The Ragnarok Expedition – A Tale of Racing and Exploration Across the Milky Way.
View attachment 50788
I've just got back from another expedition; this time to the far side of the galaxy where I've found a system a record breaking 65,339.95Ly from Sol. It started with a race.
Pictures with annotations can be found in the Flickr Gallery here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskfPAxuK
The Race to Sagittarius A*
So I woke up at Galileo Station with a roaring headache and a cargo bay full of stolen navigation beacons. Not sure how I got there but I vaguely remember losing a bet during a night of revelry at Jaque's Station the night before. I was just about to quietly jettison the evidence and sneak back to Imperial space when I noticed a flyer for the Buckyball Run A* Race. Hangover or no hangover I was intrigued. I signed up, raided the medical supplies, hopped into the pilot seat and plotted myself a course.
The Buckyball A* Run is a race between Sol and Sagittarius A*. It is ongoing race that can be taken at any time. After registering I could see that some of the weekends competitors were already on their way. Permission to launch granted, I was off.
View attachment 50789
I got off to a good start despite various missteps and fuel scooping snafus. As I got closer to the galactic core bubble the navigational computer starting overheating and taking longer and longer to process routes. Or maybe the computer was just hung over too. 14 hours later I finally found myself back at Sagittarius A* and claimed 3rd place. Although it's of course been a few weeks since that event and I've already started slipping off the score table. Currently I still appear to hold 19th place. Victory is fleeting!
The Exploration Begins
After celebrations with a couple of other finishers, Commanders ElectricZ and Anuranium I took stock of the situation. My ship was already down to 83% hull integrity but was still servicable. My faithful Anaconda “The Seven” was fitted for maximum jump capacity (39-4ly). Seemed like a good time to start a brand new expedition! This time I wanted to fly to the very limits of reachable space. But first I'd be making a few stop-offs.
For the next few days I took in the sights and visited the nearby nebulae. As I reached the Hypuae Briae nebula (named after an early pioneer CMDR Briae who was famous for her enthusiasm and using way, way too many stims) I suddenly found I had company. Who should show up, but CMDR Artan just over 35KLy from populated space.
Artan provides an invaluable service delivering essential shipments to explorers in need. Important shipments such as Eranin Whiskey, Indi Bourbon and other highly essential items. He'd noticed my ship's emissions and had tracked me to the nebula!
Happily replenished I moved on to PLAA BRIAE VV-X B42-4, a location possibly linked to the enigma regarding the mysterious Unknown Artifacts. Imperial scientists have been investigating them for a while and an unlikely theory was that they were linked to this location. Well, you may be shocked to hear I did find a vanguard of zero Thargoid warships. Yep, nothing to see around here! But at least we can check that one off the list for now.
Of course I had an ulterior motivation for coming out all this way. It happened to be fairly close to where I hoped to find Shadow Earth.
Shadow Earth
Maybe I was being a little fanciful, but I'd become increasingly curious about a point on the exact opposite side of the galaxy from populated space. Treating Sag A as the point of origin I flew out to (50, -42, 51,800) to where Sol's “reflection” would be. On reaching this location I looked around and eventually discovered an Earth Like world orbiting a single star of similar proportions very similar to Sols (G3 VAB). I crowned this planet Shadow Earth and claimed it for the Empire
View attachment 50793
The End of the Galaxy
This achieved it was time to press on to the final destination. First I would need to find a way to cross the Abyss. The Abyss is a name explorers have given to the empty chasm of space just before the Scutum-Centaurus Arm. As luck would have it I stumbled upon a workable “bridge” almost straight away and crossed it.
Space was getting very dark by this point. I was now on what could be considered the edge of the reachable galaxy and so I began to explore the area in earnest. I noticed CMDR Abdul-Tawwab 'ATT' Tunveer had already made a large number of claims but there was still plenty left to investigate. I visited The Beagle, an edge system made famous by CMDR Erimus Kamzel. I took in the view, claiming a few planets there for myself and left the rest for the next visitor. And then I went beyond.
... And hit paydirt! I broke through the viable edge systems to a place only a long range exploration Anaconda could reach. I refer to this as the "Treehouse". When looking at it on the map it requires a ~39 Ly jump up the “trunk” and a further 40.73Ly jump the left along the “branch” to the Treehouse itself. That second jump requires the unnerving technique where a commander drains the fuel tank part way thus lightening the load and thus permitting a longer jump. Get this wrong out here and even the Fuel Rats can't help you.
So there was it. I was standing on the Bridge looking out on space 65,339.95Ly from Sol. Further than any man, woman or child had ever been before. A truly lonely place to be.
CMDR Marlon Blake – July 19 3031
Note: To see more of the journey and the many marvelous sites I refer you once again to the gallery: https://flic.kr/s/aHskfPAxuK
Statistics
Ship: Anaconda (The Seven) http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=706,,2-3I8S9Y8S2CD88I,53mmpa2jw2UI
Time traveled: 78 Days starting Apr 26 3301
Credits earned: 105 million CR (taking the exploration profit up to 257 million CR total)
Systems Explored: ~5,500 (taking me to 11,179 total visited)
Distance traveled: ~160,000Ly
Nebulae visited: 14 full nebulae + 3 planetary nebula
Earth Like Worlds Found: 23. 2 on carbon stars, 2 on neutron stars.
Furthest ELW: 62,482Ly from sol.
Nearest ELW: 260 Ly from sol.
