So having just completed my maiden 'explorer' voyage to the Pleiades Cluster (Map 01), in order to start earning some proper discovery credits, I've now returned to the edge of occupied space (an impressive Ocellus station in the "64 Arietis" system).
The end point for my adventure was the star 'Maia', picked purely at random as one of the more prominent looking stars in The Pleiades (although I did visit a few others). Although all the stars I visited had already been discovered, overall the whole thing was a good learning process for understanding the potential pitfalls of being along in deep space, without ever really being too far from civilisation.
Imagine my surprise though to discover upon arrival at Maia that it's a panoply of stars, planets, gas giants and even ... MY FIRST BLACK HOLE! I didn't think I'd have much chance of finding one in such a seemingly innocuous place, instead I thought I'd have to head further to the galactic centre where the younger and potentially more massive stars live. I would have taken a screenshot for reference but unfortunately was pressing F5 for that part of my journey before realising I should be pressing F10 (doh!). I'm sure most seasoned travellers will already have been there/seen that though, especially any KS backers.
So, with the 1.5M of credits I made on that trip I upgraded from my Adder to a Diamondback Scout (still got my eye on the Asp, but way too expensive for now) and kitted it out with better scanners, power units, shielding and other nik-naks to help me survive a much longer trip. After studying this thread I've decided to turn my attention to the mysterious 4th Quadrant and specifially, Map 05; hopefully there will be something (if not plenty) to put my name to around there! Anything interesting I find will of course be reported back here, along with screenshots this time.
Unfortunately, at the moment I only get chance to play Elite during lunch time at work, so my progress may very well be slow compared to others. Having said that, by the time I return from such an epic trip (or get bored/lonely/whatever comes first), hopefully the game will have been updated to give a bit more love to those of us who shun the visceral brutality of combat for the more scholarly enterprise of research and DISCOVERY!
Here's a full list of possible points of interest from my last expedition. I'll admit the claims get weaker as the list goes on, but I thought I'd just throw it all down and see what sticks...
Map 6
The Treehouse
Iorant FR-C c26-0
A difficult to reach point that juts out into the beyond 65.339.95Ly from SOl. It is at the end of a "trunk" and a "branch" which requires an Anaconda
configured for making long jumps to reach. The branch itself requires a 40.73 LY jump necessitating a partially depleted fuel tank.
Treehouse:
Tree:
Map 11
Counter Point
DROOTEOU PW-I A36-4
A system closest to the exact opposite of Sag-A* to Sol on the opposite side of the Universe at coordinates (50, -42, 51,800).
(I thought I'd got there first, but CMDR Fuchsov managed to sell the data first. Well played sir!)
Shadow Earth
Smootoae VE-R d4-134
An Earth Like World very close to Counter Point orbiting a single G3 VAB star.
The Volcano
pro aod cg-m d8-0
A yellow and white star orbited by 5 red dwarfs. The conceit is that the brown dwarfs are fireballs coming of the volcano. Yeah, that's really the best I could come up with...
Here's a full list of possible points of interest from my last expedition. I'll admit the claims get weaker as the list goes on, but I thought I'd just throw it all down and see what sticks...
The Treehouse
Iorant FR-C c26-0
A difficult to reach point that juts out into the beyond 65.339.95Ly from SOl. It is at the end of a "trunk" and a "branch" which requires an Anaconda configured for making long jumps to reach. The branch itself requires a 40.73 LY jump necessitating a partially depleted fuel tank.
Counter Point
DROOTEOU PW-I A36-4
A system closest to the exact opposite of Sag-A* to Sol on the opposite side of the Universe at coordinates (50, -42, 51,800).
(I thought I'd got there first, but CMDR Fuchsov managed to sell the data first. Well played sir!)
Shadow Earth
Smootoae VE-R d4-134
An Earth Like World very close to Counter Point orbiting a single G3 VAB star.
Crown of Skadi
Stuemeae MQ-J c10-4240
An extremely dense ice ring
The Treehouse and Shadow Earth are literally right on top of existing POI's that have already been labelled (those being Beagle Point and Derthek's Folly respectfully), so unfortunately I can't squeeze another map label on there, but their descriptions have been added to the relevant index entries.
The system "Counter Point" had already been submitted a few weeks ago and is listed as Derthek's Folly on map 6. However I've added the name Counter Point to that index as its secondary name.
If I may add a little something to the otherwise barren map 04, I have scouted a major POI at Galactic coordinates 18000:-1170:37350.
The Flyai Flyuae AA-A H20 nebula, which I tend to nickname the 'flying flea' nebula rather than its oddball name.
