as it has no volcanism but an atmosphere of 3.89 bars entirely composed of water vapour, and there are many swirling clouds and storm systems. Who knows if anyone will ever live here though... .
.
Two Ammonia Worlds were found in Oumbants PV-P b5-0: planets A4 and A5. They are not in a binary configuration but they both have the same surface temperature of 234 K, despite having different atmospheric pressures and composition. A case for Panspermia perhaps, with life creating the environment it is best suited to, or maybe convergent evolution?
.
The scenic highlights of this part of the journey relate to several ring systems, either with moons in highly-inclined orbits or simply with spectacular settings against the Milky Way. Plaa Briae SS-V b43-7 1 a is the solitary icy moon of a ringed Ammonia World and it is in a nearly polar orbit, with an inclination of -83.96 degrees. Another ringed Ammonia World was found, Hypumaea OD-I c23-10 6, in a binary configuration with a ringed class I gas giant and this companion was almost in eclipse, although I'm uncertain if it ever does eclipse its companion directly, and its own narrow crescent complemented that of its Ammonia World companion against the dust clouds of the Milky Way as seen in the screenshot below. A ringed water world moon of a ringed Y dwarf, Hypumaea CQ-G d10-20 3 a, was the final highlight, having an orbital inclination of -73.62 degrees and presenting a view showing its own faint rings upon those of its stellar parent. This water world is not a candidate for terraforming however, being too cold even with a thick atmosphere almost completely composed of nitrogen.
.
Possibly a record-breaker, certainly one of the least massive and smallest terraformable worlds discovered, Note the high metal composition for a world of this type.
Plaa Briae SS-V b43-7 1a is in a highly inclined orbit around a ringed Ammonia World.
Hypumaea OD-I c23-10 6 is a ringed Ammonia World in a binary configuration with a ringed Class I gas giant, seen here against the dusty Galactic Plane in a very narrow crescent phase.
Hypumaea CQ-G d10-20 3a ringed water world in a highly inclined orbit of a ringed Y dwarf.
The journey to distant Dryman is progressing well, with approximately a third of the est. 40KLY distance covered. There has been one brief scare: upon jumping into the quintuple star system Pro Auwsy VO-Z d13-26, the Pierre Aronnax arrived very close to the exclusion zone of the secondary red dwarf star. I pulled away but, with the heat rising rapidly past 100%, the FSD struggling against the gravity well of both the M dwarf secondary and the very close G type primary and with modules taking damage, I decided to use a heat sink to prevent excessive damage. As a result, the total module damage was minimal. Planet ABC 1 in this system is a terraformable water world with a landable moon, so I dropped out of supercruise close to the moon and set my AFMU to work repairing all the damaged modules before continuing on my way at full strength once more.
.
During this part of the journey I have paid a brief visit to Derthek's Folly (Drooteou PW-I a36-4), located on the exact opposite side of the Milky Way to Sol, and have crossed the route that the Distant Worlds Expedition took between waypoints 18 and 19 (The Greeroi Veil and Rendezvous Point). Now I am proceeding into the less-charted parts of the Eurus region. There have been a number of visual highlights and one of scientific interest discovered in this phase of the journey and I am glad that I have not been rushing too much and have taken the time to do some scanning and orbital flybys of these worlds, which has included four Ammonia Worlds and two Earth-like Worlds.
.
The scientific highlight is undoubtedly Preae Auwsy DJ-P c19-4 1, which is possibly the least massive and smallest terraformable high metal content world known, with mass = 0.0659 Earth masses and a radius of 2,582 km. This beats the previous record holder on the Universal Cartographics website but that has not been updated for a while, so something might have surpassed that since, however I have not seen records pertaining specifically to terraformable worlds on Elite Galaxy Online or EDSM. A defining characteristic for terraformability seems to be that the surface gravity must be at least 0.40g, as it is here, which means that the world's composition is the key to being a record-breaker: this planet has a very high 36.1% metal. The other high metal content worlds in this system are 33.3% metal, so this world seems to have formed close to the region where metal-rich worlds are normally found. The world has some mountain ranges but its dark brown surface shows no sign of impact craters, probably due to erosion as it has no volcanism but an atmosphere of 3.89 bars entirely composed of water vapour, and there are many swirling clouds and storm systems. Who knows if anyone will ever live here though... .
.
Two Ammonia Worlds were found in Oumbants PV-P b5-0: planets A4 and A5. They are not in a binary configuration but they both have the same surface temperature of 234 K, despite having different atmospheric pressures and composition. A case for Panspermia perhaps, with life creating the environment it is best suited to, or maybe convergent evolution?
.
The scenic highlights of this part of the journey relate to several ring systems, either with moons in highly-inclined orbits or simply with spectacular settings against the Milky Way. Plaa Briae SS-V b43-7 1 a is the solitary icy moon of a ringed Ammonia World and it is in a nearly polar orbit, with an inclination of -83.96 degrees. Another ringed Ammonia World was found, Hypumaea OD-I c23-10 6, in a binary configuration with a ringed class I gas giant and this companion was almost in eclipse, although I'm uncertain if it ever does eclipse its companion directly, and its own narrow crescent complemented that of its Ammonia World companion against the dust clouds of the Milky Way as seen in the screenshot below. A ringed water world moon of a ringed Y dwarf, Hypumaea CQ-G d10-20 3 a, was the final highlight, having an orbital inclination of -73.62 degrees and presenting a view showing its own faint rings upon those of its stellar parent. This water world is not a candidate for terraforming however, being too cold even with a thick atmosphere almost completely composed of nitrogen.
.
Possibly a record-breaker, certainly one of the least massive and smallest terraformable worlds discovered, Note the high metal composition for a world of this type.
The Journey to Dryman, part 2
This afternoon I finally reached the vicinity of Dryman. It has been a long voyage and I have certainly felt tired at times but I did stop on two occasions to do some local exploration since my last post. The first of these occasions was a lucky coincidence: I had been trying to contact another CMDR (who turned out to be afk) and stopped to scan the system I happened to be in (Splojue SF-A c16), which led to my finding a rare Helium-rich Gas Giant. I then searched the surrounding systems for further worlds of this type and found a further seven examples. The second occasion was as I was crossing the inter-arm gap between the Norma-Outer Arm and the Scutum-Sagittarius Arm in a region known as 'The Torment'. The Torment has seldom been visited by explorers and I spent a full day looking for Earth-like Worlds, as well as keeping an eye out for any during my journey through the region, along with anything else of interest. I found only Ammonia Worlds in The Torment but it was good to break up the voyage in this way. (Unexpectedly, I did find one star bearing a First Discovery tag in The Torment but no planets and only that one system. Perhaps I am not the only one who just scans a waypoint star when I travel in a hurry).
.
My findings regarding Helium-rich gas giants specifically are given here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...h-Gas-Giants?p=6234323&viewfull=1#post6234323. Whilst looking for them I did encounter two Earth-like Worlds, of which the most interesting was Splojue SF-A c34 B 5. This planet is unusual both for orbiting a L-type dwarf and for having a moon with an unusually short orbital period - just 2.1 days. I took the opportunity drive around and enjoy the vista of a large Earth-like crescent setting over the horizon, with the dusty Galactic Plane in the background. After this, I decided to move on once more and passed through the 'Watkuweis' region before entering The Torment.
.
It had been my hope to find an Earth-like World in The Torment but it was Christmas Eve when I arrived there and I was keen to reach Dryman in time for the New Year, so I gave myself one day of searching to find anything interesting. The highlight of this day, in the sector Braisue, was a binary pair of large Ammonia Worlds in Braisue VR-H d11-15, where planets 4 and 5 have about 20 Earth masses and 15 Earth masses, respectively. Planet 3 in this system has a large C ring with a width of over 2.3 million km but sadly it is not visible. Two more Ammonia Worlds were found in the sector: Braisue QE-G c27-5 3 and Braisue UP-N c23-4. A useful Polonium-rich planet, with 1.2% abundance, was discovered: Braisue FZ-D d13-8 C 1, which despite orbiting the tertiary component of the system is only 181 ls from the jump-in point. It is a tiny metal-rich world with a surface temperature of almost 1600 K and the detailed surface scanner reports the presence of Silicate Magma volcanism, although I made no attempt to locate any volcanic sites here. There were two scenic ring systems that were the visual highlights of my stay in this region, of which one is really the interplay of two ringed worlds in a trinary: Braisue QZ-O e6-4 planets 1, 2 and 3 have fairly close orbits and planets 1 and 3 have rings, which I managed to image with the ringed planets in the crescent phase. The other visually impressive ring system was the B ring of Braisue VB-Z b47-2 3, which is almost 2 million km wide and dense enough to be clearly visible. Imaging of this ring was hampered by a graphical glitch affecting the skybox but a suitable angle was eventually found.
.
The abundance of Ammonia Worlds relative to Earth-like Worlds has been greater than expected during the journey to Dryman. Since leaving Plaa Briae near the Praei border I have encountered 16 Ammonia Worlds but only 5 Earth-like Worlds. There were three systems with two Ammonia Worlds, including Braisue VR-H d11-15, the others being Oumbants PV-P b5-0 (planets A4 and A5, not gravitationally bound to each other) and Weqeae UH-E b53-6 (planets 5 and 6, not gravitationally bound to each other). Perhaps it is telling that 7 of the 13 systems with Ammonia Worlds have a 'mass code' (i.e. the b of Weqeae UH-E b53-6) of B, whilst the Earth-like Worlds were all in systems with a 'mass code' of C or D.
.
A number of large ring systems and landable worlds were encountered during the journey to Dryman. The largest ring system amongst these was that of Hypao Chraei TP-G d10-72 8 which has a metal-rich C ring with an inner radius of 1,005,293 km and an outer radius of 24,923,712 km. The largest landable body encountered was Hypaa Pruae BJ-T c6-36 B 1 which is an icy world with a radius of 20,088 km that has an orbital period of 2.9 days about its parent M star. One other world worth a mention is Braisue VR-H d11-35 B 1 which is an unusually large water world, with a radius of 19,218 km, yet it has no atmosphere at all, nor is it unusually close it its parent K star (semi-major axis 1.21 AU) - where did the atmosphere go? (The surface temperature is 226K, yet it does not look to be covered in ice and has no polar caps.)
.
The survey of Dryman will probably take more than the usual one week, as I may be engaged in other activities over the next couple of days. I need to be especially vigilant here as the Dynasty Expedition that left the abandoned settlements in Hawking's Gap seems to have been headed in this direction. At over 27 KLY from Sol, this is farther than Sgr A*, however so I'm not expecting it - the Zurara took about six months to travel 12 KLY and use up its supply of beacons and terraforming materials. Who knows what happened here when they were done, though? And could the Guardians have established themselves in the region? There are always possibilities for something new!
.
The close-orbiting moon of the Earth-like World Splojue SF-A c34 B 5.
The Earth-like World Splojue SF-A c34 B 5 seen setting in its crescent phase from just above the surface of its moon.
The rings of Braisue QZ-O e6-4 1 and Braisue QZ-O e6-4 3.
Viewing outward from Braisue VB-Z b47-2 3 with its 2 million km -wide B ring in the distance.
This afternoon I finally reached the vicinity of Dryman. It has been a long voyage and I have certainly felt tired at times but I did stop on two occasions to do some local exploration since my last post. The first of these occasions was a lucky coincidence: I had been trying to contact another CMDR (who turned out to be afk) and stopped to scan the system I happened to be in (Splojue SF-A c16), which led to my finding a rare Helium-rich Gas Giant. I then searched the surrounding systems for further worlds of this type and found a further seven examples. The second occasion was as I was crossing the inter-arm gap between the Norma-Outer Arm and the Scutum-Sagittarius Arm in a region known as 'The Torment'. The Torment has seldom been visited by explorers and I spent a full day looking for Earth-like Worlds, as well as keeping an eye out for any during my journey through the region, along with anything else of interest. I found only Ammonia Worlds in The Torment but it was good to break up the voyage in this way. (Unexpectedly, I did find one star bearing a First Discovery tag in The Torment but no planets and only that one system. Perhaps I am not the only one who just scans a waypoint star when I travel in a hurry).
.
My findings regarding Helium-rich gas giants specifically are given here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...h-Gas-Giants?p=6234323&viewfull=1#post6234323. Whilst looking for them I did encounter two Earth-like Worlds, of which the most interesting was Splojue SF-A c34 B 5. This planet is unusual both for orbiting a L-type dwarf and for having a moon with an unusually short orbital period - just 2.1 days. I took the opportunity drive around and enjoy the vista of a large Earth-like crescent setting over the horizon, with the dusty Galactic Plane in the background. After this, I decided to move on once more and passed through the 'Watkuweis' region before entering The Torment.
.
It had been my hope to find an Earth-like World in The Torment but it was Christmas Eve when I arrived there and I was keen to reach Dryman in time for the New Year, so I gave myself one day of searching to find anything interesting. The highlight of this day, in the sector Braisue, was a binary pair of large Ammonia Worlds in Braisue VR-H d11-15, where planets 4 and 5 have about 20 Earth masses and 15 Earth masses, respectively. Planet 3 in this system has a large C ring with a width of over 2.3 million km but sadly it is not visible. Two more Ammonia Worlds were found in the sector: Braisue QE-G c27-5 3 and Braisue UP-N c23-4. A useful Polonium-rich planet, with 1.2% abundance, was discovered: Braisue FZ-D d13-8 C 1, which despite orbiting the tertiary component of the system is only 181 ls from the jump-in point. It is a tiny metal-rich world with a surface temperature of almost 1600 K and the detailed surface scanner reports the presence of Silicate Magma volcanism, although I made no attempt to locate any volcanic sites here. There were two scenic ring systems that were the visual highlights of my stay in this region, of which one is really the interplay of two ringed worlds in a trinary: Braisue QZ-O e6-4 planets 1, 2 and 3 have fairly close orbits and planets 1 and 3 have rings, which I managed to image with the ringed planets in the crescent phase. The other visually impressive ring system was the B ring of Braisue VB-Z b47-2 3, which is almost 2 million km wide and dense enough to be clearly visible. Imaging of this ring was hampered by a graphical glitch affecting the skybox but a suitable angle was eventually found.
.
The abundance of Ammonia Worlds relative to Earth-like Worlds has been greater than expected during the journey to Dryman. Since leaving Plaa Briae near the Praei border I have encountered 16 Ammonia Worlds but only 5 Earth-like Worlds. There were three systems with two Ammonia Worlds, including Braisue VR-H d11-15, the others being Oumbants PV-P b5-0 (planets A4 and A5, not gravitationally bound to each other) and Weqeae UH-E b53-6 (planets 5 and 6, not gravitationally bound to each other). Perhaps it is telling that 7 of the 13 systems with Ammonia Worlds have a 'mass code' (i.e. the b of Weqeae UH-E b53-6) of B, whilst the Earth-like Worlds were all in systems with a 'mass code' of C or D.
.
