The Galactic Mapping Project & Historical Archive of Exploration

well there i was thinking this might not kick off and i stand resoundingly corrected, this is an amazing effort and something i hope i can eventually contribute to :)

In my opinion, this is the only place to be.
There's lots of people exploring for money, but anyone can (eventually) find an earthlike, or farm neutrons.
I was very interested in the first great expedition, but for the life of me I cant figure out where they are or if theyre doing anything.

This mapping project is alive and kicking. We're exploring, experimenting, learning and mapping. This is proper exploration :)

EDIT: If Erimus started a player group, I would join up in a half-heartbeat.
 
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I think they're just dust features on the galactic map to give it some texture, but aren't physically there in game. Let me know if you discover otherwise though.

You'll be (perhaps) pleased to know that they are not just graphical features to "pretty-up" the gal map, they do in fact correspond to distinct areas, more information here:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=144881

depending on the location of these spots, they could be minor curiosities, perhaps moderate travel dangers. Out here on the spur, they can actually be rather dangerous as they are also accompanied by pretty significant gaps in the stars outside the spots. There are scoopable stars above and below the spots, but thin space + large unscoopable areas = dangerous.
 
This is a wonderful project, kudos to all involved in it, esp. Erimus of couse. I only recently became aware of it, and hope to make some small contribution to it from time to time in future, once I have read back through the thread.
 
You'll be (perhaps) pleased to know that they are not just graphical features to "pretty-up" the gal map, they do in fact correspond to distinct areas, more information here:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=144881

Depending on the location of these spots, they could be minor curiosities, perhaps moderate travel dangers. Out here on the spur, they can actually be rather dangerous as they are also accompanied by pretty significant gaps in the stars outside the spots. There are scoopable stars above and below the spots, but thin space + large unscoopable areas = dangerous.

That's a great investigation in that thread, and an interesting discovery. They could be too small in size and too numerous to put on the maps if they appear everywhere in the galaxy. If they appear galactic-wide they could be added to the first post as a separate phenomena with your screenshot and write up with examples of what explorers need to look out for.. Once you're satisfied with your investigation that they're linked to young star areas give the phenomena a name ; eg.. Dwarf Spots, Dwarvian Fields, Micro Nurseries, anything you can come up with that fits the theme and describes the anomaly :)
 
Hi,

I'm currently out by the Chameleon nebula and although it's not particularly interesting I didn't see it on any of the maps on the first page. Is there any reason it's not on there? There doesn't seem to be any stars within it, just some surrounding it. My journey out here has been reasonably uneventful (baring a mishap/user error 3 jumps out which made me return back to a star port!). Just lot and lots of ice planets so far!

Viking2010
Http://elite.ahooks.co.uk
 
Hi,

I'm currently out by the Chameleon nebula and although it's not particularly interesting I didn't see it on any of the maps on the first page. Is there any reason it's not on there? There doesn't seem to be any stars within it, just some surrounding it. My journey out here has been reasonably uneventful (baring a mishap/user error 3 jumps out which made me return back to a star port!). Just lot and lots of ice planets so far!

Viking2010
Http://elite.ahooks.co.uk

With it being only 600 LYs away it was too close to SOL to physically place a label for it on the map. However I think you're right, it should be listed as its probably the first place most explorers venture to when starting out, so I've added a new entry under the Coalsack & Chamaeleon Nebulae.

I've also added the Pleiades.

Cheers!
 
Im currently down in the Perseus arm, left from Sol 4 weeks ago
Done the Heart and Soul Nebulas, moved up to the Bubble Nebula.
Im currently meandering around near the Orio Persian Gap, on last check I was 18Klys from Sol
Will be heading back in soon, want to be home for before 1.3 goes live.
 
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That's a great investigation in that thread, and an interesting discovery. They could be too small in size and too numerous to put on the maps if they appear everywhere in the galaxy. If they appear galactic-wide they could be added to the first post as a separate phenomena with your screenshot and write up with examples of what explorers need to look out for.. Once you're satisfied with your investigation that they're linked to young star areas give the phenomena a name ; eg.. Dwarf Spots, Dwarvian Fields, Micro Nurseries, anything you can come up with that fits the theme and describes the anomaly :)

Well Im just the "ay, whassat?" and button pusher person who's willing to go to the rear end of nowhere to make data tables.
Ziljan, Jackie Silver and other commanders are the brains behind the analysis.

