How exactly is one supposed to scan the light levels of the galactic centre to triangulate stellar migration or whatever? I have a detailed surface scanner and an advanced discovery scanner, not exactly KEPLER level technology though
Seriously though - It's nice that you've provided some context for the trip and I am actually very interested, HOWEVER
A little more detail of exactly what you are attempting to achieve (and how) would be nice - as for the images provided they're very pretty but I can't read the text due to the poor resolution and colour choices.
Lol - KEPLER Technology... hahahah
The SHEPARD Mission is first and foremost a fleet exploration mission - think Distant Worlds or the Galactic Nebula Expedition. This means, most of the time we will be flying independently, scanning systems (honking), and performing detailed surface scans of astronomical bodies that compel us. Where SHEPARD differs, however, are in two ways - duration and 'scientific' aims:
A) Duration - The SHEPARD Mission is one of the longest of its kind. Taking 6 months to travel through the galaxy, which is longer than Distant Worlds & GNE Combined! There are two primary reasons for this. First is that SHEPARD is intended to be a pure exploration mission, where commanders take their time searching out unknown and unique points of interest in the galaxy, rather than simply jump scan / jump scan from waypoint to waypoint only looking at 'sights and wonders'. It is the hope, especially in the relatviely unexplored regions of Leg 2 & Leg 3 - that we will find some new astronomical anomalies (multiple black hole systems, binary Earth Likes, unknown planetary nebula)... The second reason that SHEPARD is so long in duration is that it is a return journey... which makes it roughly twice as long!
B) Scientific Aim - While I will be the first to admit, it is hard to do KEPLER scans of the galaxy, we can however achieve some level of astronomical contribution for the ED Galaxy. We hope to achieve this is 4 ways:
-First, throughout the trip it is encouraged that all cmdrs have EDDiscovery installed on their ships computers... this will allow system you visit to be logged with EDSM - the Elite Dangerous Star Map
https://www.edsm.net/ which is a comprehensive cataloque of all visited and known stars in the galaxy. EDSM will also route and track our expedition and add our progress to a 3-D map of the galaxy. SHEPARD has just been entered into the database and you can track our progess here (
https://www.edsm.net/expeditions/summary/id/13/name/S.H.E.P.A.R.D.+Mission).
-Second, we will climb to the top of the galactic ceiling at Waypoint 22 (just outside the Near 3k Arm in the Galactic Core). This trip will utilize the new Pulsar FSD boost technology (loads of NS and WD at this location), along with increased ranges from 2.1 and 2.2, to take us further up the ceiling than that which has ever been achieved in the history of mankind.
-Third, once we are up there we will perform our third and final Deep Image Scan. A Deep Image scan is a distant photographic scan of visible light similar to the Hubble Telescope. The process to compile one of these is to capture 8-10 super-high resolution photographs of the galactic core (4k high-res screenshots in solo mode), and then stitch these together. Once we have all three, it may be possible to 'triangulate' (used loosely here) or combine these photographs into a 3-dimensional image / model of the galaxy. Moreover, having these images may help with the galactic mapping project and EDSM - which will use our collective system scan data (see first point about EDdiscovery and EDSM) to trilaterate (triangulate) exact coordinates of systems in the galaxy. Trilateration is already happening on EDSM.
ESO Scan of Core using composite images:
-Fourth and final, we have scheduled an endurance circumnavigation of a small planet during the journey. While this is a mostly fun endevour to help break space madness, we will use this information to create full map of the surface of a planet, with different regions, natural wonders, etc...
It is the aim of SHEPARD to at least attempt to push the scientific limits of ED, and merge role playing with actually database creation. We have a series of event planned (climb to the ceiling / SRV Endurance Race / Christmas at Beagle Point) for SHEPARD that will not only distinguish it from some of its predecessors, but also make it fun. 6 Months is a long time out in the black - but again, that is also one of the things that will make SHEPARD Epic!!! We would love to have you on the mission, and hope that this makes some of the aims and means of SHEPARD a little more clear. Stay tuned for a trailer video soon!!!
For a crude example of one of the Deep Image Scans, see this video starting at 12:06
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzsQeH5cQ24