Why is there a dense layer of stars slightly above the galactic plane?

[Willyum-71]

How do I set bookmarks 1,000LY's below the galactic plane from where I want to be?

Here's the long version of the question....
Are there tools that can tell you how far above/below the galactic plane a system is? I am currently at the Canon Hub station on my way back from Sag-A, and it's taking me a lot of jumps to get home... You guys mentioned Neutron stars increasing at 1,000LY's above/below the Galactic plane... I'm pretty sure Shinrarta, Colonia and maybe Canon are below the plane but I don't know by how much.... I would like to bookmark any random star directly below each of these locations to mark the 1k plane point (and possibly 1k above plane too). I am aware Spansh has the Neutron plotter, but I like the freedom of the in-game Cone boost router option so I can stop off and make little detours at random.

Going from Colonia to Sag-A, the built in cone boost router reduced my jumps from 194, down to 95 jumps... But going from Sag-A to the Bubble was 446 jumps and the in-game cone boost actually increased it by one jump to 447 jumps. I realize there was no improvement because the entire trip would be directly on the galactic plane, and the in-game will not take you that far off course.

 

[Ashnak]

How do I set bookmarks 1,000LY's below the galactic plane from where I want to be?

Here's the long version of the question....
Are there tools that can tell you how far above/below the galactic plane a system is? I am currently at the Canon Hub station on my way back from Sag-A, and it's taking me a lot of jumps to get home... You guys mentioned Neutron stars increasing at 1,000LY's above/below the Galactic plane... I'm pretty sure Shinrarta, Colonia and maybe Canon are below the plane but I don't know by how much.... I would like to bookmark any random star directly below each of these locations to mark the 1k plane point (and possibly 1k above plane too). I am aware Spansh has the Neutron plotter, but I like the freedom of the in-game Cone boost router option so I can stop off and make little detours at random.

Going from Colonia to Sag-A, the built in cone boost router reduced my jumps from 194, down to 95 jumps... But going from Sag-A to the Bubble was 446 jumps and the in-game cone boost actually increased it by one jump to 447 jumps. I realize there was no improvement because the entire trip would be directly on the galactic plane, and the in-game will not take you that far off course.

You might find this thread informative:

The Neutron Fields - A Definitive Guide

***HOW TO GO FROM CIVILIZATION TO SAG A* FARMING NEUTRON STARS*** For quick route to SAG A* from the bubble, reveal this spoiler: I will be adding another route example from SAG towards civilization soon! Complete guide starts here: The first reports about a vast region containing an...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Otherwise, I usually just open the galmap, then go to my target system, then move up or down until I'm in the Neutron Fields range (taken from the above thread), then set a bookmark on a likely star. In the map, you get coordinates indicated on each (major) grid crossing - that's your lightyears above/below (as well as N/S/E/W of Sol).

 

[Riverside]

How do I set bookmarks 1,000LY's below the galactic plane from where I want to be?

Here's the long version of the question....
Are there tools that can tell you how far above/below the galactic plane a system is? I am currently at the Canon Hub station on my way back from Sag-A, and it's taking me a lot of jumps to get home... You guys mentioned Neutron stars increasing at 1,000LY's above/below the Galactic plane... I'm pretty sure Shinrarta, Colonia and maybe Canon are below the plane but I don't know by how much.... I would like to bookmark any random star directly below each of these locations to mark the 1k plane point (and possibly 1k above plane too). I am aware Spansh has the Neutron plotter, but I like the freedom of the in-game Cone boost router option so I can stop off and make little detours at random.

Going from Colonia to Sag-A, the built in cone boost router reduced my jumps from 194, down to 95 jumps... But going from Sag-A to the Bubble was 446 jumps and the in-game cone boost actually increased it by one jump to 447 jumps. I realize there was no improvement because the entire trip would be directly on the galactic plane, and the in-game will not take you that far off course.

Founders is about on the galactic plane, Colonia is about -900 IIRC.

Enable the grid in the galaxy map settings to see markers for the X, Y & Z coordinates of your wherever you have centred on. If you use WASD to move the cursor around you can use R & F to move up & down through the galactic plane. Zoom out to make the cursor move faster & zoom back in for more precise movements.

 

[Willyum-71]

In the map, you get coordinates indicated on each (major) grid crossing - that's your lightyears above/below (as well as N/S/E/W of Sol).

Awesome info... and that was exactly what I was looking for, totally forgot the Grid has coordinates on it.

I thought I had taken the Neutron highway before cause I was getting neutrons like after every 4th-5th regular jump, and sometimes even 2 neutrons back to back........ Well, I am now initiated, cause the real neutron highway is quite scary. The in-game router actually works really well once you put yourself in the right location to use it. It is giving me about 4-5 neutrons in a row then gives me one scoopable, then right back to 4-5 neutrons repeatedly.
But I say scary cause it's really dark down here, I guess Neutrons don't spread their light enough to be visible from neighboring systems and I think all these M stars are not that visible as well. combined with a couple of White Dwarfs adding actual danger (neutrons are easy, it's the dwarfs that scare me).... It's just super creepy. I've gotten the hang of nailing each boost first try without getting kicked out anymore, but I'm not sure I prefer 'faster' over 'pretty & calm'.

 

[Frankymole]

Yes, but usually you have someone come up with theories. Dark matter is just mystery.

According to Douglas Adams, the missing matter (as it was then called) is packaging material like those annoying polystyrene chips you get in mail order parcels.

 

[Jack Winter]

Awesome info... and that was exactly what I was looking for, totally forgot the Grid has coordinates on it.

I thought I had taken the Neutron highway before cause I was getting neutrons like after every 4th-5th regular jump, and sometimes even 2 neutrons back to back........ Well, I am now initiated, cause the real neutron highway is quite scary. The in-game router actually works really well once you put yourself in the right location to use it. It is giving me about 4-5 neutrons in a row then gives me one scoopable, then right back to 4-5 neutrons repeatedly.
But I say scary cause it's really dark down here, I guess Neutrons don't spread their light enough to be visible from neighboring systems and I think all these M stars are not that visible as well. combined with a couple of White Dwarfs adding actual danger (neutrons are easy, it's the dwarfs that scare me).... It's just super creepy. I've gotten the hang of nailing each boost first try without getting kicked out anymore, but I'm not sure I prefer 'faster' over 'pretty & calm'.

It adds a bit of tension and makes the travel much faster. Personally I like it.

 

[Lee Ti]

I think Scott Adams could be onto something

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Maybe it's just dust from millenia not sweeping properly.

 

[Willyum-71]

It adds a bit of tension and makes the travel much faster. Personally I like it.

I've had a couple days to calm down from that terrifying trip home, and now that I'm Ok... I just realized I forgot to pin the proper blueprints on the engineers up there.
I had to buy a ship to do the engineer unlocks, I pinned the proper blueprints... but it was so beautiful in Colonia, I figured I might as well have a couple ships fully engineered in case I go back. So I switched the pinned cause I had to run back and forth to the material trader to get all my ships done... and forgot to change back to the proper pins..... I have to go right back on the highway!