We're actually thinking theyre linked to very OLD star areas where a globular cluster or some kind of dark matter body has disturbed the interstellar medium. (that's ziljan talking, to me they're still just 'pinky spots').
We need to get some control data on brown dwarves outside the pink spots before we know what they are. If I come across any mapping goodness while I'm playing with old dead stars Ill let you know, seriously its like a graveyard out here.
 
With it being only 600 LYs away it was too close to SOL to physically place a label for it on the map. However I think you're right, it should be listed as its probably the first place most explorers venture to when starting out, so I've added a new entry under the Coalsack & Chamaeleon Nebulae.

I've also added the Pleiades.

Cheers!

I just read back a page and realised you are only looking at stuff 10k or more out so apologies for suggesting something only 600ly out from sol! I'm slowly heading outward and if I find something exceptional I'll let you know but think there's quite a few been in my direction before! Feel like I'm a bit slow off the mark on this exploration business, but I guess there's still a lot out there undiscovered!
 
I just read back a page and realised you are only looking at stuff 10k or more out so apologies for suggesting something only 600ly out from sol! I'm slowly heading outward and if I find something exceptional I'll let you know but think there's quite a few been in my direction before! Feel like I'm a bit slow off the mark on this exploration business, but I guess there's still a lot out there undiscovered!

At the risk of presumptuously speaking for Erimus, its not that discoveries inside the 10 kylie border are bad, just that they need to be rather exceptional in order to make room for them on a very crowded sector 1 map. We still have nothing at all for several of the sectors and any kind of interesting finds out there have plenty of map real-estate to take up. My trip out into the second sector turned up only a few topographical entries, theres still TONS out there to discover for the project, most of the galaxy is terra incognita just waiting for someone to stumble on it.
 
Orange Giants Fields (this time with awesome photoshoped map!!!!) (that goes in Map 02)

1000 ly north the Rosette Nebula i came across a region with a noticeble high presence of Orange Giants (K out of main sequence). Thse does not form any cluster, in a 1000ly sided square their density i relatively high, and only this kind og giant is found. Average distance between them is 100ly, but sometimes they form micro clusters of 3-4 elements 30 ly apart.
It's noticebly different from other areas, that at best have some Red Giant here and there and the lonely O giant. Beeing K class much more rare than M class, this zone is really peculiar.
I traversed this zone making routes between those giants, and was fun!!! Everything uncharted here.

I give the list of the one i passed (in a 1000 ly straight route)

COL 107 SECTOR:
xk-n d7-19
vp-n d7-26
vj-p d6-105
xj-p d6-62

HYPOAE AIHM:
mi-b d13-65
pi-b d13-155

That's 6 in 1000 ly STRIGHT LINE, saw many more but didn't detour.

Here a fancy map with mighty photoshop abilities (also showing CMDR MURISHANI trying to solve Dwarven Riddles) (edit, maybe is a little smaller, it's just to give an idea of the location)
Orange Giants Fields 9.jpg

Here some random pics
Orange Giants Fields 02.jpgOrange Giants Fields 03.jpgOrange Giants Fields 04.jpgOrange Giants Fields 05.jpgOrange Giants Fields 06.jpgOrange Giants Fields 07.jpg

After it's pure chaos, nothing peculiar:
going on several thousands light years up the Perseus Arm i'm finding nothing: no clusters, no particular layers, no particular frequency of star types, no badlands, everything is scattered everywhere. And the familiar shape of the Rosette Nebula behind me is getting smaller... Can't see anyting else familiar in the skybox, starting to feel stranded for the first time, even if i'm just 9000ly from sol.
 
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Can't see anyting else familiar in the skybox, starting to feel stranded for the first time.

Unless you're so far from home you don't know how you're getting back, unless you can't recognize anything in the sky, unless you're just a little frightened and homesick and debating turning back... you're not exploring.

That is a ton of giants for that small area, very cool. Those pics you took are all actually pretty close in age, that might be some kind of cluster. A more astrophysics educated mind would have to look at them to know.
 
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Hello Master Elite CMDR Erimus,

After passing thru SoL Nebula, headed to Eta Carinae, then NGC 3293 and ETA Carina Nebula, I turned upwards and trucked for some 5,000 ly....then turned left and I am now consistently in the intersection of MAP 3 and MAP 11 of you Galactic Project, headed to SAG A*.

I am not sure how or what to report of if there is anything particualr you would like to be looked at in this region 0or any of the regions mentioned above as I see no info submitted for them yet.

In the area I currently am, not really a feature I can think of as a region -although I must add I am cruising at very high attitudes from the Galactic Plane thus groups of stars are hard in the rather scarce scenery up here.

