Rho Cassiopeiae - Reaching the (Almost) Unreachable [Route, Ship Build, and Picture/Story Album]

turkwinif

turkwinif
Rho Cassiopeiae - Reaching the (Almost) Unreachable

One day while reading through the Formidine Rift thread, I noticed that the system "Rho Cassiopeiae" is mentioned several times throughout it. Rho Cassiopeiae is a yellow-white hypergiant and is one of the brightest and rarest stars in the known galaxy (there are only 15 known yellow hypergiants). It's a system theorized to maybe play a role in the Formidine Rift mystery, but I'm pretty sure that has yet to be confirmed or denied. What made it special, though, was that it was supposedly unreachable, and people described attempting to find a route to it from above with a 78-79ly jump range and being unable to. Some even thought that it wouldn't be possible until the Engineer's Update, in which we may be able to upgrade our FSDs or ships for better jump ranges.

Upon reading such blasphemy, I became determined to find a route...and as it turns out, there is one. However, it requires a minimum jump range of 40.44ly and a decent amount of FSD injections, as the largest jump in the route is 80.86ly. There may be a more efficient route that uses less Premium FSD Injections, so if you find a better route to Rho Cassiopeiae, let people know!

Ship Build and Route
Ship required (as of April 2016): Anaconda
Recommended Anaconda build: http://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda/...---------3i--------2f2i.AwRj4yVLhqg=.Aw18ZlA=
Has a 40.56 maximum jump range for this build. Would recommend using, just in case you jump to an unscoopable star on your way to Rho Cassiopeiae. With your remaining fuel, you should be able to jump to a scoopable star. Change your build as you see fit, but remember, with the current known route, you require a minimum jump range of 40.44ly.
System
DistanceFSD Injection (assuming 41.17ly range)
Hypheeg AF-Y d1-1
Hypheeg IL-U c4-0
38.6
Hypheeg DA-Y d1-0
43.08
Basic
Hypheeg FV-X d1-1
78.94
Premium
Hypheeg HQ-X d1-1
63.53
Premium
Hypheeg HQ-X d1-0
68.52
Premium
Hypheeg JL-X d1-0
59.49
Standard
Hypheeg LG-X d1-0
48.81
Basic
Hypheeg KL-X d1-0
30.10
Hypheeg GF-Z d0
80.05
Premium
Hypheeg IA-Z d0
77.86
Premium
Hypheeg GP-A d0
40.57
Hypheeg FP-A d0
16.45
Hypheeg EU-A d0
41.05
Qiedaea MI-A d14-0
69.66
Premium
Qiedaea NI-A d14-0
71.69
Premium
Qiedaea IC-C d13-0
80.86
Premium
Qiedaea HH-C d13-0
48.15
Basic
Rho Cassiopeiae
80.58*
Premium
Recommended number of FSD Injections for a two-way trip: 8 Basic, 3 Standard, 20 Premium
This way, in case you select the wrong FSD Injection before jumping, you have a couple extra to fall back on.

Visualization: EDSM Personal Travel Map (Rho Cassiopeiae route is around 7500)

*Note: There is a "hook" of stars leading around Rho Cassiopeiae...you'll see what I mean if you look on the Galmap. It may be possible to use those as the remaining jumps with Basic/Standard FSD Injections instead of the direct, final jump with one Premium injection. However, I have not tested this route, so attempt it at your own risk.

Short Story/Picture Album

If you plan on going to Rho Cassiopeiae and don't want to know what it contains (other than a yellow-white hypergiant), I'd recommend not viewing this photo album for obvious reasons. It contains route estimating, a very condensed journey to and from Rho Cass (only 42 pictures!), and shots of the Rho Cassiopeiae system itself, including a custom postcard! It even has a Fuel Rat rescue by Commander Ridgerunner! Thank you!!! Without him and the Fuel Rats rescuing me, I would've lost the motivation to go to Rho Cassiopeiae. So thank you again, Ridgerunner and the Fuel Rats, you played a crutial role in this journey!

Imgur album link: http://imgur.com/a/eMqQl


Original system map post in the Formidine Rift thread, along with personal ship build and route on the next page.