A number of large ring systems and landable worlds were encountered during the journey to Dryman. The largest ring system amongst these was that of Hypao Chraei TP-G d10-72 8 which has a metal-rich C ring with an inner radius of 1,005,293 km and an outer radius of 24,923,712 km. The largest landable body encountered was Hypaa Pruae BJ-T c6-36 B 1 which is an icy world with a radius of 20,088 km that has an orbital period of 2.9 days about its parent M star. One other world worth a mention is Braisue VR-H d11-35 B 1 which is an unusually large water world, with a radius of 19,218 km, yet it has no atmosphere at all, nor is it unusually close it its parent K star (semi-major axis 1.21 AU) - where did the atmosphere go? (The surface temperature is 226K, yet it does not look to be covered in ice and has no polar caps.)
.
The survey of Dryman will probably take more than the usual one week, as I may be engaged in other activities over the next couple of days. I need to be especially vigilant here as the Dynasty Expedition that left the abandoned settlements in Hawking's Gap seems to have been headed in this direction. At over 27 KLY from Sol, this is farther than Sgr A*, however so I'm not expecting it - the Zurara took about six months to travel 12 KLY and use up its supply of beacons and terraforming materials. Who knows what happened here when they were done, though? And could the Guardians have established themselves in the region? There are always possibilities for something new!
.
The close-orbiting moon of the Earth-like World Splojue SF-A c34 B 5.
An excellent location for a Forward Base near Dryman has been located and I shall now be proceeding to the border survey. The Forward Base system has an Earth-like World in a trinary configuration with two ringed gas giants that together are in a circumbinary orbit, making for some interesting views and the system is also 'green' with some very good abundances and has six moons with surface conditions compatible with organics, all of which have iron magma volcanism reported by the detailed surface scan, although I have not located any volcanic sites.
.
A visual highlight so far has been a system with several moons in close-in (very close in two cases) inclined orbits of ringed gas giants. For two of these moons the inclination is slight but they are both in such close orbits that they still have a splendid view of their host planet's rings. One of these moons also has conditions compatible with organics and I made a landing to look for a site in a large rayed crater but found only a rocky outcrop. This was also a 'green' system, so it might be worth further investigation for volcanic activity.
.
A visual highlight so far has been a system with several moons in close-in (very close in two cases) inclined orbits of ringed gas giants. For two of these moons the inclination is slight but they are both in such close orbits that they still have a splendid view of their host planet's rings. One of these moons also has conditions compatible with organics and I made a landing to look for a site in a large rayed crater but found only a rocky outcrop. This was also a 'green' system, so it might be worth further investigation for volcanic activity.
Dryman border report
No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in Dryman gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. The closest I was able to get was 1.89 LY, which is the distance from Phrausks YC-F c8 to Dryman IV-X c1-6.
.
Very few planetary landings were made and only one blue circle was observed, which turned out to be only a rocky outcrop. Some worlds with conditions compatible with organic structures were found, so the potential for future discoveries remains. Additionally, a brief attempt was made to search the approach to Dryman from the direction of the Old Worlds, in case a megaship had made it out this far, which involved travelling 1 KLY from the Forward Base system in approximately the direction of Tionisla, but no signal sources or anomalies of any kind were found.
.
A suitable Forward Base location was found at Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79, where planet AB 4 is an Earth-like World that is in a trinary configuration with two ringed gas giants, providing some interesting scenery. This system is 684.67 LY from the nearest Dryman sector system that I could determine, Dryman UJ-Y c1-7. This system is an excellent site for a Foward Base as it is 'green' with some elements in very high abundance and is also home to six worlds with surface conditions compatible with organics. Four more green systems were identified within about 45 LY, and two other worlds in one system, Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 were found to have a very high abundance of Polonium, these being planet A2 and its moon, located close to the jump-in point. One of the green systems also has a Polonium-rich world (Eol Pruae KT-O d7-53 1).
.
The only Ammonia World discovered nearby is 118.13 LY away from the Forward Base system, Eol Pruae LA-H c13-1 4. This was found during the brief unsuccessful search for a megaship, a search which also revealed the only landable world that is a candidate for terraforming found during the expedition's visit to the Dryman region, Eol Pruae QU-V d3-86 11, although it is almost 500 LY away from the Forward Base System. A system with seven barycentric stars was found during this final stage of the visit to Dryman, Eol Pruae AH-S d5-66.
.
A large landable ice world was found in between the Forward Base and the Dryman border, Eol Pruae VM-Z b47-5 B 1, which has a radius of 18,315 km. It is in a tight orbit about its parent L dwarf, with an orbital period of 2.7 days.
.
A scenic highlight found just prior to the Forward Base system is the system Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 which is only 15.82 LY away. Although it is useful itself, being 'green', the vistas it holds are perhaps more valuable, with three of the moons in close orbits also having sufficient inclination to provide spectacular views of their parent planets' ring systems. The A7a moon, a rocky icy body, has the most inclined orbit of the three (-25.12 degrees) but is slightly farther away, whilst the A5a (-1.35 degrees) and A8a (-1.17 degrees), have lower inclinations but are very close to their parents' rings. The A5a moon also has conditions compatible with organic structures.
.
The survey focused on the side of Dryman closest to human-occupied space but meandered 'East' as it progressed. Systems with a 'mass code' of D (i.e. the d in the system name, e.g. Eol Pruae SK-C d14-88) were prioritised and then 'mass code' C, with a filter on the galaxy map set for A, F, G, K and non-standard stars, in an attempt to quickly locate Earth-like Worlds. Upon finding a system with a promising composition (i.e. terrestrial planets in the Earth-like mass range and in the habitable zone of their star), other systems with a similar name, sometimes referred to as the same 'boxel' (the Eol Pruae SK-C d14-88), were visited in the hopes that this would lead to a better than average chance of finding an Earth-like World. This approach led to two Ammonia Worlds being found in the Dryu Aub ZJ-A d boxel and two Earth-like Worlds in the Dryu Aub LR-W d1 boxel.
.
The two Earth-like Worlds found were Dryu Aub LR-W d1-26 4 and Dryu Aub LR-W d1-39 4, both within about 31 LY of the nearest Dryman systems. The first of these is in a binary configuration with a terraformable high metal content world and is cold (surface temp: 261 K) with a moderately thin atmosphere (0.68 bar) and huge storm systems over its wide oceans. The second of the two is slightly warmer (268 K) but has a thick atmosphere (3.21 bars) and has a landable moon with an orbital period of 99.4 days. Whilst checking the second Earth-like World for city lights on the night side a glitter was seen that turned out to be the peaks of a high mountain range but it was worth the disappointment to get a closer view, this world having wide oceans with a large polar cap in one hemisphere that was being skirted by a large storm system on one side, whilst the other was calm and peaceful.
.
Three Ammonia Worlds were found, of which the first was one of a handful of systems bearing first discovery tags. I remember seeing some of these names before on my expedition - I am not the only one to have visited the borders of multiple permit-locked regions before! I hope my findings will still be useful to future expeditions and indeed the tagged systems were considerably in the minority and clustered closer to the Galactic Plane. The other two Ammonia Worlds were in untagged systems: Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 11 and Dry Aub ZJ-A d10 12. Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 11 has a thick atmosphere and a fairly low mass rocky ring and is in a binary configuration with a hot pink -coloured class III gas giant. This system is also green, one of five discovered close to the border, and has one Polonium-rich planet and two worlds with surface conditions compatible with organic structures. Dry Aub ZJ-A d10 12 is also in a binary configuration with a gas giant with a pink-ish colour but it is more massive and has no ring. It could potentially be a green system also, with 28 landable moons, however I was focused on finding an Earth-like World at this time and had already identified many green systems so I did not fully scan the system, although I note that the moons of the 11th planet have some jumponium ingredients and the 11ba moon has conditions compatible with organic structures.
.
One large landable world was found: Dryu Aub ZJ-A d36, which is an icy body with a radius of 19,488 km and has a rotational period very close to twice its orbital period - its 'day' is just over twice the length of its year (rotational period 301.9 days, orbital period 150.8 days)!
.
As with the Forward Base, one of the visual highlights of the border region was a moon in a close-in slightly inclined orbit. Phrautch UY-D c1-10 A 2 a has an orbital inclination of 2.13 degrees but is very close to its gas giant parent's B ring, although sadly a graphical glitch prevented the acquisition of a suitable image. Another scenic ring system was that of Dryu Aub ZJ-A d27 3 which is a blue-coloured class III gas giant with a very narrow ring system for a gas giant, being less than 2,500 km wide, and it is in a trinary configuration with a similar gas giant with a more typical ring system and another world that is terrestrial in nature (and landable). The only large ring system found in the region was that of the water giant Phrautch IW-C d21 A 6, which is over 4.5 million km wide but sadly is not visible.
.
Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79 AB 4 (684.67 LY from Dryman UJ-Y c1-7, also a 'green' system, see below)
.
Ammonia World (118.13 LY from Forward Base system): Eol Pruae LA-H c13-1 4
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79 (0): A2 (Y 2.4%, Cd 3.1%, Ge 1.9%, V 9.8%); AB1b (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.5%); AB1d (Po 0.5%, Ge 5.4%); AB5a (Nb 1.4%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.8%); AB5b (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%)
Eol Pruae WM-D c15-17 (45.14): 7a (Po 0.3%, Cd 1.0%, Ge 3.6%); 7c (Y 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, Ge 3.6%); 7e (Nb 0.9%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%, V 3.1%, Ge 3.6%)
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-50 (26.71): A3 (*1.19g* Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, As 2.0%); A7 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.7%, V 5.5%); A8 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.7%)
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-53 (25.92): 1 (Po 1.1%, V 9.7%); 4 (*1.71g* Nb 1.6%, Ge 4.8%, V 5.7%); 6b (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, V 4.8%); 8d (Nb 0.8%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.5%)
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 (15.82): A4 (*1.38g* Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, V 5.5%); A4a (Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%); A4b (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, V 4.8%); A11f (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2: Po 1.1%, Nb 2.5%, V 9.1%
Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2a: Po 1.0%, Cd 2.7%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Eol Pruae QU-V d3-86 11: Y 1.3%, V 5.5% (surface conditions compatible with organics)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Dryu Aub LR-W d1-26 4 (21.91 LY from Dryman JP-K b11-0)
Dryu Aub LR-W d1-39 4 (31.17 LY from Dryman LK-K b11-3)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Eol Pruae SK-C d14-88 6 (previously discovered)
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 11 (also green, see below)
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d10 12
.
Green systems:
Eol Pruae BP-G c27-21: 1 (Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, Ge 4.8%); 3 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.6); 5 (Y 1.4%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%, V 5.6%)
Phrautch IW-C d21: A2a (Nb 1.4%, As 2.6%); A2b (Cd 1.4%, V 4.6%); A3b (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); A6a (Po 0.3%, Cd 1.0%, V 3.1%)
Phrautch UY-D c1-10: A2a (As 2.7%, Ge 6.0%); A3e (Nb 0.9%); A3f (Y 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, V 3.1%); A3g (Po 0.3%, As 1.6%)
Eol Pruae UF-C d14-48: A4 (Y 1.3%, V 5.2%); A8 (Po 0.7%, Nb 1.7%, As 2.3%, Ge 5.1%); B1 (Nb 2.5%, V 9.1%); B2 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.4%)
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17: 1 (Po 1.1%, Nd 2.5%, V 9.0%); 2 (Cd 1.8%); 6b (As 2.6%); 6e (Nb 1.3%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.5%); 7a (Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%); 10c (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.8%)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
.
Initially I felt somewhat burned-out when I arrived here and the Christmas holidays have also interrupted my exploration, so I do not feel that I have been as focused here as elsewhere. This is perhaps seen in the lower number of green systems and locations with conditions compatible with organics, as finding more of these typically involves more scanning of distant moons of gas giants. As I did not feel up to much, I settled for finding a handful of green systems and then focused my search heavily on finding Earth-like Worlds.
.
There are two aspects of the survey here that stand out, now that I reflect upon them as I make my way to the borders of NGC 3603 Sector. The first is the high abundances of Polonium that I found - I have not found many Po 1.0%+ worlds during the expedition but here I encountered four, with two in one system - a planet and its moon (Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2 and A2a). Metal-rich worlds have very high abundances in general but Polonium is not often encountered on them - Yttrium is much more common. This region seems well-suited to supplying the jumponium requirements of future expeditions. The second feature that struck me was the unusual number of close-orbiting moons in inclined orbits. Distant moons often have highly-inclined orbits but innermost moons seldom have more than 0.5 degrees inclination and most are very close to zero. This led to some inspiring scenery, especially with the host planets' varied colours. Considering the scenic properties of the Forward Base system, with its Earth-like World being part of a trinary with two ringed gas giants, all in a circumbinary orbit, this region may have some tourism in the future, should conditions on the border allow it.
.
The search for a megaship in the broadly Sol-ward direction was a very long shot. The Forward Base system is about 16,500 LY from the Abandoned Settlements in Hawking's Gap: it is highly unlikely that a Dynasty Expedition -era vessel could make the trip out here. If you don't look you don't find, though, so I do not regret the search.
.
The journey to NGC 3603 Sector is much shorter, thankfully, and should only take a couple of days - I hope to be there by 10th Jan. A preliminary look suggests it is much smaller than the other permit-locked regions, except perhaps Sidgoir, and it is closer to Sol, so I am expecting to see a few more first discovery tags on the border. With only two permit-locked regions left to survey, the end of the expedition is starting to feel slightly closer - but only slightly!
.
System with three moons in tight but inclined orbits: Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 moons A5a, A7a, A8a
Water giant with large ring system: Phrautch IW-C d21 A 6 A ring inner radius = 511,232 km outer radius = 5,152,895 km
Class III gas giant with narrow ring system: Dryu Aub ZJ-A d27 3 A ring inner radius = 94,191 km outer radius = 96,537 km
Large icy landables: Eol Pruae VM-Z b47-5 B 1 (radius = 18,315 km) and Dryu Aub ZJ-A d36 (radius = 19,488 km)
Polonium-rich moon of a Polonium-rich planet: Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2 (Po 1.1%, Nb 2.5%, V 9.1%); A2a (Po 1.0%, Cd 2.7%)
System with seven barycentric stars: Eol Pruae AH-S d5-66
.
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 A5a orbital cruise view of A5 rings.
The rocky ice world Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 A7a and the view of its parent's rings from its inclined orbit.
Earth-like World Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79 AB4 and one of its two ringed companions, planet AB3.
The stormy oceans of Dryu Aub LR-W d1-26 4.
Close-up view of the terminator of Dryu Aub LR-W d1-39 4, showing what appears to be a high mountain range with peaks still in the sunlight.
The ringed Ammonia World Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 11, in a crescent phase against the dusty Galactic Plane.
The thin ring of Dryu Aub ZJ-A d27 3 with planet 2 in the background.
Dryman Border report
.Key Findings
.No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in Dryman gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. The closest I was able to get was 1.89 LY, which is the distance from Phrausks YC-F c8 to Dryman IV-X c1-6.
.
Very few planetary landings were made and only one blue circle was observed, which turned out to be only a rocky outcrop. Some worlds with conditions compatible with organic structures were found, so the potential for future discoveries remains. Additionally, a brief attempt was made to search the approach to Dryman from the direction of the Old Worlds, in case a megaship had made it out this far, which involved travelling 1 KLY from the Forward Base system in approximately the direction of Tionisla, but no signal sources or anomalies of any kind were found.