View attachment 50788
I've just got back from another expedition; this time to the far side of the galaxy where I've found a system a record breaking 65,339.95Ly from Sol. It started with a race.
Pictures with annotations can be found in the Flickr Gallery here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskfPAxuK
The Race to Sagittarius A*
So I woke up at Galileo Station with a roaring headache and a cargo bay full of stolen navigation beacons. Not sure how I got there but I vaguely remember losing a bet during a night of revelry at Jaque's Station the night before. I was just about to quietly jettison the evidence and sneak back to Imperial space when I noticed a flyer for the Buckyball Run A* Race. Hangover or no hangover I was intrigued. I signed up, raided the medical supplies, hopped into the pilot seat and plotted myself a course.
The Buckyball A* Run is a race between Sol and Sagittarius A*. It is ongoing race that can be taken at any time. After registering I could see that some of the weekends competitors were already on their way. Permission to launch granted, I was off.
View attachment 50789
I got off to a good start despite various missteps and fuel scooping snafus. As I got closer to the galactic core bubble the navigational computer starting overheating and taking longer and longer to process routes. Or maybe the computer was just hung over too. 14 hours later I finally found myself back at Sagittarius A* and claimed 3rd place. Although it's of course been a few weeks since that event and I've already started slipping off the score table. Currently I still appear to hold 19th place. Victory is fleeting!
The Exploration Begins
After celebrations with a couple of other finishers, Commanders ElectricZ and Anuranium I took stock of the situation. My ship was already down to 83% hull integrity but was still servicable. My faithful Anaconda “The Seven” was fitted for maximum jump capacity (39-4ly). Seemed like a good time to start a brand new expedition! This time I wanted to fly to the very limits of reachable space. But first I'd be making a few stop-offs.
For the next few days I took in the sights and visited the nearby nebulae. As I reached the Hypuae Briae nebula (named after an early pioneer CMDR Briae who was famous for her enthusiasm and using way, way too many stims) I suddenly found I had company. Who should show up, but CMDR Artan just over 35KLy from populated space.
Artan provides an invaluable service delivering essential shipments to explorers in need. Important shipments such as Eranin Whiskey, Indi Bourbon and other highly essential items. He'd noticed my ship's emissions and had tracked me to the nebula!
Happily replenished I moved on to PLAA BRIAE VV-X B42-4, a location possibly linked to the enigma regarding the mysterious Unknown Artifacts. Imperial scientists have been investigating them for a while and an unlikely theory was that they were linked to this location. Well, you may be shocked to hear I did find a vanguard of zero Thargoid warships. Yep, nothing to see around here! But at least we can check that one off the list for now.
Of course I had an ulterior motivation for coming out all this way. It happened to be fairly close to where I hoped to find Shadow Earth.
Shadow Earth
Maybe I was being a little fanciful, but I'd become increasingly curious about a point on the exact opposite side of the galaxy from populated space. Treating Sag A as the point of origin I flew out to (50, -42, 51,800) to where Sol's “reflection” would be. On reaching this location I looked around and eventually discovered an Earth Like world orbiting a single star of similar proportions very similar to Sols (G3 VAB). I crowned this planet Shadow Earth and claimed it for the Empire
View attachment 50793The End of the Galaxy
This achieved it was time to press on to the final destination. First I would need to find a way to cross the Abyss. The Abyss is a name explorers have given to the empty chasm of space just before the Scutum-Centaurus Arm. As luck would have it I stumbled upon a workable “bridge” almost straight away and crossed it.
Space was getting very dark by this point. I was now on what could be considered the edge of the reachable galaxy and so I began to explore the area in earnest. I noticed CMDR Abdul-Tawwab 'ATT' Tunveer had already made a large number of claims but there was still plenty left to investigate. I visited The Beagle, an edge system made famous by CMDR Erimus Kamzel. I took in the view, claiming a few planets there for myself and left the rest for the next visitor. And then I went beyond.
... And hit paydirt! I broke through the viable edge systems to a place only a long range exploration Anaconda could reach. I refer to this as the "Treehouse". When looking at it on the map it requires a ~39 Ly jump up the “trunk” and a further 40.73Ly jump the left along the “branch” to the Treehouse itself. That second jump requires the unnerving technique where a commander drains the fuel tank part way thus lightening the load and thus permitting a longer jump. Get this wrong out here and even the Fuel Rats can't help you.
So there was it. I was standing on the Bridge looking out on space 65,339.95Ly from Sol. Further than any man, woman or child had ever been before. A truly lonely place to be.
CMDR Marlon Blake – July 19 3031
Note: To see more of the journey and the many marvelous sites I refer you once again to the gallery: https://flic.kr/s/aHskfPAxuK
Statistics
Ship: Anaconda (The Seven) http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=706,,2-3I8S9Y8S2CD88I,53mmpa2jw2UI
Time traveled: 78 Days starting Apr 26 3301
Credits earned: 105 million CR (taking the exploration profit up to 257 million CR total)
Systems Explored: ~5,500 (taking me to 11,179 total visited)
Distance traveled: ~160,000Ly
Nebulae visited: 14 full nebulae + 3 planetary nebula
Earth Like Worlds Found: 23. 2 on carbon stars, 2 on neutron stars.
Furthest ELW: 62,482Ly from sol.
Nearest ELW: 260 Ly from sol.
I'm proud of you and your journey. Legendary!