It houses about 105 stellar systems, I just finished exploring the lot.
Kudos to previous explorers Skit and Olmis Aremja (though they weren't as thorough as I was)
5 of the worlds in that nebula are terraformable
There's one earth-like and a water giant in TEGNAE HT-Z D13-6
The nebula also sports three neutron stars, three white dwarfs and ten of the various gas giants have life on them.
Here's a list of the systems (maybe) worth visiting in the nebula.
Stellar name............Types...notes and previous explorers. TEGNAE HT-Z D13-6.......G.......#3 is TF, #6 is ELW, #9 is water giant, Olmis Aremja was here.
flyai flyuae AA-A D3....G M.....Two TF WW insystem, Olmis Aremja was here
TEGNAE SS-X C28-1.......K.......#1 is Terraformable.
flyai flyuae XT-A B0....M.......TF WW
flyai flyuae BA-A D2....Neu K...neutron star, K-class is too far away (618k LS)
flyai flyuae ZE-A D3....Neu.....neutron star
flyai flyuae ZE-A D5....Neu.....neutron star, Azyron was here
flyai flyuae ZE-A D4....DAB.....White dwarf, Giants 1 and 3 have life.
flyai flyuae ZE-A D0....DA M....white dwarf, Skit was here
flyai flyuae YE-A D8....DB LTL..White Dwarf, Skit was here
TEGNAE HT-Z D13-10......G.......#2 and #3 are interesting: giant with life and large ringed world
TEGNAE HT-Z D13-11......A K.....B2 giant has water-based life. Skit was here.
flyai flyuae DV-Y B0....M.......#5 has ammonia-based life
FLYAI FLYUAE Vo-A C1....K M.....#3 is a giant with life, Olmis Aremja was here.
TEGNAE IG-U B58-0.......M.......#2 giant has ammonia life, Skit was here
FLYAI FLYUAE PI-B B0....M.......#2 has ammonia life, Olmis Aremja was here.
flyai flyuae ZE-Z B0....M.......Ammonia life in Giant
flyai flyuae TD-B b0....M.......water life on giant #1
Just wanted to say, that this amazing thread and the community mapping project, was what inspired me to propose something much bolder than I would have bought of on my own. I looked at those barren maps of the upper quadrants and thought - something myst be there - just waiting to be put onto the map. I shared my ideas with some of the other people at The First Great Expedition, and now we are doing it: we are launching an expedition to do an extensive exploration of the Sagittarius-Carina Arm. From the Lagoon Nebula - all the way to Beagle point. I hope we will be able to discover lots of POI´s to supplement the amazing work already being done here.
If taking part in something bigger is your thing - if you feel like joining on a major common venture into the unknown - then sign up for the First Great Expedition!
Just wanted to say, that this amazing thread and the community mapping project, was what inspired me to propose something much bolder than I would have bought of on my own. I looked at those barren maps of the upper quadrants and thought - something myst be there - just waiting to be put onto the map. I shared my ideas with some of the other people at The First Great Expedition, and now we are doing it: we are launching an expedition to do an extensive exploration of the Sagittarius-Carina Arm. From the Lagoon Nebula - all the way to Beagle point. I hope we will be able to discover lots of POI´s to supplement the amazing work already being done here.
If taking part in something bigger is your thing - if you feel like joining on a major common venture into the unknown - then sign up for the First Great Expedition!
Just wanted to say, that this amazing thread and the community mapping project, was what inspired me to propose something much bolder than I would have bought of on my own. I looked at those barren maps of the upper quadrants and thought - something myst be there - just waiting to be put onto the map. I shared my ideas with some of the other people at The First Great Expedition, and now we are doing it: we are launching an expedition to do an extensive exploration of the Sagittarius-Carina Arm. From the Lagoon Nebula - all the way to Beagle point. I hope we will be able to discover lots of POI´s to supplement the amazing work already being done here.
If taking part in something bigger is your thing - if you feel like joining on a major common venture into the unknown - then sign up for the First Great Expedition!
I've felt exploration has been in the doldrums lately with a lot of us growing weary.. burn out has been mentioned a couple of times on here by quite a few players.. But this endeavour can bring a new impetus to the profession!
Good luck out there, and please do share anything interesting you find out in those rarely travelled quadrants
I've felt exploration has been in the doldrums lately with a lot of us growing weary.. burn out has been mentioned a couple of times on here by quite a few players.. But this endeavour can bring a new impetus to the profession!
Good luck out there, and please do share anything interesting you find out in those rarely travelled quadrants
As usual this thread is a huge push to come back playing.