.
Forward Base
.A suitable Forward Base location was found at Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79, where planet AB 4 is an Earth-like World that is in a trinary configuration with two ringed gas giants, providing some interesting scenery. This system is 684.67 LY from the nearest Dryman sector system that I could determine, Dryman UJ-Y c1-7. This system is an excellent site for a Foward Base as it is 'green' with some elements in very high abundance and is also home to six worlds with surface conditions compatible with organics. Four more green systems were identified within about 45 LY, and two other worlds in one system, Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 were found to have a very high abundance of Polonium, these being planet A2 and its moon, located close to the jump-in point. One of the green systems also has a Polonium-rich world (Eol Pruae KT-O d7-53 1).
.
The only Ammonia World discovered nearby is 118.13 LY away from the Forward Base system, Eol Pruae LA-H c13-1 4. This was found during the brief unsuccessful search for a megaship, a search which also revealed the only landable world that is a candidate for terraforming found during the expedition's visit to the Dryman region, Eol Pruae QU-V d3-86 11, although it is almost 500 LY away from the Forward Base System. A system with seven barycentric stars was found during this final stage of the visit to Dryman, Eol Pruae AH-S d5-66.
.
A large landable ice world was found in between the Forward Base and the Dryman border, Eol Pruae VM-Z b47-5 B 1, which has a radius of 18,315 km. It is in a tight orbit about its parent L dwarf, with an orbital period of 2.7 days.
.
A scenic highlight found just prior to the Forward Base system is the system Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 which is only 15.82 LY away. Although it is useful itself, being 'green', the vistas it holds are perhaps more valuable, with three of the moons in close orbits also having sufficient inclination to provide spectacular views of their parent planets' ring systems. The A7a moon, a rocky icy body, has the most inclined orbit of the three (-25.12 degrees) but is slightly farther away, whilst the A5a (-1.35 degrees) and A8a (-1.17 degrees), have lower inclinations but are very close to their parents' rings. The A5a moon also has conditions compatible with organic structures.
.
Border Zone
.The survey focused on the side of Dryman closest to human-occupied space but meandered 'East' as it progressed. Systems with a 'mass code' of D (i.e. the d in the system name, e.g. Eol Pruae SK-C d14-88) were prioritised and then 'mass code' C, with a filter on the galaxy map set for A, F, G, K and non-standard stars, in an attempt to quickly locate Earth-like Worlds. Upon finding a system with a promising composition (i.e. terrestrial planets in the Earth-like mass range and in the habitable zone of their star), other systems with a similar name, sometimes referred to as the same 'boxel' (the Eol Pruae SK-C d14-88), were visited in the hopes that this would lead to a better than average chance of finding an Earth-like World. This approach led to two Ammonia Worlds being found in the Dryu Aub ZJ-A d boxel and two Earth-like Worlds in the Dryu Aub LR-W d1 boxel.
.
The two Earth-like Worlds found were Dryu Aub LR-W d1-26 4 and Dryu Aub LR-W d1-39 4, both within about 31 LY of the nearest Dryman systems. The first of these is in a binary configuration with a terraformable high metal content world and is cold (surface temp: 261 K) with a moderately thin atmosphere (0.68 bar) and huge storm systems over its wide oceans. The second of the two is slightly warmer (268 K) but has a thick atmosphere (3.21 bars) and has a landable moon with an orbital period of 99.4 days. Whilst checking the second Earth-like World for city lights on the night side a glitter was seen that turned out to be the peaks of a high mountain range but it was worth the disappointment to get a closer view, this world having wide oceans with a large polar cap in one hemisphere that was being skirted by a large storm system on one side, whilst the other was calm and peaceful.
.
Three Ammonia Worlds were found, of which the first was one of a handful of systems bearing first discovery tags. I remember seeing some of these names before on my expedition - I am not the only one to have visited the borders of multiple permit-locked regions before! I hope my findings will still be useful to future expeditions and indeed the tagged systems were considerably in the minority and clustered closer to the Galactic Plane. The other two Ammonia Worlds were in untagged systems: Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 11 and Dry Aub ZJ-A d10 12. Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 11 has a thick atmosphere and a fairly low mass rocky ring and is in a binary configuration with a hot pink -coloured class III gas giant. This system is also green, one of five discovered close to the border, and has one Polonium-rich planet and two worlds with surface conditions compatible with organic structures. Dry Aub ZJ-A d10 12 is also in a binary configuration with a gas giant with a pink-ish colour but it is more massive and has no ring. It could potentially be a green system also, with 28 landable moons, however I was focused on finding an Earth-like World at this time and had already identified many green systems so I did not fully scan the system, although I note that the moons of the 11th planet have some jumponium ingredients and the 11ba moon has conditions compatible with organic structures.
.
One large landable world was found: Dryu Aub ZJ-A d36, which is an icy body with a radius of 19,488 km and has a rotational period very close to twice its orbital period - its 'day' is just over twice the length of its year (rotational period 301.9 days, orbital period 150.8 days)!
.
As with the Forward Base, one of the visual highlights of the border region was a moon in a close-in slightly inclined orbit. Phrautch UY-D c1-10 A 2 a has an orbital inclination of 2.13 degrees but is very close to its gas giant parent's B ring, although sadly a graphical glitch prevented the acquisition of a suitable image. Another scenic ring system was that of Dryu Aub ZJ-A d27 3 which is a blue-coloured class III gas giant with a very narrow ring system for a gas giant, being less than 2,500 km wide, and it is in a trinary configuration with a similar gas giant with a more typical ring system and another world that is terrestrial in nature (and landable). The only large ring system found in the region was that of the water giant Phrautch IW-C d21 A 6, which is over 4.5 million km wide but sadly is not visible.
.
Summary
.Forward Base
.Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79 AB 4 (684.67 LY from Dryman UJ-Y c1-7, also a 'green' system, see below)
.
Ammonia World (118.13 LY from Forward Base system): Eol Pruae LA-H c13-1 4
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79 (0): A2 (Y 2.4%, Cd 3.1%, Ge 1.9%, V 9.8%); AB1b (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.5%); AB1d (Po 0.5%, Ge 5.4%); AB5a (Nb 1.4%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.8%); AB5b (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%)
Eol Pruae WM-D c15-17 (45.14): 7a (Po 0.3%, Cd 1.0%, Ge 3.6%); 7c (Y 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, Ge 3.6%); 7e (Nb 0.9%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%, V 3.1%, Ge 3.6%)
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-50 (26.71): A3 (*1.19g* Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, As 2.0%); A7 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.7%, V 5.5%); A8 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.7%)
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-53 (25.92): 1 (Po 1.1%, V 9.7%); 4 (*1.71g* Nb 1.6%, Ge 4.8%, V 5.7%); 6b (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, V 4.8%); 8d (Nb 0.8%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.5%)
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 (15.82): A4 (*1.38g* Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, V 5.5%); A4a (Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%); A4b (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, V 4.8%); A11f (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2: Po 1.1%, Nb 2.5%, V 9.1%
Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2a: Po 1.0%, Cd 2.7%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Eol Pruae QU-V d3-86 11: Y 1.3%, V 5.5% (surface conditions compatible with organics)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 A5a
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79 AB2a, AB2ea, AB3a, AB3b, AB5a, AB5b
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-44 4a
Eol Pruae AT-T a85-2 1
Eol Pruae QU-V d3-86 11
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-79 AB2a, AB2ea, AB3a, AB3b, AB5a, AB5b
Eol Pruae KT-O d7-44 4a
Eol Pruae AT-T a85-2 1
Eol Pruae QU-V d3-86 11
Border
.Earth-like Worlds:
Dryu Aub LR-W d1-26 4 (21.91 LY from Dryman JP-K b11-0)
Dryu Aub LR-W d1-39 4 (31.17 LY from Dryman LK-K b11-3)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Eol Pruae SK-C d14-88 6 (previously discovered)
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 11 (also green, see below)
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d10 12
.
Green systems:
Eol Pruae BP-G c27-21: 1 (Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, Ge 4.8%); 3 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.6); 5 (Y 1.4%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%, V 5.6%)
Phrautch IW-C d21: A2a (Nb 1.4%, As 2.6%); A2b (Cd 1.4%, V 4.6%); A3b (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); A6a (Po 0.3%, Cd 1.0%, V 3.1%)
Phrautch UY-D c1-10: A2a (As 2.7%, Ge 6.0%); A3e (Nb 0.9%); A3f (Y 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, V 3.1%); A3g (Po 0.3%, As 1.6%)
Eol Pruae UF-C d14-48: A4 (Y 1.3%, V 5.2%); A8 (Po 0.7%, Nb 1.7%, As 2.3%, Ge 5.1%); B1 (Nb 2.5%, V 9.1%); B2 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.4%)
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17: 1 (Po 1.1%, Nd 2.5%, V 9.0%); 2 (Cd 1.8%); 6b (As 2.6%); 6e (Nb 1.3%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.5%); 7a (Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%); 10c (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.8%)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Phrautch IW-C d21 A2a, A4a
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 4, 6a
Dryua Aub ZJ-A d10 11ba
Dryu Aub ZJ-A d17 4, 6a
Dryua Aub ZJ-A d10 11ba
General Comments
.Initially I felt somewhat burned-out when I arrived here and the Christmas holidays have also interrupted my exploration, so I do not feel that I have been as focused here as elsewhere. This is perhaps seen in the lower number of green systems and locations with conditions compatible with organics, as finding more of these typically involves more scanning of distant moons of gas giants. As I did not feel up to much, I settled for finding a handful of green systems and then focused my search heavily on finding Earth-like Worlds.
.
There are two aspects of the survey here that stand out, now that I reflect upon them as I make my way to the borders of NGC 3603 Sector. The first is the high abundances of Polonium that I found - I have not found many Po 1.0%+ worlds during the expedition but here I encountered four, with two in one system - a planet and its moon (Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2 and A2a). Metal-rich worlds have very high abundances in general but Polonium is not often encountered on them - Yttrium is much more common. This region seems well-suited to supplying the jumponium requirements of future expeditions. The second feature that struck me was the unusual number of close-orbiting moons in inclined orbits. Distant moons often have highly-inclined orbits but innermost moons seldom have more than 0.5 degrees inclination and most are very close to zero. This led to some inspiring scenery, especially with the host planets' varied colours. Considering the scenic properties of the Forward Base system, with its Earth-like World being part of a trinary with two ringed gas giants, all in a circumbinary orbit, this region may have some tourism in the future, should conditions on the border allow it.
.
The search for a megaship in the broadly Sol-ward direction was a very long shot. The Forward Base system is about 16,500 LY from the Abandoned Settlements in Hawking's Gap: it is highly unlikely that a Dynasty Expedition -era vessel could make the trip out here. If you don't look you don't find, though, so I do not regret the search.
.
The journey to NGC 3603 Sector is much shorter, thankfully, and should only take a couple of days - I hope to be there by 10th Jan. A preliminary look suggests it is much smaller than the other permit-locked regions, except perhaps Sidgoir, and it is closer to Sol, so I am expecting to see a few more first discovery tags on the border. With only two permit-locked regions left to survey, the end of the expedition is starting to feel slightly closer - but only slightly!
.
Minor Points of Interest
.System with three moons in tight but inclined orbits: Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 moons A5a, A7a, A8a
Water giant with large ring system: Phrautch IW-C d21 A 6 A ring inner radius = 511,232 km outer radius = 5,152,895 km
Class III gas giant with narrow ring system: Dryu Aub ZJ-A d27 3 A ring inner radius = 94,191 km outer radius = 96,537 km
Large icy landables: Eol Pruae VM-Z b47-5 B 1 (radius = 18,315 km) and Dryu Aub ZJ-A d36 (radius = 19,488 km)
Polonium-rich moon of a Polonium-rich planet: Eol Pruae LT-O d7-92 A2 (Po 1.1%, Nb 2.5%, V 9.1%); A2a (Po 1.0%, Cd 2.7%)
System with seven barycentric stars: Eol Pruae AH-S d5-66
.
Gallery
.Eol Pruae KT-O d7-20 A5a orbital cruise view of A5 rings.
Journey to NGC 3603 Sector
The Pierre Aronnax has now arrived in the vicinity of NGC 3603 Sector and begun searching for a suitable Forward Base location. The journey from Dryman was slightly shorter and quicker than anticipated but this may be partly due to a hastier approach after spending a short time visiting the Pueliae Nebula.
.
The Puliae Nebula is located almost half way in between Dryman and NGC 3603 Sector and it was not necessary to deviate from my planed course by more than a couple of hundred light-years, mostly then because it is above the Galactic Plane. A jump of 29.83 LY is necessary to enter the nebula itself and, for the first time on the expedition, the Pierre Aronnax utilised FSD boosting to get in and out, a basic boost being sufficient. The inside is full of sandy yellows and smooth purple and indigo colours and the nebula is dense enough that the Galactic Plane is barely discernible. Most worlds of value nearby have been tagged, including one Ammonia World just under 100 LY away (Pueliae CZ-M c21-1 A 2). A brief landing was made on one world inside the nebula before proceeding with haste to NGC 3603.
.
One other scenic highlight of this journey is worth a quick mention: the circumbinary Earth-like World Floadau AE-E d13-23 BC 2. This is a warm world with above-average gravity and scattered continents with small polar caps.
One green system has already been located a few hundred LY away from NGC 3603 Sector and many systems with gas giants were encountered as I approached but none with terrestrial-size planets in the habitable zone of their star. I hope to spend about a week here but I may stay longer to check the extent of the NGC 3603 Sector perimeter.
The Pierre Aronnax has now arrived in the vicinity of NGC 3603 Sector and begun searching for a suitable Forward Base location. The journey from Dryman was slightly shorter and quicker than anticipated but this may be partly due to a hastier approach after spending a short time visiting the Pueliae Nebula.
.
The Puliae Nebula is located almost half way in between Dryman and NGC 3603 Sector and it was not necessary to deviate from my planed course by more than a couple of hundred light-years, mostly then because it is above the Galactic Plane. A jump of 29.83 LY is necessary to enter the nebula itself and, for the first time on the expedition, the Pierre Aronnax utilised FSD boosting to get in and out, a basic boost being sufficient. The inside is full of sandy yellows and smooth purple and indigo colours and the nebula is dense enough that the Galactic Plane is barely discernible. Most worlds of value nearby have been tagged, including one Ammonia World just under 100 LY away (Pueliae CZ-M c21-1 A 2). A brief landing was made on one world inside the nebula before proceeding with haste to NGC 3603.
The Pueliae Nebula looking away from (above image) and towards (bottom image) the Galactic Centre.
One other scenic highlight of this journey is worth a quick mention: the circumbinary Earth-like World Floadau AE-E d13-23 BC 2. This is a warm world with above-average gravity and scattered continents with small polar caps.
Floadau AE-E d13-23 BC 2 in crescent phase against the Large Magellanic Cloud.
A suitable location for a Forward Base near NGC 3603 Sector has been found and the border survey is now under way. A 'boxel' producing good numbers of terraformable worlds was encountered and, when investigated more thoroughly, produced two Earth-like Worlds, one of these systems also harbouring an Ammonia World moon. This is the first time since the Froadik 'Forward Base' that I have found both an Earth-like World and an Ammonia World in the same system and for that Ammonia World to be a moon was a pleasant surprise and it will make for an interesting Forward Base system. The star density here is lower than the bubble and I was only able to locate one 'green' system within 30 LY of this system, although two Polonium-rich worlds were also found nearby.
