Hi folks,
O-type stars have been one of the most fascinating types of stars for me, since I have started to play Elite. They are monstrous, giant fusion ovens that can blast out as much as a million times the radiation of Sol and their solar winds can reach as much as 20 percent of the speed of light. They usually only live for a few million years and explode in a supernova, leaving behind a neutron star or a black hole.
What is more, O-type stars are also vital for the evolution of the galaxy, because when they die in a supernova blast temperatures and pressure are so staggeringly high that heavy elements are born. They are thus the harbingers of rock, plant and life. The phosphorous, calcium, iron and magnesium in our bodies are a testimony of a massive star's explosion.
Statistically, there are no more than some 20,000 of these stars around in the galaxy at any given time, and they can mostly be found in the gas enriched surroundings of the spiral arms.
I say: Let's go find them!
I have created a spreadsheet for tracking these massive, young stars along with some data. It's pretty easy to handle, I guess. I will keep the sheet open and not rely too much on restricting people to edit. This means anybody with the link can fill it with data so please be mindful.
Also, I am somewhat an autodidact with Excel and I'd like to keep things to a minimum. If anybody has a good proposal about how to improve the sheet further please let me know via PM and we'll see things done.
The spreadsheet can be found here:
Now the big question is: Where do I find O-type stars?
Well, since they tend to be the most (or more) massive stars in a given sector and even then surround themselves with heavier binaries, trinaries etc. they can usually be found in star systems with certain letter codes in them. Personally I have been most successful with the following denominators:
- AA-A
- BA-A
- DL-Y
- EG-Y
- FG-Y
So when I really want to go looking for these heavy hitters I run down said queries via the Galaxy Map.
It's also viable to filter your map view to 'O type' and go around prominent nebulae or open clusters. Some examples are of course NGC 7822 and the Pismis Cluster at NGC 6357.
In case you come up with a system with multiple O-type stars please create a system entry for each one, e.g. HIP 40430 A and HIP 40430 B
The '# of O-types' always includes the first one. I haven't come up with a routine of numerical tracking yet so that might be subject to change.
Everybody willing or able to share his stellar data on these thingies is welcome to do so, and maybe we'll get Qohen Leth to make us a nice decal or badge or something. Like the "O-Team"
Fly safe!
Andrew
O-type stars have been one of the most fascinating types of stars for me, since I have started to play Elite. They are monstrous, giant fusion ovens that can blast out as much as a million times the radiation of Sol and their solar winds can reach as much as 20 percent of the speed of light. They usually only live for a few million years and explode in a supernova, leaving behind a neutron star or a black hole.
What is more, O-type stars are also vital for the evolution of the galaxy, because when they die in a supernova blast temperatures and pressure are so staggeringly high that heavy elements are born. They are thus the harbingers of rock, plant and life. The phosphorous, calcium, iron and magnesium in our bodies are a testimony of a massive star's explosion.
Statistically, there are no more than some 20,000 of these stars around in the galaxy at any given time, and they can mostly be found in the gas enriched surroundings of the spiral arms.
I say: Let's go find them!
I have created a spreadsheet for tracking these massive, young stars along with some data. It's pretty easy to handle, I guess. I will keep the sheet open and not rely too much on restricting people to edit. This means anybody with the link can fill it with data so please be mindful.
Also, I am somewhat an autodidact with Excel and I'd like to keep things to a minimum. If anybody has a good proposal about how to improve the sheet further please let me know via PM and we'll see things done.
The spreadsheet can be found here:
Now the big question is: Where do I find O-type stars?
Well, since they tend to be the most (or more) massive stars in a given sector and even then surround themselves with heavier binaries, trinaries etc. they can usually be found in star systems with certain letter codes in them. Personally I have been most successful with the following denominators:
- AA-A
- BA-A
- DL-Y
- EG-Y
- FG-Y
So when I really want to go looking for these heavy hitters I run down said queries via the Galaxy Map.
It's also viable to filter your map view to 'O type' and go around prominent nebulae or open clusters. Some examples are of course NGC 7822 and the Pismis Cluster at NGC 6357.
In case you come up with a system with multiple O-type stars please create a system entry for each one, e.g. HIP 40430 A and HIP 40430 B
The '# of O-types' always includes the first one. I haven't come up with a routine of numerical tracking yet so that might be subject to change.
Everybody willing or able to share his stellar data on these thingies is welcome to do so, and maybe we'll get Qohen Leth to make us a nice decal or badge or something. Like the "O-Team"
Fly safe!
Andrew
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