So here i have a possible POI for Map 10. Daugther's Reach ELLAIRB UL-N C7-33
POI Type: Turistic
Navigational Hazard: None
This system has Non-terraformable Water World with Ammonia type atmosphere, and the very planet has a Water World Moon that is terraformable, thus the name. I've never seen something like this. In our planetary landings dreams it could definitly be a good turistic spot. There's also another High Metal Terraformable.
It's located in the Norma Arm, 9641,72 Ly from Sol, a 1000Ly south-west the Bleae Aewsy Nebula.
Now Moving to the Bleae Aescs Nebula (if reachble), it's not in the map and seems interesting.
Hi Erimnus, first i would like to mention a recent discovery, that comprehends such an huge area it can't fit in the map.
Outher White Dwarves/Neutron Ring (15Kly Radius).
It's a ring of white dwarves and neutron stars, that curcles the entire galaxy at about 15Kly from Sag A*, and it's locate about 1000 Ly over the elliptical. Density of non sequence star is WAY inferior to the proper Neutron Fields. Nevertheless the circle touches its closest point to sol at about 11Kly, wich is half the distance from proper Neutron Fields, but net same income. White Dwarves are at least 50/50 with Neutron Stars here. And there are Millions in the ring!!!
As a POI, i've spotted the closest White Dwarf to Sol that belongs to the circle, and from where you can start yor farming (err, research). NORMA SOUTHERN GATE: EODGORSTS GO-F D12-37, White Dwarf, approx 11500 KLy from sol beetween the BLEAE AEWSY and the BLEAE AESCS nebulae. This system is unclaimed.
From there you can set the map filter to show only White Dwarves and Neutron Stars and start circle for credits (I meant science).
There's no navigationational hazard
POI: scientific type
A pic of NORMA SOUTHERN GATE
Max Density in some Areas (way lower than proper neutron fields)
And now, to finish harrassing your thread for a while, i propose another entry becouse departing for vacations.
BLEAE AESCS NEBULA: about 12500 Ly from Sol in the Norma Arm, Map 10, directly west from BLEAE AEWSY NEBULA
The Nebula is located about 1000Ly above ecliptical plane, and it's a pretty massive violet cloud that resembles the shape of an open shell. And in fact in the middle of it there's a MAIN STAR BLACK HOLE SYSTEM, wich are extremly rare that far from the core.
So it seems a big shell with a tiny black pearl.
The nebula itself is immersed in the beforementioned White Dwarves/Neutron ring, so in the area there's plenty to farm too. Even if the most interesting system are tagged, the place is not intensly scanned, and there are many systems inside the very nebula completly unexplored, a new sight for me. So definitly worth a visit, if you are going to the core the detour it's worth, also becosue getting here means crossing the neutron ring...
BLEAE AESCS ZE-A G4, Black Hole System. Take a black hole, toss in a purple nebula with whitish streams, and you know what you get (my screenie is lazy, that's just the landing point, if you get closer you have your fireworks)
And here are a couple of wiev of the Nebula:
Off to holyday now, pray for my little ASP called WORM that will sit there for 2 weeks repairing systems and facing 1.4 implementation...
[Many Pictures] The Festival Grounds: a collection of nebulae in the Galactic Core
Having just returned from my explorations in the core in my Federal Dropship, I have a number of major and minor POI to share. The majority of these are in the core and slightly due 'West' of centre in the awkward part where Maps 08, 10 and 11 coincide but one major POI is a nebula directly above a crossing from the Orion-Cygnus Arm to the Norma(?) Arm in Map 08. By far the largest and most significant of these is a region I refer to in my notes as 'The Festival Grounds' because the collection of numerous large nebulae resembles a fireworks display. In accordance with this, I used a naming convention for the nebulae to coincide with things that can sometimes be found at festivals of different kinds. There are many other major nebulae in this region (mostly below the Galactic Plane) but I focused my efforts on the largest grouping of nebulae about 3kLY from end to end and which includes 8 major nebulae ranging in size from about 130*160*200LY to 40*60*50LY and also one minor nebula centred on a neutron star. These are all within about 1100LY of each other, mostly less, whilst the other groups of nebulae visible throughout this region have 3-4 members and are further away (plenty more for other people to visit!). The presence of so many significant nebulae makes this region the most spectacular in the Milky Way that I have yet found, which I hope some of my screenshots can help to convey. My other POIs from my journey will go into a separate post as this one is quite large.
On the approach to The Festival Grounds (left). The view across the Festival Grounds from the Clown Nebula (right).