.
NGC 3603 Sector seems to be ~300LY across, maybe slightly less. I plan to circumnavigate it several times to establish the shape but am encountering numerous first discovery tags from one CMDR, so perhaps this information is to be found elsewhere? The EDSM entry has almost nothing, however.
.
NGC 3603 Sector seems to be ~300LY across, maybe slightly less. I plan to circumnavigate it several times to establish the shape but am encountering numerous first discovery tags from one CMDR, so perhaps this information is to be found elsewhere? The EDSM entry has almost nothing, however.
NGC 3603 Sector border report
No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in NGC 3603 Sector gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. Despite the low star density, I was able to get to within 0.97 LY, which is the distance from Flyai Hypa WY-C a67-0 to NGC 3603 Sector CJ-K a11-1.
.
With little prior information to go on, a circumnavigation of the borders was undertaken to establish the size and extent of NGC 3603 Sector. Due to the low star density, the figures are approximate but NGC 3603 Sector appears to be spherical, 280-290 LY in diameter and centred 180 LY below the Galactic Plane.
.
Only one planetary landing was attempted and nothing was detected on sensors. Several worlds with conditions compatible with organic structures were found, both near the Forward Base system and on the borders, so the potential for future discoveries remains.
.
A suitable Forward Base location was found at Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24, where planet 4 is an Earth-like World in a binary configuration with a terraformable water world and the moon 8a is an Ammonia World. This system has a lot of potential for future scientific research into the evolution of life of different kinds but there are no worlds here without an atmosphere so further investigations will have to wait. The nearest system that I could identify in NGC 3603 Sector is 536.77 LY away (NGC 3603 Sector DL-Y d11). It is also some distance to the nearest 'green' system that I could find, 24.34 LY to Flyai Hypa CA-I c12-6, and the abundances there are poor but in Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-32 planets A1 and B1 are both Polonium-rich and that system is only missing Germanium to be 'green'. A cluster of green systems is also to be found just over 90 LY away. A second Earth-like World was found only 31.84 LY away: Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-7 A 6. A total of five green systems were recorded within 100 LY of the Forward Base system.
.
One landable world that is a candidate for terraforming was found nearby: Flyai Hypa UN-L c10-7 1. It has no volcanic activity and is only just over one tenth the mass of Earth. Only two worlds with surface conditions compatible with organic structures were found, which is lower than expected. Most such worlds are in a short period orbit around a gas giant that orbits at the right distance from a star for the temperature to be within the range 200-500K, although some large planets in the habitable zone also meet the criteria and moons orbiting brown dwarfs very tightly can also get some warmth. There seemed to be fewer gas giants in the right orbits for their moons to have a suitable temperature in the region near the Forward Base, although this might not be representative of the region as a whole (the numbers found close to the border were more in line with expectations).
.
Unusually, no large landables or very large rings systems were found anywhere in the region. The largest, and most picturesque, was that of Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 4, which has a C ring with an outer radius of just over 1.5 million km.
.
The border of NGC 3603 Sector was circumnavigated to investigate its shape and extent and revealed it to be spherical, approximately 280 LY in diameter and centred 180 LY below the Galactic Plane, however the low star density in the region makes these estimates only. The assessment was based upon circumnavigating the region in economic mode so as to trace the outline as precisely as possible. Just over fifty jumps are typically required for half a circumnavigation.
.
Other CMDRs were found to have tagged many systems but only a couple of different names were seen. Their investigation may have been some time ago, as EDDiscovery did not seem to indicate the kind of detailed mapping that has been done near, e.g. Praei. None of the outdoor worlds found in the region had been tagged, although many planets had been scanned.
.
The process of circumnavigating the sector was done without any kind of filtering, so many systems with unscoopables or red dwarf primaries, that seldom host life-bearing or resource-rich worlds, were visited. Nevertheless, two 'gold' systems containing all materials were found, along with five more green systems. The gold systems are Flyai Hypa FO-P b39-3 and Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22, the second of which hosts many worlds with conditions suitable for organics, as described below.
.
One landable world that is a candidate for terraforming was found close to the border: Flyai Hypa YQ-K d9-7 A 4. This world also has surface conditions compatible with organics, although it is large enough to make searches for volcanic or organic sites extremely difficult. Including this planet, seven worlds with conditions suitable for organic structures were found, five of them in Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22.
.
Despite the lack of large landables or rings, there were other highlights. A class V gas giant in an orbit with a period of 0.3 days was found, showing some signs of distortion: Flyai Hypa AR-K d9-24 B 1. A gas giant with Ammonia-based life was found in an extremely eccentric orbit: Flyai Hypa CW-X b33-0 A 1 has an eccentricity of 0.9470 - very comet-like. It is the only planet in its system and perhaps interactions with the other stars in the system perturbed the world at some time in the past, perhaps even throwing out other worlds.
.
One Ammonia World was found 20.93 LY from NGC 3603 Sector: Flyai Hypa VH-D c15-2 A 3. It is in a binary configuration with a high metal content world and there are no landable worlds in the same system, which is notable for its age - the K star primary is 13,033 million years old. Life has had a long time to get going here!
.
The only landing that was attempted was on the moon 4b in the system Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22, as this moon is small, has conditions compatible with organics, and the type of volcanism (Silicate Vapour Geysers) was listed as 'Major' by EDDiscovery. To my frustration, the only rayed crater on the planet was on the night side and the arrangement of mountains on this moon did not permit any distinctive markings that might have helped to help locate the crater to be identified. Being unable to locate a feature 50+ km across, I gave up trying to find something that required more precise aiming and which might not even be there, for me, as my experience in Colonia taught me. However, sometimes the Universe gives you a break: two jumps later I encountered my first ever Earth-like moon! Flyai Hypa JD-Q d6-16 6 a is in a 42.7 day orbit around a high metal content world that is not terraformable. There is almost an even coverage of land and water, with many inland seas. I took the opportunity to get close in order to capture some imagery of both the moon and the Pierre Aronnax and found an unexpectedly steep-sided mountain on one of the islands, although I seldom get this close to be sure it is particularly rare. This system is 29.16 LY away from the nearest system in NGC 3603 Sector (NGC 3603 Sector EB-X c1-2), so it is worth future monitoring.
.
At this point, I had to decide whether to continue to stay and search for more outdoor worlds or move on to the final stop of the expedition. I feel that I have found enough of interest here for future expeditions but at the same time I have only been here a few days. I am frustrated by my failure to find any surface features and this makes me keen to get on. There is now another concern, thanks to the imminent arrival of the next update sooner than expected, and as my computer's specifications are low I want to complete the expedition before that arrives, so I am now moving on rather than staying for the expected one week. IC 4673 Sector is 20 KLY away and then there is the return home to contend with. Onwards!
.
Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24 4 (536.77 LY from NGC 3603 Sector DL-Y d11)
.
Ammonia World (in Forward Base system): Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24 8 a
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-7 A 6 (31.84 LY from Forward Base)
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 (93.84): 4a (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); 4d (Nb 1.4%, V 4.9%); 6a (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%); 7d (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); 7f (Cd 1.5%, As 2.4%)
Flyai Hypa VQ-T d4-5 (93.30): A1 (Y 2.1%, As 1.7%); A2 (Y 1.3%, Ge 4.6%); B3 (Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.6%); B5 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.8%, V 5.6%)
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-41 (94.06): AB1a (Ge 5.1%); AB2 (*1.06g* Y 1.3%, Nb 1.4%, V 5.2%); AB4a (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.6%); C3a (Po 0.6%); C4 (Y 1.5%, Nb 1.7%, As 2.4%)
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-5 (40.47): 5e (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.8%, Ge 5.7%); 5f (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%, V 4.9%, Ge 5.6%); 5h (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%)
Flyai Hypa CA-I c12-6 (24.34): A6a (Po 0.3%, As 1.7%); A6d (Y 0.7%, Nb 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, Ge 3.6%); A6e (Nb 0.9%, V 3.1%, Ge 3.6%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-32 A1: Po 1.0%, Cd 2.6%, V 8.1%
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-32 B1: Po 0.9%, Cd 2.6%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Flyai Hypa UN-L c10-7 1: Cd 1.8%, V 5.6%
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 5a
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-41 C3a
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Flyai Hypa JD-Q d6-16 6 a (29.16 LY from NGC 3603 Sector EB-X c1-2)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Flyai Hypa VH-D c15-2 A 3 (20.93 LY from NGC 3603 Sector ZK-X c1-3)
.
Gold systems:
Flyai Hypa FO-P b39-3: A1 (Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%); A3 (Po 0.6%, As 2.0%, Ge 4.5%); A7 (V 4.1%, As 1.6%); B6 (Y 1.0%, Ge 3.3%)
Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22: 2a (Nb 1.4%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.8%); 2c (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%); 3a (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%); 4c (As 2.6%, Nb 1.4%)
.
Green systems:
Flyai Hypa EM-F b30-0: 4a (Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%, V 2.9%); 4e (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.9%); 4f (As 1.6%); 4g (Y 0.7%, Ge 3.4%)
Flyai Hypa QE-O d7-9: 1 (Cd 2.7%); 3 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.4%); 9a (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 9b (Nb 1.3%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.4%); 9d (Cd 1.5%, As 2.4%); 10a (Y 0.7%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%)
Flyai Hypa WZ-Q b37-0: 1 (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.2%); 2 (Y 1.0%); 3 (Nb 1.2%, Cd 1.3%, V 4.1%); 9 (Nb 1.1%, As 1.5%, Ge 3.4%)
Flyai Hypa YM-V c18-3: A1 (Nb 1.5%, V 5.2%); A4 (Cd 1.6%); A6 (Ge 4.8%, As 2.1%); B1 (Po 0.7%, V 5.9%); B2 (Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, V 5.6%); B4 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.5%)
Flyai Hypa AC-J d10-6: A1 (Y 1.4%, Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.7%); A1a (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.4%, As 2.4%, Ge 5.5%); A2 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%)
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Flyai Hypa YQ-K d9-7 A 4 (V 5.4%, surface conditions compatible with organics)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
.
This may be one of the smallest permit-locked regions but it is one I shall remember well for its outdoor world moons: the Ammonia World moon Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24 8 a located in the same system as an Earth-like World, which I decided to use as the Forward Base system, and the Earth-like moon close to the border, Flyai Hypa JD-Q d6-16 6 a. Who knows if either of these will ever be (or are!) inhabited?
.
It was a pleasant surprise to find two 'gold' systems close to the border. Many of the green systems found here have fairly average or low abundances so this helps to make up for it. I often forget to check whether the green systems I find are also gold, unfortunately, so this is something I can try and get right at the final stop at IC 4673 Sector.
.
The surprise announcement of the Beta for the next update has caught be a little by surprise but I have time to complete the expedition, I hope, before the update itself arrives. This is why I am leaving for IC 4673 Sector even though I have only been here a few days, now that I have found enough to be useful for future visitors to the region.
.
Gas giant with ammonia-based life in a highly eccentric orbit: Flyai Hypa CW-X b33-0 A 1 eccentricity = 0.9470
Class V gas giant in a very close orbit: Flyai Hypa AR-K d9-24 B 1 orbital period = 0.3 days
.
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 4 crescent with rings.
The class V gas giant Flyai Hypa AR-K d9-24 B 1 orbits very close to its parent star and has a distorted shape.
The Earth-like World moon Flyai Hypa JD-Q d6-16 6 a has an isolated mountain with very steep sides (centre of top image), although it seems smoother with three peaks from slightly farther away (bottom image, just above the Pierre Aronnax).
NGC 3603 Sector outline from ED Discovery.
NGC 3603 Sector Border report
.Key Findings
.No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in NGC 3603 Sector gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. Despite the low star density, I was able to get to within 0.97 LY, which is the distance from Flyai Hypa WY-C a67-0 to NGC 3603 Sector CJ-K a11-1.
.
With little prior information to go on, a circumnavigation of the borders was undertaken to establish the size and extent of NGC 3603 Sector. Due to the low star density, the figures are approximate but NGC 3603 Sector appears to be spherical, 280-290 LY in diameter and centred 180 LY below the Galactic Plane.
.
Only one planetary landing was attempted and nothing was detected on sensors. Several worlds with conditions compatible with organic structures were found, both near the Forward Base system and on the borders, so the potential for future discoveries remains.
.
Forward Base
.A suitable Forward Base location was found at Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24, where planet 4 is an Earth-like World in a binary configuration with a terraformable water world and the moon 8a is an Ammonia World. This system has a lot of potential for future scientific research into the evolution of life of different kinds but there are no worlds here without an atmosphere so further investigations will have to wait. The nearest system that I could identify in NGC 3603 Sector is 536.77 LY away (NGC 3603 Sector DL-Y d11). It is also some distance to the nearest 'green' system that I could find, 24.34 LY to Flyai Hypa CA-I c12-6, and the abundances there are poor but in Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-32 planets A1 and B1 are both Polonium-rich and that system is only missing Germanium to be 'green'. A cluster of green systems is also to be found just over 90 LY away. A second Earth-like World was found only 31.84 LY away: Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-7 A 6. A total of five green systems were recorded within 100 LY of the Forward Base system.
.
One landable world that is a candidate for terraforming was found nearby: Flyai Hypa UN-L c10-7 1. It has no volcanic activity and is only just over one tenth the mass of Earth. Only two worlds with surface conditions compatible with organic structures were found, which is lower than expected. Most such worlds are in a short period orbit around a gas giant that orbits at the right distance from a star for the temperature to be within the range 200-500K, although some large planets in the habitable zone also meet the criteria and moons orbiting brown dwarfs very tightly can also get some warmth. There seemed to be fewer gas giants in the right orbits for their moons to have a suitable temperature in the region near the Forward Base, although this might not be representative of the region as a whole (the numbers found close to the border were more in line with expectations).
.
Unusually, no large landables or very large rings systems were found anywhere in the region. The largest, and most picturesque, was that of Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 4, which has a C ring with an outer radius of just over 1.5 million km.
.
Border Zone
.The border of NGC 3603 Sector was circumnavigated to investigate its shape and extent and revealed it to be spherical, approximately 280 LY in diameter and centred 180 LY below the Galactic Plane, however the low star density in the region makes these estimates only. The assessment was based upon circumnavigating the region in economic mode so as to trace the outline as precisely as possible. Just over fifty jumps are typically required for half a circumnavigation.
.
Other CMDRs were found to have tagged many systems but only a couple of different names were seen. Their investigation may have been some time ago, as EDDiscovery did not seem to indicate the kind of detailed mapping that has been done near, e.g. Praei. None of the outdoor worlds found in the region had been tagged, although many planets had been scanned.
.
The process of circumnavigating the sector was done without any kind of filtering, so many systems with unscoopables or red dwarf primaries, that seldom host life-bearing or resource-rich worlds, were visited. Nevertheless, two 'gold' systems containing all materials were found, along with five more green systems. The gold systems are Flyai Hypa FO-P b39-3 and Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22, the second of which hosts many worlds with conditions suitable for organics, as described below.