In Conclusion...
Have fun getting there! And if you're running an 8 ton fuel tank, be careful and check your map constantly so that you don't risk jumping to an unscoopable and get stuck!

Fun Tidbits and Reads:
Fill your braincase with knowledge!

Rho Cassiopeiae in an encyclopedia!
A cool video visualizing its location and fluctations
Elite Galactic Wiki page
Rho Cassiopeiae Wiki page (for the lazy (be sure to check out the external links, it's where I got a lot of information!))
Galnet News Freelance Article
 
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roadrage

R
I'll say grats again here. Awesome album too.[up]

That was a mess of a route to have to plot as well.

I'll say thanks as well, for dragging me out there to refuel you. I got to see the Bubble Nebula, and discovered a bunch of gas giants with water life on the way home. The Rift is an intriguing place, and I may have to make the trip, to see how lost in its depths I can get one day. But for now, traveling 7500ly in about 4 hours across the gap between galactic arms has my exploring appetite filled. :)

Fly safe out there.

CMDR RidgeRunner
 

Erimus Kamzel

Erimus Kamzel
Well done commander! Its connection to the Formidine Rift mystery is that as far as anyone knows is its the only non-procedural star system within the region that is thought to be the Rift ;)

Glad its now been reached and surveyed as it can now be eliminated from the search for whatever Salomé found out there.
 

domaq

domaq
Just phenomenal Turk. A few questions:
What were the G's on the landable? Since it's binary with a Tauri, it could be pretty hairy.
Did you take an SRV?
If you did land, did you prospect the landable at all?

A couple of the Rock Rats were talking about going out that way when we return from BP and I've got a decent build ready that includes an SRV. Now we have a route! Thank you CMDR. o7
 
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Chrystoph

Chrystoph
domaq said:
Just phenomenal Turk. A few questions:
What were the G's on the landable? Since it's binary with a Tauri, it could be pretty hairy.
Did you take an SRV?
If you did land, did you prospect the landable at all?

A couple of the Rock Rats were talking about going out that way when we return from BP and I've got a decent build ready that includes an SRV. Now we have a route! Thank you CMDR. o7
Click to expand...

I added a G2 Planetary to the posted build and it falls below a couple of the jumps listed in the OP. The range with an SRV hangar is 40.12, doubled to 80.24. The second spoiler shows two systems with ranges longer than that.
 

domaq

domaq
Chrystoph said:
I added a G2 Planetary to the posted build and it falls below a couple of the jumps listed in the OP. The range with an SRV hangar is 40.12, doubled to 80.24. The second spoiler shows two systems with ranges longer than that.
Click to expand...

I concur. Here's what I'm planning. Build

You can make the trip out using a reduced jump range with simulated cargo to avoid ugly fuel situations. Those two jumps would have to be on less than a full tank with T3 boost. It would highly depend on the scoopability of said systems.

And, depending on the G of that planet, no shields, no boost, and 5D thrusters may make landing incredibly painful. I don't mind losing some hull and understand how to land on heavy G planets. Besides, we'd only need to land once (hopefully). :)
 
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turkwinif

turkwinif
Erimus said:
Well done commander! Its connection to the Formidine Rift mystery is that as far as anyone knows is its the only non-procedural star system within the region that is thought to be the Rift ;)

Glad its now been reached and surveyed as it can now be eliminated from the search for whatever Salomé found out there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification on the connection!


domaq said:
Just phenomenal Turk. A few questions:
What were the G's on the landable? Since it's binary with a Tauri, it could be pretty hairy.
Did you take an SRV?
If you did land, did you prospect the landable at all?

A couple of the Rock Rats were talking about going out that way when we return from BP and I've got a decent build ready that includes an SRV. Now we have a route! Thank you CMDR. o7
Click to expand...

1.31Gs, so nothing too bad. I didn't bring an SRV; I didn't know if my route would work or not, so I wanted every last ounce of jump range while at least carrying the Advanced and Detailed Discovery Scanners. It is metal-rich, though, so there may be some good stuff down there!
 