What I can say about this area though, is that is very rich in systems, as I expected: I have seen Carbon Stars, White Dwarves, Neutron Stars, A, O's and even 1 freaking pulsar, in the last 1,500 ly.

The pulsar is depicted and described as a White Dwarf, but I believe is a pulsar becuase of the speed it was spinning: 2-3 spins per second! I have never seen a star spinning so fast so I figured, it must be a pulsar.

In another system, I found this brown dwarf, with an accretion disc, 5 orbiting planets, a huge asteroid ring of 35ls width and an outer ringed giant orbiting right outside. The Y brown was orbiting a Carbon star...That's the most interesting system I have seen so far...just incredible.

Again, I feel my findings are more "particular" than "general" as a region. Just wanted to know if this is still useful info for this project that looks at rather vast areas, and if so I could elaborate on that.

Thanks.
 
Orange Giants Fields..

These may have to go in as a numbered index and not an actual label due to the limited room on the maps in that region. I'll see what I can do :)

...going on several thousands light years up the Perseus Arm i'm finding nothing: no clusters, no particular layers, no particular frequency of star types, no badlands, everything is scattered everywhere.

Yeah, there are great swathes of nothing special all over the place... makes finding something a little out of the ordinary all the more sweeter. I'm sure something will turn up sooner or later.
 
I've got a badlands area to add where I found a cluster of multiple black hole / neutron star systems purely by accident. Is this the kind of thing you're looking for? It's about 12KLY (I think!) out from Sol in a completely random direction. I'll post the details once I'm back as I mapped quite a few of the systems.
 
Hello Master Elite CMDR Erimus,

After passing thru SoL Nebula, headed to Eta Carinae, then NGC 3293 and ETA Carina Nebula, I turned upwards and trucked for some 5,000 ly....then turned left and I am now consistently in the intersection of MAP 3 and MAP 11 of you Galactic Project, headed to SAG A*.

I am not sure how or what to report of if there is anything particualr you would like to be looked at in this region 0or any of the regions mentioned above as I see no info submitted for them yet.

In the area I currently am, not really a feature I can think of as a region -although I must add I am cruising at very high attitudes from the Galactic Plane thus groups of stars are hard in the rather scarce scenery up here.

What I can say about this area though, is that is very rich in systems, as I expected: I have seen Carbon Stars, White Dwarves, Neutron Stars, A, O's and even 1 freaking pulsar, in the last 1,500 ly.

The pulsar is depicted and described as a White Dwarf, but I believe is a pulsar becuase of the speed it was spinning: 2-3 spins per second! I have never seen a star spinning so fast so I figured, it must be a pulsar.

In another system, I found this brown dwarf, with an accretion disc, 5 orbiting planets, a huge asteroid ring of 35ls width and an outer ringed giant orbiting right outside. The Y brown was orbiting a Carbon star...That's the most interesting system I have seen so far...just incredible.

Again, I feel my findings are more "particular" than "general" as a region. Just wanted to know if this is still useful info for this project that looks at rather vast areas, and if so I could elaborate on that.

Thanks.

Those are all interesting finds, especially the spinning pulsar. I know we have stuff like that much closer to home, but considering you're exploring regions that have no data all those things you found are interesting finds and should be recorded. Its only in the local regional map where things are getting a bit tight to fit on the maps where exceptional discoveries can be added now.



If you're definitely heading to Sag-A* through the Intermediate 4th Quadrant (Map 04) region, there is something semi-interesting out there that hasn't been officially discovered yet as far as I know.. Its on the very edge of the Norma arm, but not the galactic core side.

If you stumble across it let me know.... There's only about a billion stars that way to pass through before you find it :p

Seriously though, if you want a bit more info PM me. But its nothing worth detouring thousands of LYs for.

- - - Updated - - -

I've got a badlands area to add where I found a cluster of multiple black hole / neutron star systems purely by accident. Is this the kind of thing you're looking for? It's about 12KLY (I think!) out from Sol in a completely random direction. I'll post the details once I'm back as I mapped quite a few of the systems.

Excellent, thanks! If you can post a screenshot as a reference and also the procedural name of one of the systems, that would be great. I'll add all the latest entries in the next few days.
 
That first one could have a great binary sunset to view when planetary landing is added... a bit like the sunset on Tatooine?

maxresdefault.jpg

Can you think of an appropriate name for both entries?...... something that fits in with the spirit of the game, or check out the first post, there is a link to the real life astronomical naming conventions website if you're stuck for ideas.

I'll add them as numbered indexes when I update the maps :)
 
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