.
One landable world that is a candidate for terraforming was found close to the border: Flyai Hypa YQ-K d9-7 A 4. This world also has surface conditions compatible with organics, although it is large enough to make searches for volcanic or organic sites extremely difficult. Including this planet, seven worlds with conditions suitable for organic structures were found, five of them in Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22.
.
Despite the lack of large landables or rings, there were other highlights. A class V gas giant in an orbit with a period of 0.3 days was found, showing some signs of distortion: Flyai Hypa AR-K d9-24 B 1. A gas giant with Ammonia-based life was found in an extremely eccentric orbit: Flyai Hypa CW-X b33-0 A 1 has an eccentricity of 0.9470 - very comet-like. It is the only planet in its system and perhaps interactions with the other stars in the system perturbed the world at some time in the past, perhaps even throwing out other worlds.
.
One Ammonia World was found 20.93 LY from NGC 3603 Sector: Flyai Hypa VH-D c15-2 A 3. It is in a binary configuration with a high metal content world and there are no landable worlds in the same system, which is notable for its age - the K star primary is 13,033 million years old. Life has had a long time to get going here!
.
The only landing that was attempted was on the moon 4b in the system Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22, as this moon is small, has conditions compatible with organics, and the type of volcanism (Silicate Vapour Geysers) was listed as 'Major' by EDDiscovery. To my frustration, the only rayed crater on the planet was on the night side and the arrangement of mountains on this moon did not permit any distinctive markings that might have helped to help locate the crater to be identified. Being unable to locate a feature 50+ km across, I gave up trying to find something that required more precise aiming and which might not even be there, for me, as my experience in Colonia taught me. However, sometimes the Universe gives you a break: two jumps later I encountered my first ever Earth-like moon! Flyai Hypa JD-Q d6-16 6 a is in a 42.7 day orbit around a high metal content world that is not terraformable. There is almost an even coverage of land and water, with many inland seas. I took the opportunity to get close in order to capture some imagery of both the moon and the Pierre Aronnax and found an unexpectedly steep-sided mountain on one of the islands, although I seldom get this close to be sure it is particularly rare. This system is 29.16 LY away from the nearest system in NGC 3603 Sector (NGC 3603 Sector EB-X c1-2), so it is worth future monitoring.
.
At this point, I had to decide whether to continue to stay and search for more outdoor worlds or move on to the final stop of the expedition. I feel that I have found enough of interest here for future expeditions but at the same time I have only been here a few days. I am frustrated by my failure to find any surface features and this makes me keen to get on. There is now another concern, thanks to the imminent arrival of the next update sooner than expected, and as my computer's specifications are low I want to complete the expedition before that arrives, so I am now moving on rather than staying for the expected one week. IC 4673 Sector is 20 KLY away and then there is the return home to contend with. Onwards!
.
Summary
.Forward Base
.Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24 4 (536.77 LY from NGC 3603 Sector DL-Y d11)
.
Ammonia World (in Forward Base system): Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24 8 a
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-7 A 6 (31.84 LY from Forward Base)
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 (93.84): 4a (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); 4d (Nb 1.4%, V 4.9%); 6a (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%); 7d (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); 7f (Cd 1.5%, As 2.4%)
Flyai Hypa VQ-T d4-5 (93.30): A1 (Y 2.1%, As 1.7%); A2 (Y 1.3%, Ge 4.6%); B3 (Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.6%); B5 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.8%, V 5.6%)
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-41 (94.06): AB1a (Ge 5.1%); AB2 (*1.06g* Y 1.3%, Nb 1.4%, V 5.2%); AB4a (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.6%); C3a (Po 0.6%); C4 (Y 1.5%, Nb 1.7%, As 2.4%)
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-5 (40.47): 5e (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.8%, Ge 5.7%); 5f (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.4%, V 4.9%, Ge 5.6%); 5h (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%)
Flyai Hypa CA-I c12-6 (24.34): A6a (Po 0.3%, As 1.7%); A6d (Y 0.7%, Nb 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, Ge 3.6%); A6e (Nb 0.9%, V 3.1%, Ge 3.6%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-32 A1: Po 1.0%, Cd 2.6%, V 8.1%
Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-32 B1: Po 0.9%, Cd 2.6%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Flyai Hypa UN-L c10-7 1: Cd 1.8%, V 5.6%
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 5a
Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-41 C3a
.
Border
.Earth-like Worlds:
Flyai Hypa JD-Q d6-16 6 a (29.16 LY from NGC 3603 Sector EB-X c1-2)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Flyai Hypa VH-D c15-2 A 3 (20.93 LY from NGC 3603 Sector ZK-X c1-3)
.
Gold systems:
Flyai Hypa FO-P b39-3: A1 (Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%); A3 (Po 0.6%, As 2.0%, Ge 4.5%); A7 (V 4.1%, As 1.6%); B6 (Y 1.0%, Ge 3.3%)
Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22: 2a (Nb 1.4%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.8%); 2c (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%); 3a (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%); 4c (As 2.6%, Nb 1.4%)
.
Green systems:
Flyai Hypa EM-F b30-0: 4a (Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%, V 2.9%); 4e (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.9%); 4f (As 1.6%); 4g (Y 0.7%, Ge 3.4%)
Flyai Hypa QE-O d7-9: 1 (Cd 2.7%); 3 (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.4%); 9a (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.5%); 9b (Nb 1.3%, V 4.7%, Ge 5.4%); 9d (Cd 1.5%, As 2.4%); 10a (Y 0.7%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%)
Flyai Hypa WZ-Q b37-0: 1 (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.2%); 2 (Y 1.0%); 3 (Nb 1.2%, Cd 1.3%, V 4.1%); 9 (Nb 1.1%, As 1.5%, Ge 3.4%)
Flyai Hypa YM-V c18-3: A1 (Nb 1.5%, V 5.2%); A4 (Cd 1.6%); A6 (Ge 4.8%, As 2.1%); B1 (Po 0.7%, V 5.9%); B2 (Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, V 5.6%); B4 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.5%)
Flyai Hypa AC-J d10-6: A1 (Y 1.4%, Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.7%); A1a (Po 0.6%, Nb 1.4%, As 2.4%, Ge 5.5%); A2 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%)
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Flyai Hypa YQ-K d9-7 A 4 (V 5.4%, surface conditions compatible with organics)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Flyai Hypa QE-O d7-9 4
Flyai Hypa YQ-K d9-7 A4
Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22 2a, 2c, 2d, 4a, 4b
Flyai Hypa YQ-K d9-7 A4
Flyai Hypa NJ-O d7-22 2a, 2c, 2d, 4a, 4b
General Comments
.This may be one of the smallest permit-locked regions but it is one I shall remember well for its outdoor world moons: the Ammonia World moon Flyai Hypa ZW-R d5-24 8 a located in the same system as an Earth-like World, which I decided to use as the Forward Base system, and the Earth-like moon close to the border, Flyai Hypa JD-Q d6-16 6 a. Who knows if either of these will ever be (or are!) inhabited?
.
It was a pleasant surprise to find two 'gold' systems close to the border. Many of the green systems found here have fairly average or low abundances so this helps to make up for it. I often forget to check whether the green systems I find are also gold, unfortunately, so this is something I can try and get right at the final stop at IC 4673 Sector.
.
The surprise announcement of the Beta for the next update has caught be a little by surprise but I have time to complete the expedition, I hope, before the update itself arrives. This is why I am leaving for IC 4673 Sector even though I have only been here a few days, now that I have found enough to be useful for future visitors to the region.
.
Minor Points of Interest
.Gas giant with ammonia-based life in a highly eccentric orbit: Flyai Hypa CW-X b33-0 A 1 eccentricity = 0.9470
Class V gas giant in a very close orbit: Flyai Hypa AR-K d9-24 B 1 orbital period = 0.3 days
.
Gallery
.Flyai Hypa UQ-T d4-13 4 crescent with rings.
Journey to IC 4673 Sector
The Pierre Aronnax reached the vicinity of IC 4673 Sector this afternoon, following a journey of 20 KLY from the borders of NGC 3603 Sector. The outstanding finding of this leg of the journey, an undoubtedly one of the rarest finds of the expedition, is that of a Trojan pair of worlds: Ploi Aec PN-B d13-42 5 and 6. Planet 5 is a Y dwarf and planet 6 is a class II gas giant. Details have been submitted here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...-for-trojans?p=6302359&viewfull=1#post6302359
.
The discovery of the Trojans was a very fortunate event that was made possible by a short detour from the direct route from NGC 3603 Sector to IC 4673 Sector, in order to visit one of the Dynasty Expedition bases located in Hawking's Gap. These abandoned settlements were a part of an attempt to locate Earth-like and terraformable worlds in 3270, that ended with the loss of all crews. The only ship known to have survived is the megaship Zurara, a derelict in the Formidine Rift, and the only surface remnants are bases in the Formidine Rift, the Scutum-Sagittarius Conflux and Hawking's Gap. It is an eerie place, especially when visited at night, and there are materials strewn about the place and data points that can be scanned to download the settlement's logs. At the Hawking's Gap Alpha site, the expedition seems to have gone smoothly and the cause of its loss is not hinted at. It is worth mentioning that on my approach to the base, about 420 LY distant, I encountered an Earth-like World located in an otherwise innocuous star system (Plaa Aec XB-B c27-27 2), with one high metal content planet and a handful of icy bodies, none suitable for landing, and encountered no signs of satellites or beacons.
.
Of the three Earth-like Worlds encountered during this leg, Skaudia YZ-B c2-12 A 1 is the most unusual, with an atmosphere that is 55.5% argon! The pressure at the surface is 1.76 bars and the other constituents are nitrogen (35.4%) and oxygen (9.0%). The surface conditions are otherwise comfortable, with a temperature of 283K and gravity 0.70g, and the world has a small polar cap and oceans scattered with small continents.
.
A large ring system over 31 million km wide was found around a Y dwarf, the rocky B ring of Preae Aihm FG-Y d38 6, which is sadly not visible. In contrast, the rocky ring of Prua Phio EW-V e2-12 6 is only about 0.9 million km wide but this L dwarf provides an impressive view, being one of the few luminous stars with its own ring encountered on the expedition.
.
Now that I have reached the vicinity of the final permit-locked zone on my expedition, I am both relieved and sad. I still have work to do and plan to stay for a week, or longer if required. I have been lucky and have encountered several green systems already, so now I can focus on finding a suitable Forward Base system.
The Pierre Aronnax reached the vicinity of IC 4673 Sector this afternoon, following a journey of 20 KLY from the borders of NGC 3603 Sector. The outstanding finding of this leg of the journey, an undoubtedly one of the rarest finds of the expedition, is that of a Trojan pair of worlds: Ploi Aec PN-B d13-42 5 and 6. Planet 5 is a Y dwarf and planet 6 is a class II gas giant. Details have been submitted here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...-for-trojans?p=6302359&viewfull=1#post6302359
long range view of the orbits of Ploi Aec PN-B d13-42 5 and 6.
The discovery of the Trojans was a very fortunate event that was made possible by a short detour from the direct route from NGC 3603 Sector to IC 4673 Sector, in order to visit one of the Dynasty Expedition bases located in Hawking's Gap. These abandoned settlements were a part of an attempt to locate Earth-like and terraformable worlds in 3270, that ended with the loss of all crews. The only ship known to have survived is the megaship Zurara, a derelict in the Formidine Rift, and the only surface remnants are bases in the Formidine Rift, the Scutum-Sagittarius Conflux and Hawking's Gap. It is an eerie place, especially when visited at night, and there are materials strewn about the place and data points that can be scanned to download the settlement's logs. At the Hawking's Gap Alpha site, the expedition seems to have gone smoothly and the cause of its loss is not hinted at. It is worth mentioning that on my approach to the base, about 420 LY distant, I encountered an Earth-like World located in an otherwise innocuous star system (Plaa Aec XB-B c27-27 2), with one high metal content planet and a handful of icy bodies, none suitable for landing, and encountered no signs of satellites or beacons.
The Pierre Aronnax visits the Hawking's Gap Alpha Base.
Of the three Earth-like Worlds encountered during this leg, Skaudia YZ-B c2-12 A 1 is the most unusual, with an atmosphere that is 55.5% argon! The pressure at the surface is 1.76 bars and the other constituents are nitrogen (35.4%) and oxygen (9.0%). The surface conditions are otherwise comfortable, with a temperature of 283K and gravity 0.70g, and the world has a small polar cap and oceans scattered with small continents.
Close up view of Skaudia YZ-B c2-12 A 1.
A large ring system over 31 million km wide was found around a Y dwarf, the rocky B ring of Preae Aihm FG-Y d38 6, which is sadly not visible. In contrast, the rocky ring of Prua Phio EW-V e2-12 6 is only about 0.9 million km wide but this L dwarf provides an impressive view, being one of the few luminous stars with its own ring encountered on the expedition.
The L dwarf Prua Phio EW-V e2-12 6 displays its rocky ring in the light of the system's primary B star.
Now that I have reached the vicinity of the final permit-locked zone on my expedition, I am both relieved and sad. I still have work to do and plan to stay for a week, or longer if required. I have been lucky and have encountered several green systems already, so now I can focus on finding a suitable Forward Base system.
A suitable Forward Base location near IC 4673 Sector has been identified and the Pierre Aronnax has now started the border survey, which will include a circumnavigation of the permit-locked region to establish its extent and morphology. A preliminary assessment suggests that IC 4673 Sector is 200 LY in diameter, centred on the Wolf-Rayet star Hen 2-333. This suggests an astrophysical reason for the permit-lock - a supernova would make this region extremely hazardous to enter.
.
It took longer than expected to locate a suitable Earth-like World to form the foundation of a Forward Base system, since a search close to the cluster of green systems found upon arrival in the region failed to produce anything more than an Ammonia World. Upon switching the search slightly closer to the border, however, two Earth-like Worlds and one more Ammonia World were found, along with a handful of rare Helium-rich Gas Giants and also one system that is 'gold', possessing all elements currently extractable via surface mining. The search for green systems also revealed many worlds with surface conditions compatible with organics and several vistas of potential interest to tourists, so the report for the Forward Base region will be quite long!
.
It took longer than expected to locate a suitable Earth-like World to form the foundation of a Forward Base system, since a search close to the cluster of green systems found upon arrival in the region failed to produce anything more than an Ammonia World. Upon switching the search slightly closer to the border, however, two Earth-like Worlds and one more Ammonia World were found, along with a handful of rare Helium-rich Gas Giants and also one system that is 'gold', possessing all elements currently extractable via surface mining. The search for green systems also revealed many worlds with surface conditions compatible with organics and several vistas of potential interest to tourists, so the report for the Forward Base region will be quite long!
IC 4673 Sector border report
No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in IC 4673 Sector gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. The closest I was able to get was 1.24 LY, which is the distance from Graea Hypue ZW-L b11-9 to IC 4673 Sector VY-A b7.
.
A circumnavigation of the borders was undertaken to establish the size and extent of IC 4673 Sector. It is clearly centred on the Wolf-Rayet star Hen 2-333, located 562 LY below the Galactic Plane and surrounded by a tiny nebula, and appears to be a sphere 100 LY in radius, although there is a hint of flattening on the 'East' side. It is possible that in this case there may be an astrophysical reason for the permit lock: if this star has gone supernova, then jumping into systems very close by would be extremely hazardous.