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turkwinif

turkwinif
ToBeFree said:
Congratulations! :)

Having a look at the German Wikipedia article about Rho Cassiopeiae, however, I learned that it does not exist in this form anymore and likely became a black hole or neutron star. We can still see the light of the dead star, because it obviously takes a long time for the light to arrive at Earth. So you've "bathed" in a light that does not exist in reality and should maybe be removed from the game. ;)
Click to expand...



You may be right. Although I didn't read anything explicitly stating that it probably doesn't exist as a hypergiant anymore, it seems as if Rho Cass is experiencing fluctuations in size and violent eruptions, and is shedding a LOT of its mass (5.4% annually! WOW!). Taking into account that the light from Rho Cass takes ~8200ly to reach us, and that Elite is set ~1300 years in the future, I wouldn't doubt that Rho Cass has already gone supernova and is now a neutron star/black hole with a pretty nebula surrounding it.

Fingers crossed that we get to see it go supernova in-game, though! Those are some high hopes, but still. At least making it fluctuate in size and color would be very cool, too.

EDIT: In fact, checking the external links from the wikipedia page, Rho Cass is apparently "the best known candidate for an imminent supernova." Does crossing my toes count, too? [smile]

EDITEDIT: I always find myself editing my posts too often :p Thanks to you, I've now included a few links to various sites with info on Rho Cass and facts and speculation on it in the introduction.
 
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IAM GROOT

IAM GROOT
Awesome job Cmdr, I wish I had seen this post before today, I'm pretty sure I've got as far as I can towards Rho Cassiopeiae. I'm in a 33 ly Asp with FSD Boosts but only 2 max boosts and having seen how close I am but how sparse the stars are I know I'm out to lunch :)
At least I didn't get stuck out here.........yet
 

Roqinn

Roqinn
Congrats! Loved the album too. The first few pics I was like "Awww man! There is math involved!!" lol To bad a record breaker like that pays so little for being discovered.
 

[VR] optimal_909

[VR] optimal_909
ToBeFree said:
Congratulations! :)

Having a look at the German Wikipedia article about Rho Cassiopeiae, however, I learned that it does not exist in this form anymore and likely became a black hole or neutron star. We can still see the light of the dead star, because it obviously takes a long time for the light to arrive at Earth. So you've "bathed" in a light that does not exist in reality and should maybe be removed from the game. ;)
Click to expand...

That is nowhere to be found in the English wikipedia article.
I think it is step too far to say that it has been already exploded, even 10,000 years is a blink of an eye in a star's life.
 

goemon

goemon
my route in reverse order - i was coming from east and above (the rift settlements).

op's route looks less jumponium intense, i'll return via it.


Rho Cassiopeiae

Jump distance: 114.25 ly

Qiedaea EB-E d12-0

Jump distance: 21.64 ly

Qiedaea CG-E d12-0

Jump distance: 81.62 ly

Qiedaea WE-G d11-0

Jump distance: 105.63 ly

Qiedaea ZK-E d12-0

Jump distance: 34.38 ly

Qiedaea XP-E d12-0

Jump distance: 55.37 ly

Qiedaea TJ-G d11-0

Jump distance: 84.04 ly

Qiedaea WU-E d12-1

Jump distance: 111.10 ly

Qiedaea YF-D d13-0

_____


thanks for this thread!

and grats to an impressive first discovery.
 

PanTast

PanTast
Good job OP and goemon.

My route was a bit harder (not harder as goemons :D ). I tried 3 times to get to Rho Cassiopeiae. My route was like this:

Rho Cassiopeiae108.51
Qiedaea LN-A d14-090.49
Hypheeg EZ-A d0103.54
Hypheeg HF-Z d0111.00
Hypheeg JQ-X d1-130.60
Hypheeg IQ-X d1-056.24
Hypheeg MW-V d2-068.05
Hypheeg QC-U d3-027.47
Hypheeg RX-T d3-070.94
Hypheeg UI-S d4-016.19
Hypheeg UI-S d4-158.95
Hypheeg TI-S d4-253.78



Thanks for the Rho Cassiopeiae appreciation thread, OP

o7
 
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