System Map an Discovery of Stars

[Laeden]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the system map and its tree structure. I'm currently in a system with five stars according to the map, two of which are unexplored. One of the known stars is the system main star, two more are locked in an orbit just outside the main stars orbital path. If I'm reading it right, I've got two more, the unexplored ones, somewhere locked in orbit with each other. I'm also guessing the three I know about are locked in an orbit with the other two based on the tree structure again.

So looking at the tree. I have two grouped together, those two are grouped with the main star (those are my three knowns), two more grouped together (unknowns), and then the group of three grouped with the two. Clear as mud? I just can't figure out for the life of me where these two are and it's driving me crazy. I feel like I need a degree in astrophysics and orbital mechanics to find them.

 

[NanoAnarchy]

The two that are unexplored are most likely locked in a small orbit around/against each other, and that pair is circling the 3 in the center/the main star. If you're trying to find them, you most likely need to look to the horizon for a small grouped pair and then check for parallax motion.

 

[Eros]

So reading horizontally on the map means the item is orbiting the left most object/star, Vertical means the bottom is orbiting the top (VERY roughly)

Then there is the question of tidally locked systems where two planets/stars orbit each other, while their centre of mass orbits something else. This seems to be what you describe.

NOW the issue here is that binary/trinary system can be HUGE. So those two stars that you cannot find, might be way way way off and appear as a single dot on the sky. The best way to find them is to get away from the main bodies so you can supercruise at about 100C+ At this speed, things will move a lot against the background if they are relatively close. The best method i can give you is this...

Here you see that the two stars make out two circles, one way of finding the other star in a binary is to look at the circle traced by one of the stars, and try and aim for the opposite side of the circle through the middle of it. There you are guaranteed to find the other partner.

It is tricky and requires a little bit of thought, and i agree that some of the more complicated systems do melt the mind a bit.

 

[pwnieb0y]

Without a pic it is tough to say exactly whats going on, and I'm by no means an astronomist (can't even spell it close enough for spell check ). But it sounds like the main star (the one you jump into) s in a tri-inary orbit with 2 other stars, then off to the distance are two more stars in a bi-inary with each other, those two are most likely locked in a huge orbit around trinary.


EDIT: Ninjad by 2 far better posts.

 

[Laeden]

HA! I FOUND THEM! I had been flying around only looking in the ecliptic plain. Works pretty well for planets, no necessarily for multi-star systems. I changed tactics and decided to fly perpendicular to the plain of the main stars. I was getting frustrated again and thought I'd come back and check for any helpful tips. After reading all the posts above, I decided to head back to take a screenshot of what the main stars looked like and how they were orbiting one another. I started looking around while heading back and saw them. Ended up 34351 LS away from the main star. Crazy! I've been trying to find them for at least the last two hours if not more. Probably not worth my time credit wise, but it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I had actually seen those two stars before and thought they looked odd, but they just weren't moving fast enough for me to notice. Getting away from the system to fly faster certainly helped. I was doing over 150C. Not sure how good the quality of this picture is, but here it is. Thanks for all the helpful tips!

View attachment 5767

 

[BLACKHOUND]

So reading horizontally on the map means the item is orbiting the left most object/star, Vertical means the bottom is orbiting the top (VERY roughly)

Then there is the question of tidally locked systems where two planets/stars orbit each other, while their centre of mass orbits something else. This seems to be what you describe.

NOW the issue here is that binary/trinary system can be HUGE. So those two stars that you cannot find, might be way way way off and appear as a single dot on the sky. The best way to find them is to get away from the main bodies so you can supercruise at about 100C+ At this speed, things will move a lot against the background if they are relatively close. The best method i can give you is this...

Here you see that the two stars make out two circles, one way of finding the other star in a binary is to look at the circle traced by one of the stars, and try and aim for the opposite side of the circle through the middle of it. There you are guaranteed to find the other partner.

It is tricky and requires a little bit of thought, and i agree that some of the more complicated systems do melt the mind a bit.

Yes good post this is what I did ...
Until I got an advanced discovery scanner!
This thing is expensive (1.5M cr) BUT it discovers all the bodies in a system in one sweep.

Have fun!