.
Life-bearing worlds appear unusually abundant close to the border, so there is an urgent need for detailed biosphere surveying and also potentially salvaging or transplanting to terraforming candidates at least as far away as the Forward Base region. Organics-compatible worlds were far more abundant close to the Forward Base region, however.
.
No planetary landings were attempted here.
.
A suitable Forward Base location was found at Clookeou BX-I d10-133, where planet B5 is an Earth-like World, located just under 6500 ls from the jump-in point - this was not considered to be too inconvenient to prevent its selection. The closest system to this, Clookeou BX-I d10-130, is green and there is also a 'gold' system with all presently available materials to hand 17.68 LY away: Clookeou BX-I d10-114. A second Earth-like World was found only 13.50 LY away: Clookeou BX-I d10-53 B1 but this was considered too distant from the jump-in point to be convenient for a Forward Base (over 28 Kls). These systems were found by coincidence, whilst investigating the Clookeou BX-I d10-xxx 'boxel' for Helium-rich gas giants. Upon first arrival in the region, a cluster of green systems was immediately found and the surrounding systems were searched for Earth-like Worlds, however only one Ammonia World (Clookeou DZ-A c16-14 AB 1) was discovered so the search was moved slightly closer to the border, whereupon a system was found to have gas giants with a high helium %, so the decision was made to search for Helium-rich Gas Giants and see what else would appear at the same time. This resulted not only in the discovery of both these Earth-like Worlds but one more Ammonia World, Clookeou BX-I d10-104 A 7, and five Helium-rich Gas Giants (reported elsewhere: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...h-Gas-Giants?p=6326492&viewfull=1#post6326492).
.
Owing to the extended search for a suitable Forward Base, a total of eight green systems and one 'gold' system were found, along with some worlds having very high abundances of elements. In particular, planet A1 in the green system Clookeou TK-M d8-23 has a Polonium abundance of 1.3%. Clookeou XQ-K d9-46 A 1 was the other significant Polonium-rich planet, with a Polonium abundance of 1.1%.
.
The scanning for green systems also reveals worlds with surface conditions compatible with organic structures (surface temperature 200K - 500K, active volcanism and rayed craters). Although full searches for rayed craters were not done, over 20 worlds with the required temperature and volcanic activity were recorded and these are given in a list below.
.
One landable world that is also a candidate for terraforming was found: Clookeou TK-M d8-8 A 3. One very large landable world was also found: Clookeou XQ-K d9-118 2, which has a radius of 18,523 km.
.
No very large ring systems were discovered in the region but one fairly narrow ring system was found that also happened to be nearly face-on to the planet's parent star, only a short distance away: Clookeou BX-I d10-91 3 has an axial tilt of 83.93 degrees and its only ring has a width of 3,757 km. Some other ring systems provided a particularly good view: Clookeou HC-U e3-26 1 is a class V gas giant orbiting a F type supergiant star - it is 2.51 AU away but this star has a radius almost 47 times greater than Sol, so it appears much closer! A water world moon was found in a close but highly-inclined orbit of a ringed gas giant: Clookeou QP-M d8-117 A 2 a has an orbital period of just 1.1 days and its orbital inclination is -61.70 degrees. A different type of close encounter was nearly stumbled upon elsewhere, as two moons were found in very close orbits, such that they are only three or four radii away from touching: Clookeou QP-M d8-82 11 b and c moons are both listed as having an orbital period of 1.9 days, although their orbital eccentricities are marginally different and they have tenuous atmospheres so they are not landable at present.
.
A remarkably low mass water world was found that is almost a record-breaker: Clookeou TQ-W b34-1 2 has only 0.0832 Earth masses, which is lighter than anything in Universal Cartographics and the 10th lightest at the time of writing in Elite Galaxy Online. It is warm with a thin atmosphere but is not a candidate for terraforming.
.
There was no prior chart showing the extent of the borders of IC 4673 Sector, so two circumnavigations were done in economic mode in an attempt to resolve both the size and morphology of the region. It was immediately clear that the centre of the permit-locked region is the Wolf-Rayet star Hen 2-333. This star is surrounded by a tiny nebula, as Wolf-Rayet stars shed mass at an extreme rate, and the star is likely to be a supernova candidate. If this star has indeed gone supernova, then that might be a natural cause for the inability of navigation systems to lock on to systems nearby. It would also make entering those systems dangerous, or even lethal, so a permit lock to prevent fatalities might also be considered prudent. Recommendations for further investigation will be given in the General Comments section. For now, it is notable that the permit-locked region appears to be a sphere of 100 LY radius centred on Hen 2-333, with a hint of flattening on the 'East' side. The star density in the region requires 150-200 jumps for a complete circumnavigation in economic mode, although the route plotter is not able to plot a course to the exact opposite side when close to the border. Only a handful of First Discovery tags were found in the region and no names repeated more than once, suggesting that a thorough survey has not been done here before.
.
The outstanding feature of the border is the abundance of life-bearing worlds of all kinds. Even the life-bearing gas giants seemed more abundant than normal. In total, 5 Earth-like Worlds were found in three systems (two systems each having two Earth-like Worlds!) and three Ammonia Worlds were also found, along with many water worlds. All these worlds should be considered endangered due to the possible imminent supernova of Hen 2-333 and surveys and sampling of their biospheres should be considered as a matter or urgency. The closest outdoor world to Hen 2-333 is the Ammonia World Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53 6, which is 100.48 LY away from it. The closest Earth-like Worlds to Hen 2-33 are the two in Graea Hypue FM-U d3-80, where planets B3 and B5 are over 330 Kls from the jump-in point. These two worlds are very different in mass (roughly 0.35 and 2.1 Earth masses respectively) and the others also tended to be extreme, with Graea Hypue EX-Q c6-19 B 2 being only 0.23 Earth masses, whilst the binary Earth-likes Graea Hypue DR-U d3-232 5&6 are 2.16 and 1.28 Earth masses respectively. All of these Earth-like Worlds would present considerable challenges to colonists, through tidally-locked orbits or high gravity.
.
One landable world that is a candidate for terraforming was found: Graea Hypue SP-L c9-25 A 1.
.
The circumnavigations also revealed many green systems: nine in total (two of these contain an Ammonia World). In contrast to the Forward Base region, surface conditions compatible with organic structures were uncommon, with only four worlds matching the necessary criteria being recorded.
.
The scenic highlights of the border mostly revolve around a small number of ring systems (outdoor worlds excepted!) but the exception was a close trinary of non-ringed worlds in Graea Hypue RE-N c8-30, where the three innermost planets all have orbital periods about each other of less than 2 days. Planet 1 is more massive and the others are more than an order of magnitude lighter and are a tight pair, almost like a binary moon. All three worlds are landable. Another tight pair of worlds (not landable this time) are to be found orbiting very close to the ring of a gas giant, Graea Hypue ZA-T c5-32 5: it is not unusual to find one moon so close to a ring system but a binary pair is much less common. Very large ring systems were not found, the largest being the C ring of Graea Hypue TL-D b16-3 7 which is just over 1.4 million km wide (and not visible) but the rings of Graea Hypue QW-C b16-0 A 2 are all visible and very pretty, with the C ring having an outer radius of almost 1.9 million km, although it is less than 0.7 million km wide. Another arrangement worth a mention is Graea Hypue AM-R c6-58 7, a class II gas giant, and its family of ringed class I gas giants.
.
Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Clookeou BX-I d10-133 (681.74 LY from IC 4673 Sector UD-B b9)
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Clookeou BX-I d10-53 (13.50 LY from Forward Base)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Clookeou DZ-A c16-14 AB 1 (195.96 LY from Forward Base)
Clookeou BX-I d10-104 A 7 (40.10 LY from Forward Base, also green, see below)
.
Gold system:
Clookeou BX-I d10-114 (17.68 LY from Forward Base): 5d (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%); 5e (Nb 1.2%, Ge 4.7%); 6a (As 2.7%, Cd 1.6%, Nb 1.4%); 8e (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.6%)
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Clookeou TK-M d8-106 (136.80): 4a (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%); 4c (Po 0.5%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.9%); 7g (Y 1.2%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.8%)
Clookeou TK-M d8-39 (141.20): 2b (Nb 1.3 %); 2c (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, Ge 5.6%); 2d (Po 0.5%, V 4.6%)
Clookeou TK-M d8-107 (144.75): 2 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%); 4 (*2.04g* Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.8%); 5a (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.6%, As 2.4%); 8a (Po 0.5%, V 4.8%)
Clookeou TK-M d8-23 (116.22): A1 (Po 1.3%, As 2.1%, Ge 2.1%); B2 (Cd 2.8%, V 8.9%); B5 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, As 2.1%)
Clookeou MV-Y c16-12 (140.57): A1 (As 2.2%, Cd 1.8%); A3c (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.4%); A3f (Y 1.2%, V 5.0%); A4b (Nb 0.9%, Ge 3.6%)
Clookeou QP-M d8-82 (185.87): 5 (*2.10g* Po 0.6%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%); 6 (*1.38g* Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, V 5.6%); 9b (Ge 5.5%)
Clookeou BX-I d10-104 (40.10): A4b (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.9%); A6e (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%); A6fa (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.9%)
Clookeou BX-I d10-130 (9.25): 2 (*1.72g* Po 0.6%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%); 5b (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%); 7b (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); 7c (Nb 1.4%, As 2.6%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.8%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Clookeou XQ-K d9-46 A 1: Po 1.1%, Nb 2.7%, V 9.7%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Clookeou TK-M d8-8 A 3: Nb 1.4%
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-80 B3 and B5 (3.75 LY from IC 4673 Sector EG-Y d78, 101.34 LY from Hen 2-333)
Graea Hypue EX-Q c6-19 B 2 (8.35 LY from IC 4673 Sector DB-X b1-2, 105.07 LY from Hen 2-333)
Graea Hypue DR-U d3-232 5&6 *binary pair* (11.03 LY from IC 4673 Sector GN-S b4-18, 104.98 LY from Hen 2-333)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Graea Hypue AM-R c6-25 3 (11.34 LY from IC 4673 Sector UE-Y b1-14, 106.54 LY from Hen 2-333)
Graea Hypue EU-F b15-7 3 (8.43 LY from IC 4673 Sector CR-U b3-6, 103.79 LY from Hen 2-333, also 'green', see below)
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53 6 (4.67 LY from IC 4673 Sector SZ-P b5-4, 100.48 LY from Hen 2-333, also 'green', see below)
.
Green systems:
Graea Hypue BL-W d2-8: 1 (Cd 1.8%, As 2.2%); 2 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.4%); 3 (Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%); 4 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.4%); 6 (Po 0.6%, Ge 4.8%)
Graea Hypue NK-F b15-10: B2 (Y 1.4%, As 2.2%, Ge 4.9%); B3 (Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%); B4 (Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.8%, V 5.6%); AB1c (Po 0.4%, Nb 1.1%, V 3.9%, Ge 4.6%)
Graea Hypue TL-D b16-3: 6b (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.8%); 6c (Y 0.7%, Cd 0.9%, Ge 3.4%); 6e (As 1.6%, V 3.0%)
Graea Hypue SU-L c9-14: 2 (Po 0.6%, Ge 4.4%); 3 (Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%); 5 (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, As 1.5%)
Graea Hypue IX-S d4-248: A1 (*1.25g* Y 2.1%, V 8.6%); A2 (*1.18g* Po 0.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.7%); A3a (Nb 1.5%, As 2.5%); A4 (*0.96g* Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.9%)
Graea Hypue DZ-Y b17-9: 1 (*1.28g* Po 0.6%); 2 (*1.69g* Y 1.3%, Cd 1.6%, V 5.2%); 5a (Po 0.3%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.5%); 6a (Y 0.7%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.5%); 6c (Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%); 7a (As 1.7%, Ge 3.7%)
Graea Hypue ZV-S c5-15: A1 (Y 2.1%, Nb 2.4%, Cd 2.8%); A3a (Cd 1.7%, As 2.6%, V 5.3%); A6 (Po 0.7%, Nb 1.6%, V 5.9%, Ge 5.0%)
Graea Hypue EU-F b15-7: 4a (Y 0.7%, Nb 0.9%, V 3.1%, Ge 3.6%); 4d (Y 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%, Ge 3.7%); 5a (Po 0.3%, Ge 3.5%)
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53: 1 (*1.37g* Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, As 2.0%); 3ea (Po 0.4%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.4%, Ge 5.9%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Graea Hypue HY-N c8-54 1: Po 0.9%, Nb 2.2%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Graea Hypue SP-L c9-25 A 1 (V 5.2%)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
.
The last region to be surveyed certainly had some treats in store, the highlight undoubtedly being the two systems that each contain two Earth-like Worlds. This is the only permit-locked border region where multiple Earth-likes were found in the same system and there are two of them - yet the rejoicing is also tempered by the knowledge that the eight outdoor worlds found close to the border are endangered due to the Wolf-Rayet star Hen 2-333. It is even possible that this star has already gone supernova and that the permit-lock exists for astrophysical reasons. Whether it has gone supernova yet or not, there is an urgent need for automated monitoring of the border to watch for danger, to survey the many endangered worlds for life, especially intelligent life, and to investigate the possibility of salvaging or transplanting life forms to preserve the ecosystems on terraformable worlds beyond the danger zone. This would take a substantial effort from the galactic community. Given the Ammonia Worlds at risk, there is the possibility of using this as a diplomatic initiative to work alongside the Thargoids peacefully in a common interest: the preservation of life. The first stage should be to set up automated satellites around life-bearing planets, to both survey their ecospheres remotely and to monitor Hen 2-333.
.
There were a handful of First Discovery tags observed near the Forward Base and the borders of IC 4673 but no sign of the level of surveying done near, e.g. NGC 3603 Sector or Sidgoir. The charts produced by this expedition seem likely to be the first real evidence of the shape and morphology of the IC 4673 Sector borders. They appear to be spherical, with a hint of flattening on the 'East' side, and are 200 LY in diameter, making the region equal in size to Sidgoir and thus the joint-smallest known permit-locked sector.
.
This may be the last sector report but the journey home still needs to be undertaken and the data sold before the expedition can be truly considered complete, although in practice it will be over once I return to Abraham Lincoln Station in Sol. I will miss being out in the black but I also feel that it is time to return home, do some Buckyball Racing and take more of an interest in local affairs. I have failed to find the Thargoid homeworld, or any signs of alien civilisations or life, and for now there is nothing more that I feel I can do - except keep my eyes open and my wits about me, for who knows what clues lie hidden in deep vaults of the Powers and superpowers, or are being transmitted by strange beacons on the frontier?
.