The eight major nebulae in The Festival Grounds are (in the order that I visited them):
procedurally-generated name/proposed name/dimensions (LY, height first)/height above or below the Galactic Plane (LY)
OOSCS AOB AA-A H3 /'Bouquet Nebula'/ 75*60*30/ +950
OEPHAIF AA-A H23 /'Bonfire Nebula'/ 150*130*160/ +650
OEPHAIF AA-A H5 /'Green Lantern Nebula'/ 130*160*200/ +590
EEPHAILLS AA-A H62 /'Wind Chime Nebula'/ 140*90*80/ -430
BYA AIL AA-A H65 /'Fortune Teller Nebula'/ 130*130*100/ +335
OEPHAIF AA-A H100 /'Golden Chalice Nebula'/ 110*140*110/ -10
DRYAEA FLEE AA-A H10 /'Candy Floss Nebula'/ 40*60*50/ +480
DRYAEA FLEE AA-A H89 /'Clown Nebula'/ 100*140*100/ +0
The minor nebula is:
DRYAEA FLEE DK-A E108 NEB 'Thunderclap Nebula'
For the most part (the Bouquet Nebula being the exception so far above the Galactic Plane), these major nebulae are home to many hundreds or thousands of stars so it is difficult to tell if they have been visited before: I encountered only one tagged system in this region and that was in the Green Lantern Nebula (a bright O star). This region was also rich in Earth-like and Ammonia Worlds and I found more of each than I would have expected given the number of systems I visited.
I tried to get a couple of good screenshots of each nebula, so here's a little more about them:
'Bouquet Nebula'
Game map search ref. : OOSCS AOB AA-A H3
POI Type: Visual
The farthest above the Galactic Plane of the nebulae in this region (although some more distant nebulae visible from here are even higher), the star density is quite low but it is still easy to reach. It provides a good view of the surrounding nebulae and I encountered three Earth-likes in the same sector, more than in any other part of the region.
'Bonfire Nebula'
Game map search ref. : OEPHAIF AA-A H23
POI Type: Visual
Like any good bonfire at a festival, this huge nebula can be seen from a very long distance away and provides a spectacular backdrop and a beacon to navigate in the region. Its interior is densely packed with stars and home to a sky full of red and orange colours, with the bright Galactic Core obscured from sight.
'Green Lantern Nebula'
Game map search ref. : OEPHAIF AA-A H5
POI Type: Visual
The green colouration of this nebula, the largest in the region, is very distinctive. From other angles, it also displays orange and red colours. The interior contains many low-mass stars but also a single bright O star that had been discovered prior to my visit.
'Wind Chime Nebula'
Game map search ref. : EEPHAILLS AA-A H62
POI Type: Visual
Hanging below the Galactic Plane and about 1100LY from the nearest member of the group, this nebula rewards those who visit it with a stunning view of pink and blue colours. There are some bright stars in between it and the other nebulae (I remember seeing a black hole at one point but did not find it again to visit).
'Fortune Teller Nebula'
Game map search ref. : BYA AIL AA-A H65
POI Type: Visual
Like the tent of a fortune teller, this nebula is dark but colourful. It is brighter on the inside, with shades of blue, red and orange decorating the night sky of its many worlds.
'Golden Chalice Nebula'
Game map search ref. : OEPHAIF AA-A H100
POI Type: Visual
One side of this nebula is dark and the other has red-green colours that look golden from the right angle, hence the name. To one side of this nebula can be found a dense patch of brown and red dwarf stars but there are enough scoopable stars for it not to present any real hazard.
'Candy Floss Nebula'
Game map search ref. : DRYAEA FLEE AA-A H10
POI Type: Visual
Small but sweet, this colourful nebula delights with its shades of pink and its appearance merits the name. It is home to a nice soft-centred surprise - the Earth-like world DRYAEA FLEE RR-K C9-64 10, 'Caramel', the only Earth-like I found inside the border of any of the nebulae (though many thousands of stars remain unsearched). There is also a system with 5 B-type stars here but I did not dare to venture in - I wanted to keep my experience sweet, not spicy!
'Clown Nebula'
Game map search ref. : DRYAEA FLEE AA-A H89
POI Type: Visual
Although resembling the Candy Floss Nebula in appearance, the Clown Nebula is more than twice as high and wide in each dimension. It lies exactly in the Galactic Plane at one end of The Festival Grounds and several other nebulae are visible about 1500LY away, that I did not visit.
'Thunderclap Nebula'
Game map search ref. : DRYAEA FLEE DK-A E108 NEB
POI Type: Visual
Located in between the Golden Chalice and Candy Floss nebulae, this small nebula houses a neutron star and its companion F star. The result of a supernova explosion 270 million years ago, the neutron star is devoid of planets - any it may have had in the past did not survive the explosion.
