The Galactic Mapping Project & Historical Archive of Exploration

Erimus Kamzel · Jun 8, 2015

who? said:
Good to know, thanks! One thing I love about this game, I'm learning more and more about astronomy, even as I fly about and honk and kill stuff!

Looking at the examples in the article, the three I mentioned do look far more similar to each other than those pictured; they are three blue-ish "butterfly" shapes, with a black seam down the middle, and a reddish hue at the base (which also extends around the back if you rotate around them).

But disclaimer: I'd been exploring around the galactic fringes for a few weeks so was starting to see faces on every planet I found. It's possible I have gone slightly insane.

It happens to us all eventually... being alone in the void for weeks on end does strange things to ones sensibilities... welcome to the club

Alec Turner · Jun 10, 2015

Here's one for Map 10.

A very pretty planetary nebula around a black hole.

I can't claim first discovery on it unfortunately (and so probably don't really have the right to name it).

System Name: ATHAIP DW-N E6-3063

I don't know if this is unusual for planetary nebula but it was clearly visible from several jumps away.

Erimus Kamzel · Jun 10, 2015

Alec Turner said:
Here's one for Map 10.

A very pretty planetary nebula around a black hole.

I can't claim first discovery on it unfortunately (and so probably don't really have the right to name it).

System Name: ATHAIP DW-N E6-3063

I don't know if this is unusual for planetary nebula but it was clearly visible from several jumps away.

Nice screenshots there.. Feel free to name it, this project is all unofficial anyway, so has no bearing on whose done what in game really. Plus the idea is to humanize the map a little and detach it from the uninspiring procedural names. That system you found deserves to be called something better than ATHAIP DW-N E6-3063 !

I'll update the maps early next week.

Alec Turner · Jun 10, 2015

Erimus said:
Nice screenshots there.. Feel free to name it, this project is all unofficial anyway, so has no bearing on whose done what in game really. Plus the idea is to humanize the map a little and detach it from the uninspiring procedural names. That system you found deserves to be called something better than ATHAIP DW-N E6-3063 !

I'll update the maps early next week.

Fair enough, I name it the Athaip Wisteria Nebula. Any gardeners out there will hopefully recognise why.

Kolato · Jun 10, 2015

Name : The Carina-Scutum gap
Poi type : Exploration hazard (medium to high)

A huge gap between the scutum centaurus arm and the carina saggitarrius arm, few stars and lots of brown dwarfs.

who? · Jun 10, 2015

Murishani said:
actually I think it may be a bit of both because those two lobed shapes are actually pretty common, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_nebula

If they are IDENTICAL, then they may be engaging in a bit of developmental laziness and that is disappointing, but there's at least some merit to having those shapes.

Incidentally, here are the three nebulae I'm talking about - they look very similar to me. (images taken from the Galaxy Map rather than "in person", as I don't have images from the NGC 281 to hand and I'm not heading back out 9 KLy to get one!

They do look the same first hand.

Maybe they just are similar in real life, but if nebulae - one of the main "points of interest" in the game - are copied and pasted throughout the galaxy, it does render exploration a bit meaningless to me.

Murishani · Jun 10, 2015

who? said:
Incidentally, here are the three nebulae I'm talking about - they look very similar to me.

I wanted to disbelieve, I looked at them and said "surely there must be a difference" and I saw differences in the angles of the black stripes but I couldn't let it rest at that so I looked them all up in the Gal Map

They are absolutely the same and just copy pasted.
EDIT: The monkey head nebula is also identical.

Come on FDev we deserve better than that, and you can do better than that.

who? · Jun 10, 2015

Murishani said:
I wanted to disbelieve, I looked at them and said "surely there must be a difference" and I saw differences in the angles of the black stripes but I couldn't let it rest at that so I looked them all up in the Gal Map

They are absolutely the same and just copy pasted.
EDIT: The monkey head nebula is also identical.

Come on FDev we deserve better than that, and you can do better than that.

Yup, you're right about the Monkey Head. I thought I'd made a mistake and confused the Monkey Head with the Witch's Head, but no; that too is very similar if not identical.

This is what worries me about planetary landings & content - if they can't even make nebulae unique, when they are relatively rare, then we can't expect very much when they start generating 1 trillion+ planets.

Coyote · Jun 14, 2015

I've been to the Spirograph nebula (IC 418); I haven't found it in the lists of the opening posts. Is it unknown to you? It's quite pretty, quite close and easily reachable, about 1k ly out in direction of Barnard's Loop. Might be something for beginners. Very small though (just a system-sized nebula) - you might overlook it on your galaxy map. Head for BD-12 1172.
.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=95490&p=2022173&viewfull=1#post2022173
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=95490&p=2021938&viewfull=1#post2021938

Coyote · Jun 14, 2015

who? said:
This is what worries me about planetary landings & content - if they can't even make nebulae unique, when they are relatively rare, then we can't expect very much when they start generating 1 trillion+ planets.