Large ringed icy landable: Clookeou XQ-K d9-118 2 radius = 18,523 km
System with a binary pair of water giants: Clookeou XQ-K d9-3 planets 6 and 7
Water world in a close but inclined orbit of a ringed gas giant: Clookeou QP-M d8-117 A 2 a orbital period = 1.1 days with orbital inclination -61.70 degrees
Rocky moons with orbital paths very close to each other: Clookeou QP-M d8-82 11b and 11c
Unusually low mass water world: Clookeou TQ-W b34-1 2 0.0832 Earth masses
Highly complex system: Clookeou TK-M d8-7 10 gas giants with 53 moons between them and one other planet
Close-orbiting lava world with a narrow ring system face-on to its host star: Clookeou BX-I d10-91 3 A ring inner radius = 47,516 km, outer radius = 51,273 km
Ringed gas giant with binary moons in a very close orbit: Graea Hypue ZA-T c5-32 5a
Ringed class II gas giant with four ringed class I gas giant moons: Graea Hypue AM-R c6-58 7
System with 7 candidates for terraforming: Graea Hypue RE-N c8-0
Close trinary of landables: Graea Hypue RE-N c8-30 planets 1, 2 and 3
.
The night side of lava world Clookeou BX-I d10-91 3 with its ring face on to its parent star.
The ringed class V gas giant Clookeou HC-U e3-26 1 orbits 1245 ls from its parent star - but this F type supergiant has a radius 46.9730 times that of Sol, so it looks much closer!
The water world moon Clookeou QP-M d8-117 A 2 a is in a close but highly inclined orbit about its ringed gas giant parent.
The picturesque rings of Graea Hypue QW-C b16-0 A 2.
This binary pair of icy moons orbit very close to the rings of their gas giant parent, Graea Hypue ZA-T c5-32 5.
IC 4673 Sector outline from ED Discovery.
IC 4673 Sector Border report
.Key Findings
.No Spacefaring activity was observed in this region.
.
Attempting to hyperspace to any system in IC 4673 Sector gives the message 'Unable to hyperspace to this system.'. The closest I was able to get was 1.24 LY, which is the distance from Graea Hypue ZW-L b11-9 to IC 4673 Sector VY-A b7.
.
A circumnavigation of the borders was undertaken to establish the size and extent of IC 4673 Sector. It is clearly centred on the Wolf-Rayet star Hen 2-333, located 562 LY below the Galactic Plane and surrounded by a tiny nebula, and appears to be a sphere 100 LY in radius, although there is a hint of flattening on the 'East' side. It is possible that in this case there may be an astrophysical reason for the permit lock: if this star has gone supernova, then jumping into systems very close by would be extremely hazardous.
.
Life-bearing worlds appear unusually abundant close to the border, so there is an urgent need for detailed biosphere surveying and also potentially salvaging or transplanting to terraforming candidates at least as far away as the Forward Base region. Organics-compatible worlds were far more abundant close to the Forward Base region, however.
.
No planetary landings were attempted here.
.
Forward Base
.A suitable Forward Base location was found at Clookeou BX-I d10-133, where planet B5 is an Earth-like World, located just under 6500 ls from the jump-in point - this was not considered to be too inconvenient to prevent its selection. The closest system to this, Clookeou BX-I d10-130, is green and there is also a 'gold' system with all presently available materials to hand 17.68 LY away: Clookeou BX-I d10-114. A second Earth-like World was found only 13.50 LY away: Clookeou BX-I d10-53 B1 but this was considered too distant from the jump-in point to be convenient for a Forward Base (over 28 Kls). These systems were found by coincidence, whilst investigating the Clookeou BX-I d10-xxx 'boxel' for Helium-rich gas giants. Upon first arrival in the region, a cluster of green systems was immediately found and the surrounding systems were searched for Earth-like Worlds, however only one Ammonia World (Clookeou DZ-A c16-14 AB 1) was discovered so the search was moved slightly closer to the border, whereupon a system was found to have gas giants with a high helium %, so the decision was made to search for Helium-rich Gas Giants and see what else would appear at the same time. This resulted not only in the discovery of both these Earth-like Worlds but one more Ammonia World, Clookeou BX-I d10-104 A 7, and five Helium-rich Gas Giants (reported elsewhere: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...h-Gas-Giants?p=6326492&viewfull=1#post6326492).
.
Owing to the extended search for a suitable Forward Base, a total of eight green systems and one 'gold' system were found, along with some worlds having very high abundances of elements. In particular, planet A1 in the green system Clookeou TK-M d8-23 has a Polonium abundance of 1.3%. Clookeou XQ-K d9-46 A 1 was the other significant Polonium-rich planet, with a Polonium abundance of 1.1%.
.
The scanning for green systems also reveals worlds with surface conditions compatible with organic structures (surface temperature 200K - 500K, active volcanism and rayed craters). Although full searches for rayed craters were not done, over 20 worlds with the required temperature and volcanic activity were recorded and these are given in a list below.
.
One landable world that is also a candidate for terraforming was found: Clookeou TK-M d8-8 A 3. One very large landable world was also found: Clookeou XQ-K d9-118 2, which has a radius of 18,523 km.
.
No very large ring systems were discovered in the region but one fairly narrow ring system was found that also happened to be nearly face-on to the planet's parent star, only a short distance away: Clookeou BX-I d10-91 3 has an axial tilt of 83.93 degrees and its only ring has a width of 3,757 km. Some other ring systems provided a particularly good view: Clookeou HC-U e3-26 1 is a class V gas giant orbiting a F type supergiant star - it is 2.51 AU away but this star has a radius almost 47 times greater than Sol, so it appears much closer! A water world moon was found in a close but highly-inclined orbit of a ringed gas giant: Clookeou QP-M d8-117 A 2 a has an orbital period of just 1.1 days and its orbital inclination is -61.70 degrees. A different type of close encounter was nearly stumbled upon elsewhere, as two moons were found in very close orbits, such that they are only three or four radii away from touching: Clookeou QP-M d8-82 11 b and c moons are both listed as having an orbital period of 1.9 days, although their orbital eccentricities are marginally different and they have tenuous atmospheres so they are not landable at present.
.
A remarkably low mass water world was found that is almost a record-breaker: Clookeou TQ-W b34-1 2 has only 0.0832 Earth masses, which is lighter than anything in Universal Cartographics and the 10th lightest at the time of writing in Elite Galaxy Online. It is warm with a thin atmosphere but is not a candidate for terraforming.
.
Border Zone
.There was no prior chart showing the extent of the borders of IC 4673 Sector, so two circumnavigations were done in economic mode in an attempt to resolve both the size and morphology of the region. It was immediately clear that the centre of the permit-locked region is the Wolf-Rayet star Hen 2-333. This star is surrounded by a tiny nebula, as Wolf-Rayet stars shed mass at an extreme rate, and the star is likely to be a supernova candidate. If this star has indeed gone supernova, then that might be a natural cause for the inability of navigation systems to lock on to systems nearby. It would also make entering those systems dangerous, or even lethal, so a permit lock to prevent fatalities might also be considered prudent. Recommendations for further investigation will be given in the General Comments section. For now, it is notable that the permit-locked region appears to be a sphere of 100 LY radius centred on Hen 2-333, with a hint of flattening on the 'East' side. The star density in the region requires 150-200 jumps for a complete circumnavigation in economic mode, although the route plotter is not able to plot a course to the exact opposite side when close to the border. Only a handful of First Discovery tags were found in the region and no names repeated more than once, suggesting that a thorough survey has not been done here before.
.
The outstanding feature of the border is the abundance of life-bearing worlds of all kinds. Even the life-bearing gas giants seemed more abundant than normal. In total, 5 Earth-like Worlds were found in three systems (two systems each having two Earth-like Worlds!) and three Ammonia Worlds were also found, along with many water worlds. All these worlds should be considered endangered due to the possible imminent supernova of Hen 2-333 and surveys and sampling of their biospheres should be considered as a matter or urgency. The closest outdoor world to Hen 2-333 is the Ammonia World Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53 6, which is 100.48 LY away from it. The closest Earth-like Worlds to Hen 2-33 are the two in Graea Hypue FM-U d3-80, where planets B3 and B5 are over 330 Kls from the jump-in point. These two worlds are very different in mass (roughly 0.35 and 2.1 Earth masses respectively) and the others also tended to be extreme, with Graea Hypue EX-Q c6-19 B 2 being only 0.23 Earth masses, whilst the binary Earth-likes Graea Hypue DR-U d3-232 5&6 are 2.16 and 1.28 Earth masses respectively. All of these Earth-like Worlds would present considerable challenges to colonists, through tidally-locked orbits or high gravity.
.
One landable world that is a candidate for terraforming was found: Graea Hypue SP-L c9-25 A 1.
.
The circumnavigations also revealed many green systems: nine in total (two of these contain an Ammonia World). In contrast to the Forward Base region, surface conditions compatible with organic structures were uncommon, with only four worlds matching the necessary criteria being recorded.
.
The scenic highlights of the border mostly revolve around a small number of ring systems (outdoor worlds excepted!) but the exception was a close trinary of non-ringed worlds in Graea Hypue RE-N c8-30, where the three innermost planets all have orbital periods about each other of less than 2 days. Planet 1 is more massive and the others are more than an order of magnitude lighter and are a tight pair, almost like a binary moon. All three worlds are landable. Another tight pair of worlds (not landable this time) are to be found orbiting very close to the ring of a gas giant, Graea Hypue ZA-T c5-32 5: it is not unusual to find one moon so close to a ring system but a binary pair is much less common. Very large ring systems were not found, the largest being the C ring of Graea Hypue TL-D b16-3 7 which is just over 1.4 million km wide (and not visible) but the rings of Graea Hypue QW-C b16-0 A 2 are all visible and very pretty, with the C ring having an outer radius of almost 1.9 million km, although it is less than 0.7 million km wide. Another arrangement worth a mention is Graea Hypue AM-R c6-58 7, a class II gas giant, and its family of ringed class I gas giants.
.
Summary
.Forward Base
.Forward Base centre: Earth-like World Clookeou BX-I d10-133 (681.74 LY from IC 4673 Sector UD-B b9)
.
Earth-like Worlds:
Clookeou BX-I d10-53 (13.50 LY from Forward Base)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Clookeou DZ-A c16-14 AB 1 (195.96 LY from Forward Base)
Clookeou BX-I d10-104 A 7 (40.10 LY from Forward Base, also green, see below)
.
Gold system:
Clookeou BX-I d10-114 (17.68 LY from Forward Base): 5d (Y 1.1%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.7%); 5e (Nb 1.2%, Ge 4.7%); 6a (As 2.7%, Cd 1.6%, Nb 1.4%); 8e (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.6%)
.
Green systems (distance from Forward Base system, LY):
Clookeou TK-M d8-106 (136.80): 4a (Po 0.5%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%); 4c (Po 0.5%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.9%); 7g (Y 1.2%, As 2.6%, Ge 5.8%)
Clookeou TK-M d8-39 (141.20): 2b (Nb 1.3 %); 2c (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.5%, Ge 5.6%); 2d (Po 0.5%, V 4.6%)
Clookeou TK-M d8-107 (144.75): 2 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, Ge 4.6%, V 5.5%); 4 (*2.04g* Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.8%); 5a (Y 1.2%, Cd 1.6%, As 2.4%); 8a (Po 0.5%, V 4.8%)
Clookeou TK-M d8-23 (116.22): A1 (Po 1.3%, As 2.1%, Ge 2.1%); B2 (Cd 2.8%, V 8.9%); B5 (Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, As 2.1%)
Clookeou MV-Y c16-12 (140.57): A1 (As 2.2%, Cd 1.8%); A3c (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.4%); A3f (Y 1.2%, V 5.0%); A4b (Nb 0.9%, Ge 3.6%)
Clookeou QP-M d8-82 (185.87): 5 (*2.10g* Po 0.6%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%); 6 (*1.38g* Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%, V 5.6%); 9b (Ge 5.5%)
Clookeou BX-I d10-104 (40.10): A4b (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, V 4.9%); A6e (Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.6%); A6fa (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, As 2.9%)
Clookeou BX-I d10-130 (9.25): 2 (*1.72g* Po 0.6%, Cd 1.8%, As 2.1%); 5b (Y 1.1%, Nb 1.3%, Ge 5.3%); 7b (Po 0.5%, Cd 1.5%, Ge 5.4%); 7c (Nb 1.4%, As 2.6%, V 5.0%, Ge 5.8%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Clookeou XQ-K d9-46 A 1: Po 1.1%, Nb 2.7%, V 9.7%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Clookeou TK-M d8-8 A 3: Nb 1.4%
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Clookeou TK-M d8-106 3a, 3b, 4c, 4d
Clookeou QP-M d8-82 11a
Clookeou BX-I d10-70 2a, 2b, 3a
Clookeou BX-I d10-104 A4b, A4c
Clookeou BX-I d10-68 1a, 1b, 1c, 6a, 7aa
Clookeou BX-I d10-130 3 (*3.03g*)
Clookeou BX-I d10-44 1b, 1c, 2a, 5a
Clookeou BX-I d10-114 4ca, 6a, 8a
Clookeou QP-M d8-82 11a
Clookeou BX-I d10-70 2a, 2b, 3a
Clookeou BX-I d10-104 A4b, A4c
Clookeou BX-I d10-68 1a, 1b, 1c, 6a, 7aa
Clookeou BX-I d10-130 3 (*3.03g*)
Clookeou BX-I d10-44 1b, 1c, 2a, 5a
Clookeou BX-I d10-114 4ca, 6a, 8a
Border
.Earth-like Worlds:
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-80 B3 and B5 (3.75 LY from IC 4673 Sector EG-Y d78, 101.34 LY from Hen 2-333)
Graea Hypue EX-Q c6-19 B 2 (8.35 LY from IC 4673 Sector DB-X b1-2, 105.07 LY from Hen 2-333)
Graea Hypue DR-U d3-232 5&6 *binary pair* (11.03 LY from IC 4673 Sector GN-S b4-18, 104.98 LY from Hen 2-333)
.
Ammonia Worlds:
Graea Hypue AM-R c6-25 3 (11.34 LY from IC 4673 Sector UE-Y b1-14, 106.54 LY from Hen 2-333)
Graea Hypue EU-F b15-7 3 (8.43 LY from IC 4673 Sector CR-U b3-6, 103.79 LY from Hen 2-333, also 'green', see below)
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53 6 (4.67 LY from IC 4673 Sector SZ-P b5-4, 100.48 LY from Hen 2-333, also 'green', see below)
.