These are three more POIs from my journey to the Galactic Core. The first is a major nebula, the second a minor nebula centred on a neutron star and the third a system of scenic/tourist interest. I am unsure whether to submit two more minor nebulae, since they were previously scanned when I was there, one of which belongs with the other MYRIESLY sector nebulae and in an existing POI (MYRIESLY CL-P E5-7383 and ZUNOAE AF-A E2855).
'Gatehouse Nebula'
Game map search ref. : EODGOSLY AA-A H38
POI Type: Visual
Positioned directly above an easy crossing point to the Orion-Cygnus Arm from the core regions and 650LY above the Galactic Plane, this large nebula (80*110*80LY) both marks the crossing point and provides a good view of the approach to the core and the spiral arms beyond. Whether it is watching more the approach from the core or protecting it from foes approaching from the spiral arms is anyone's guess! It is not devoid of life itself, housing an Ammonia World that requires some determination to reach, being more than half a million ls from the jump-in point (EODGOSLY TL-S C5-3 C5). There is also an Earth-like World just outside the nebula, its 'Sentry' in a sense (EODGOSLY BY-O C7-0 C3).
'Blue Lilies Nebula'
Game map search ref. : DUMBAA XJ-R E4-5596
POI Type: Visual
The name of this small nebula centred on a neutron star has a double meaning: it partly represents the appearance of the nebula, resembling a pair of blue lilies, and partly gives notice to two nearby Earth-like Worlds, one of which is in the closest system to this. DUMBAA PS-R C18-2660 6 is just 1.28LY from the nebula and has a sky with spectacular blue and green colours. DUMBAA PS-R C18-1220 B1 is 13.5LY away and sees the nebula as a blue flower in a sky white with the many stars of the Galactic Core - and the B3 planet is an Ammonia World, so other forms of life can also share in the view! Within the nebula itself, the sky is an eerie green colour unlike anything I have seen elsewhere in the galaxy.
'Six Rings for Six Stars'
Game map search ref. : MYRIESLY RY-S E3-5414
POI Type: Visual/Tourist
This system houses 6 T Tauri stars, each with its own ring, providing a series of stunning views set against many bright stars in the central part of the Galactic Core. One of the smaller planets also has an interesting ring system, with its angle of inclination almost exactly perpendicular to its orbit, so that the rings are face-on to the central star.
The arm between 'Perseus stem' and 'Scutum-Centaurus arm', does it have a name? It starts off as 'Near 3kPc arm', but is the not-near part also named that? I'm at the brink of it.
Always glad to know where I am.
Hey cmdrs, I always loved exploration, and I'm currently headed to the far end of the outer arm. How can i contribute to this proyect? Any tools you use to help catalog/record your exploration trips? Thanks in advance and fly safe.
The arm between 'Perseus stem' and 'Scutum-Centaurus arm', does it have a name? It starts off as 'Near 3kPc arm', but is the not-near part also named that? I'm at the brink of it.
Always glad to know where I am.
The two arms that emerge from either end of the central galactic bar are called the Near 3KPC Arm (or Expanding Arm), and the Far 3KPC Arm. The arm between the Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus Stem eventually becomes the New Outer arm, although at the point you mentioned I'm not exactly sure what its commonly known as. Real maps of the milky way don't seem to have one set convention of names, and some regions don't have names at all. Different maps from different agencies often show different names for the same thing too.
Hey cmdrs, I always loved exploration, and I'm currently headed to the far end of the outer arm. How can i contribute to this proyect? Any tools you use to help catalog/record your exploration trips? Thanks in advance and fly safe.
There are a few 3rd party programs that log where you've been but I rarely use them. But all you really need is screenshots or a video of where you've been and what points of interests you want to add to the maps.
----------------
I'll update the maps in a couple of weeks as I'm taking a break from the game at the moment.
I am looking for an image view of the entire galaxy map, as in the first post "galactic overview", but without the limits of the 11 maps.
I want to use it as a background image in an Excel chart to track the journeys of exploration.
Do you know if this picture exist, and where to find it?
I didn't think I'd have much chance of finding one in such a seemingly innocuous place, instead I thought I'd have to head further to the galactic centre where the younger and potentially more massive stars live. I would have taken a screenshot for reference but unfortunately was pressing F5 for that part of my journey before realising I should be pressing F10 (doh!). I'm sure most seasoned travellers will already have been there/seen that though, especially any KS backers.