There's a difference between planets and nebulae. The planet surfaces can be generated at random as nobody knows except for about half a dozen exceptions what they look like in detail. Render about 100 or 200 different planets for each planet category and repetitions won't bother anybody. Gotta keep the amount of data within practical limits. (I expect planetary landings to be just "planetary starports with animated approach", though.)
Nebulae OTOH are very well-documented and are supposed to look like they do in real life. So no random generation possible here.

Zeeman · Jun 14, 2015

Kola2 said:
Name : The Carina-Scutum gap
Poi type : Exploration hazard (medium to high)

A huge gap between the scutum centaurus arm and the carina saggitarrius arm, few stars and lots of brown dwarfs.

Yup - jumped that about a week ago, was very annoying. Nearly at 63k Ly from Sol on the Carina Sag arm now, may have to start looking for points of interest. I'll find the furthest brown dwarf I can from Sol and call it "The Black Stump".

Z...

Coslany · Jun 14, 2015

Just a quick mapping note:

On MAP-01 NGC 3590 appear to be further out from the bubble that it actually is.
On a dircet approach from the buuble it starts about 700 ly before the Statue Of Liberty and is about 100 ly in length.

It's almost a signpost pointing explorers from the bubble out towards Statue Of Liberty and Eta Carina!
A great sight.

I might stay out here for a while and head to MAP-03/04/05 - they need some love too!
Will report anything significant.

Great thready btw......

Andrew Gaspurr · Jun 14, 2015

Coslnay said:
Just a quick mapping note:
On MAP-01 NGC 3590 appear to be further out from the bubble that it actually is.
On a dircet approach from the buuble it starts about 700 ly before the Statue Of Liberty and is about 100 ly in length.
It's almost a signpost pointing explorers from the bubble out towards Statue Of Liberty and Eta Carina!
A great sight.
I might stay out here for a while and head to MAP-03/04/05 - they need some love too!
Will report anything significant.
Great thready btw......

Hi,
been there some days ago. This is what it looks like in terms of Open Clusters and Nebulae:

Enjoy your trip, and fly safe!

Erimus Kamzel · Jun 15, 2015

Here are the latest additions, let me know if I missed any..

Upsilon Carinae
Y Canum Venaticorum
The Froadik Fallows
The Zejoo Nebula
Froadik Region
Sidgoir Region
Aunairm Planetary Nebula
The Byoomao Blue Nebula
Michell's Legacy
The Athaip Wisteria Nebula
The Carina-Scutum Gap

@ italktowalls re: your entry
You never named that sextuple black hole system so I've temporarily called it "Michell's Legacy", after the scientist John Michell who was one of the first to postulate their existence. Let me know if that's ok or of you have another name in mind.

@ Coyote re: the Spirograph Nebula
I've had to put it under the Barnard's Loop regional entry due to its close proximity to all the other nebula in that region.

@ Coslnay
Cheers, I'll fix that error when I get around to making an updated version of map 01.

--------

Next index #44

Kolato · Jun 22, 2015

Flimbuae "Eye of horror" Planetary Nebula

POI type : Visual and exploration hazard! (high)

Description : A deadly close orbiting pair of a black hole and a class K star embedded within a blue planetary nebula.
The gravitational lensing of the black hole, and the close orbiting class K star, makes an effect which looks like an eye.

Search ref : FLIMBUAE CA-A E2

Eock Bluae AA-A H36 Nebula (Includes minor poi)

POI Type : Major POI

Description : A prominent, large nebula inside the Scutum-Centaurus arm.
This nebula is special as it is the only large nebula in the entire intermediate 4th quadrant.

Search ref : Eock Bluae AA-A H36

Douglas' World

Poi Type : Minor POI

Description : A rare, and beautiful earthlike embedded within the Eock Bluae nebula

Seach ref : Eock Bluae TW-V C2-0

Erimus Kamzel · Jun 22, 2015

Excellent finds, Kola2. And extra rep for exploring that quadrant

I'll add those as soon as I can

Kolato · Jun 22, 2015

Erimus said:
Excellent finds, Kola2. And extra rep for exploring that quadrant

I'll add those as soon as I can

Thanks!

I must say it was really a boring part of the galaxy, but in a way kind of cool too, as nobody had been there before!

Asayanami · Jun 22, 2015

Which part of the galaxy is the least mapped and could use a pair of eyes?
After my little misadventure with the Thargoids I think I will devote my time to this project from now on.

Erimus Kamzel · Jun 22, 2015

Asayanami said:
Which part of the galaxy is the least mapped and could use a pair of eyes?
After my little misadventure with the Thargoids I think I will devote my time to this project from now on.

Welcome back from your trip

Maps 3 to 5 (4th Quadrant), and map 7 (upper 1st Quadrant) are the least traveled regions it seems, but really anywhere outside of the local region is still virtually untouched in comparison.

Asayanami · Jun 22, 2015

Erimus said:
Welcome back from your trip

Maps 3 to 5 (4th Quadrant), and map 7 (upper 1st Quadrant) are the least traveled regions it seems, but really anywhere outside of the local region is still virtually untouched in comparison.

Roger that!

On my next trip out I will head out to those Quadrants! o7