Green systems:
Graea Hypue BL-W d2-8: 1 (Cd 1.8%, As 2.2%); 2 (Y 1.3%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.4%); 3 (Nb 1.5%, Cd 1.7%); 4 (Po 0.6%, Cd 1.7%, V 5.4%); 6 (Po 0.6%, Ge 4.8%)
Graea Hypue NK-F b15-10: B2 (Y 1.4%, As 2.2%, Ge 4.9%); B3 (Y 1.4%, Nb 1.6%); B4 (Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.8%, V 5.6%); AB1c (Po 0.4%, Nb 1.1%, V 3.9%, Ge 4.6%)
Graea Hypue TL-D b16-3: 6b (Po 0.3%, Nb 0.8%); 6c (Y 0.7%, Cd 0.9%, Ge 3.4%); 6e (As 1.6%, V 3.0%)
Graea Hypue SU-L c9-14: 2 (Po 0.6%, Ge 4.4%); 3 (Cd 1.7%, V 5.3%); 5 (Y 1.2%, Nb 1.3%, Cd 1.5%, As 1.5%)
Graea Hypue IX-S d4-248: A1 (*1.25g* Y 2.1%, V 8.6%); A2 (*1.18g* Po 0.6%, As 2.1%, V 5.7%); A3a (Nb 1.5%, As 2.5%); A4 (*0.96g* Cd 1.8%, Ge 4.9%)
Graea Hypue DZ-Y b17-9: 1 (*1.28g* Po 0.6%); 2 (*1.69g* Y 1.3%, Cd 1.6%, V 5.2%); 5a (Po 0.3%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.5%); 6a (Y 0.7%, V 3.0%, Ge 3.5%); 6c (Nb 0.8%, Cd 0.9%); 7a (As 1.7%, Ge 3.7%)
Graea Hypue ZV-S c5-15: A1 (Y 2.1%, Nb 2.4%, Cd 2.8%); A3a (Cd 1.7%, As 2.6%, V 5.3%); A6 (Po 0.7%, Nb 1.6%, V 5.9%, Ge 5.0%)
Graea Hypue EU-F b15-7: 4a (Y 0.7%, Nb 0.9%, V 3.1%, Ge 3.6%); 4d (Y 0.8%, Cd 1.0%, As 1.6%, Ge 3.7%); 5a (Po 0.3%, Ge 3.5%)
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53: 1 (*1.37g* Y 1.3%, Nb 1.5%, As 2.0%); 3ea (Po 0.4%, Cd 1.4%, V 4.4%, Ge 5.9%)
.
Polonium-rich worlds:
Graea Hypue HY-N c8-54 1: Po 0.9%, Nb 2.2%
.
Landable candidate for terraforming: Graea Hypue SP-L c9-25 A 1 (V 5.2%)
.
Worlds with surface conditions suitable for organics (landable, volcanism and surface temperatures between 200K and 500K):
Graea Hypue GS-P c7-29 A1a
Graea Hypue ZV-S c5-15 A5a
Graea Hypue DN-C b16-4 B6
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53 3ea
Graea Hypue ZV-S c5-15 A5a
Graea Hypue DN-C b16-4 B6
Graea Hypue FM-U d3-53 3ea
General Comments
.The last region to be surveyed certainly had some treats in store, the highlight undoubtedly being the two systems that each contain two Earth-like Worlds. This is the only permit-locked border region where multiple Earth-likes were found in the same system and there are two of them - yet the rejoicing is also tempered by the knowledge that the eight outdoor worlds found close to the border are endangered due to the Wolf-Rayet star Hen 2-333. It is even possible that this star has already gone supernova and that the permit-lock exists for astrophysical reasons. Whether it has gone supernova yet or not, there is an urgent need for automated monitoring of the border to watch for danger, to survey the many endangered worlds for life, especially intelligent life, and to investigate the possibility of salvaging or transplanting life forms to preserve the ecosystems on terraformable worlds beyond the danger zone. This would take a substantial effort from the galactic community. Given the Ammonia Worlds at risk, there is the possibility of using this as a diplomatic initiative to work alongside the Thargoids peacefully in a common interest: the preservation of life. The first stage should be to set up automated satellites around life-bearing planets, to both survey their ecospheres remotely and to monitor Hen 2-333.
.
There were a handful of First Discovery tags observed near the Forward Base and the borders of IC 4673 but no sign of the level of surveying done near, e.g. NGC 3603 Sector or Sidgoir. The charts produced by this expedition seem likely to be the first real evidence of the shape and morphology of the IC 4673 Sector borders. They appear to be spherical, with a hint of flattening on the 'East' side, and are 200 LY in diameter, making the region equal in size to Sidgoir and thus the joint-smallest known permit-locked sector.
.
This may be the last sector report but the journey home still needs to be undertaken and the data sold before the expedition can be truly considered complete, although in practice it will be over once I return to Abraham Lincoln Station in Sol. I will miss being out in the black but I also feel that it is time to return home, do some Buckyball Racing and take more of an interest in local affairs. I have failed to find the Thargoid homeworld, or any signs of alien civilisations or life, and for now there is nothing more that I feel I can do - except keep my eyes open and my wits about me, for who knows what clues lie hidden in deep vaults of the Powers and superpowers, or are being transmitted by strange beacons on the frontier?
.
Minor Points of Interest
.Large ringed icy landable: Clookeou XQ-K d9-118 2 radius = 18,523 km
System with a binary pair of water giants: Clookeou XQ-K d9-3 planets 6 and 7
Water world in a close but inclined orbit of a ringed gas giant: Clookeou QP-M d8-117 A 2 a orbital period = 1.1 days with orbital inclination -61.70 degrees
Rocky moons with orbital paths very close to each other: Clookeou QP-M d8-82 11b and 11c
Unusually low mass water world: Clookeou TQ-W b34-1 2 0.0832 Earth masses
Highly complex system: Clookeou TK-M d8-7 10 gas giants with 53 moons between them and one other planet
Close-orbiting lava world with a narrow ring system face-on to its host star: Clookeou BX-I d10-91 3 A ring inner radius = 47,516 km, outer radius = 51,273 km
Ringed gas giant with binary moons in a very close orbit: Graea Hypue ZA-T c5-32 5a
Ringed class II gas giant with four ringed class I gas giant moons: Graea Hypue AM-R c6-58 7
System with 7 candidates for terraforming: Graea Hypue RE-N c8-0
Close trinary of landables: Graea Hypue RE-N c8-30 planets 1, 2 and 3
.
Gallery
.The night side of lava world Clookeou BX-I d10-91 3 with its ring face on to its parent star.
The Journey Home and Closing Remarks
The Pierre Aronnax has now returned home and all the data from the expedition has been sold. The exact time of touchdown at the Orbis type starport Abraham Lincoln in Sol, from where the expedition began, was 18:04:58 on 29th Jan 3304. The expedition therefore lasted just over 26 weeks; a summary of the basic statistics is given below.
.
The final leg of the expedition, from IC 4673 Sector to Sol, was done quickly but there were one or two noteworthy findings. A single Earth-like World was encountered during this stage and coincidentally it is almost exactly half way between Sol and IC 4673 Sector: Nyeajee PY-D c1-60 1. The landable planet with the highest gravity found during the expedition was also discovered during this stage, Bleia Dryiae YL-J d10-16 3 has a surface gravity of 5.23g. It has 26.2502 Earth masses and a radius of 14,281 km. There are many ringed worlds in the same system but it is one of the few that are not. The final world of interest was not a First Discovery and lies much closer to the bubble: Snake Sector EC-L b8-6 1 is a ringed gas giant with water-based life that orbits close to its L dwarf parent - not so close as to be dangerous but close enough to provide a good view of its rocky ring system.
.
The Lagoon Nebula was visited during the approach to the bubble and some exploration data was turned in at the asteroid base Attenborough's Watch and the surface outpost Amundsen Terminal. The rest of the data was distributed amongst a variety of systems in the bubble. The largest donation at a single station was at Abraham Lincoln itself, as the 'home' of the expedition, where over 100 MCr worth of data was turned in. Some was distributed amongst factions in strategic locations, some amongst systems I am familiar with or have existing interests in, whilst a significant amount was also used in an effort to suppress states of famine or outbreak. My fighter pilot, Haya Franco, has benefited from this also: I did not determine the exact amount she has earned from her services to the expedition but it is likely to be in the region of 72 MCr. She remains on my crew roster for the time being but I think she would like her own ship.
.
Here are some basic statistics from the expedition. The Earth-like Worlds that were First Discovered have been submitted to the list kept by CMDR marx and some separate analysis has been done on them: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...ke-worlds-v2?p=6370582&viewfull=1#post6370582
.
Exploration credits earned: 1,192,011,095 Cr
systems visited: 14,233
total jumps: 14,320
total hyperspace distance: 290,443 LY
time at the helm: 2 weeks, 4 days, 13 hours 0 minutes
highest payout: 5,331,384 Cr
level 3 scans: 6296
SRV distance: 0.05MM
.
I may consider writing up more analysis and / or a retrospective of the expedition's highlights later. Until then, this is CMDR Edelgard von Rhein of the Pierre Aronnax signing off the expedition. Fly safe!
The Pierre Aronnax has now returned home and all the data from the expedition has been sold. The exact time of touchdown at the Orbis type starport Abraham Lincoln in Sol, from where the expedition began, was 18:04:58 on 29th Jan 3304. The expedition therefore lasted just over 26 weeks; a summary of the basic statistics is given below.
.
The final leg of the expedition, from IC 4673 Sector to Sol, was done quickly but there were one or two noteworthy findings. A single Earth-like World was encountered during this stage and coincidentally it is almost exactly half way between Sol and IC 4673 Sector: Nyeajee PY-D c1-60 1. The landable planet with the highest gravity found during the expedition was also discovered during this stage, Bleia Dryiae YL-J d10-16 3 has a surface gravity of 5.23g. It has 26.2502 Earth masses and a radius of 14,281 km. There are many ringed worlds in the same system but it is one of the few that are not. The final world of interest was not a First Discovery and lies much closer to the bubble: Snake Sector EC-L b8-6 1 is a ringed gas giant with water-based life that orbits close to its L dwarf parent - not so close as to be dangerous but close enough to provide a good view of its rocky ring system.
.
The Lagoon Nebula was visited during the approach to the bubble and some exploration data was turned in at the asteroid base Attenborough's Watch and the surface outpost Amundsen Terminal. The rest of the data was distributed amongst a variety of systems in the bubble. The largest donation at a single station was at Abraham Lincoln itself, as the 'home' of the expedition, where over 100 MCr worth of data was turned in. Some was distributed amongst factions in strategic locations, some amongst systems I am familiar with or have existing interests in, whilst a significant amount was also used in an effort to suppress states of famine or outbreak. My fighter pilot, Haya Franco, has benefited from this also: I did not determine the exact amount she has earned from her services to the expedition but it is likely to be in the region of 72 MCr. She remains on my crew roster for the time being but I think she would like her own ship.
.
Here are some basic statistics from the expedition. The Earth-like Worlds that were First Discovered have been submitted to the list kept by CMDR marx and some separate analysis has been done on them: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...ke-worlds-v2?p=6370582&viewfull=1#post6370582
.
Exploration credits earned: 1,192,011,095 Cr
systems visited: 14,233
total jumps: 14,320
total hyperspace distance: 290,443 LY
time at the helm: 2 weeks, 4 days, 13 hours 0 minutes
highest payout: 5,331,384 Cr
level 3 scans: 6296
SRV distance: 0.05MM
.
I may consider writing up more analysis and / or a retrospective of the expedition's highlights later. Until then, this is CMDR Edelgard von Rhein of the Pierre Aronnax signing off the expedition. Fly safe!
Commander von Rhein:
I thought you might be interested to know that your expedition has quite inspired me. Since the beginning of my relatively short career as a commander, I have had the goal of exploring deep space. Once I earned enough to properly outfit an exploration ship, I carefully reviewed the options as to where to take my first trip. Coming upon these recent logs of the Aronnax Expedition inspired me to continue your work in investigating the IC 4673 sector's border regions for any signs of anomalies surrounding the unknown region contained therein.
Today, I finally reached Clookeou BX-I d10-114, the gold system you identified, which I will be using as my exploration base. This is an exciting time for me: I am farther from the bubble than I ever have been before, and it was your pioneering work and attention to detail that inspired me to make this journey. I cannot hope to be as detailed as you are in your meticulous recordkeeping, but I hope in some way to add my own meager contribution to the galaxy's knowledge.
If there is any area you wish you had had time to explore, or any tips, wisdom, or hints you might provide to an explorer wishing to follow your example and fly in your wake, I would welcome anything you might wish to share with me.
Sincerely,
CMDR Scott Roberts
EX-1 Magical Lizzy
"Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes!"
I thought you might be interested to know that your expedition has quite inspired me. Since the beginning of my relatively short career as a commander, I have had the goal of exploring deep space. Once I earned enough to properly outfit an exploration ship, I carefully reviewed the options as to where to take my first trip. Coming upon these recent logs of the Aronnax Expedition inspired me to continue your work in investigating the IC 4673 sector's border regions for any signs of anomalies surrounding the unknown region contained therein.
Today, I finally reached Clookeou BX-I d10-114, the gold system you identified, which I will be using as my exploration base. This is an exciting time for me: I am farther from the bubble than I ever have been before, and it was your pioneering work and attention to detail that inspired me to make this journey. I cannot hope to be as detailed as you are in your meticulous recordkeeping, but I hope in some way to add my own meager contribution to the galaxy's knowledge.
If there is any area you wish you had had time to explore, or any tips, wisdom, or hints you might provide to an explorer wishing to follow your example and fly in your wake, I would welcome anything you might wish to share with me.
Sincerely,
CMDR Scott Roberts
EX-1 Magical Lizzy
"Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes!"
Thank you for your kind comments and I hope you enjoy your time out in deep space! o7
.
When I first began to go significantly beyond the Bubble, I only kept notes on the Earth-like Worlds that I encountered but I gradually found other things that I wanted to record, either in screenshot form or using paper records. It is hard to know what is exceptional until you have had some experience, so it is enough to just enjoy yourself and keep your eyes open. If you have questions about what is rare, beautiful or unusual, then the Exploration subforum is the place to ask. I would suggest, if you are on PC, to use EDDiscovery to record your progress as this can be set to share your scan data with EDDB, EDSM and even Elite Galaxy Online, although it is of course optional. (EDDiscovery has its own thread that will explain how to do this).
.
As to whether I would have liked to spend longer in any of the regions, the only one I cut short slightly was NGC 3603, as I was there about the time the date was announced for the 3.0 Beta and I wanted to make sure I was back before a new patch arrived (I play on a laptop that is below minimum spec and there's no knowing when an update will stop me from playing - 3.05 is pushing my machine to and slightly beyond the limit!). Some of the other permit-locked regions are just so vast (Bleia and Praei) that I always knew I would barely be scratching the surface, so I tried to lay the foundations for future expeditions by finding suitable Forward Base locations and a selection of Earth-like and Ammonia Worlds for future monitoring. One thing that I did very little of during my expedition was surface exploration - I completely failed to find any volcanic sites or alien life. This is not easy to do and I am not the one to ask how best to go about it; there should be a thread on finding 'brain trees' and other sites around on the exploration subforum somewhere, there should be a list of guides, or ask in the Galact Mapping thread if search-fu fails, I'm afraid I'm very bad at that myself.
.
Good luck with your exploration and fly safe!
In Search Of Gwydion - Core Region Expedition 3307
[FCOC #131-blodeuwedd’s-branch_junagu-jhz-6tz] will be heading to SagA* and Explorers Anchorage, but taking a curved route up and across the Sagittarius-Carina Arm and the Scutum-Centaurus Arm taking in the Circinus Transit and parts of the Norma Expanse and Arcadian Stream before heading into...
Core Regions Expedition "In Search of Gwydion" has passed this way and mapped waypoints delineating the perimeter of the Dryman Exclusion Zone. March 3307.
Led by Fleet Carriers [SVBK] Blodeuwedd's Branch (JHZ-6TZ) and [TFS] Quantum Harmonic (Q0J-38M).
Last edited: