Newcomer / Intro Working Out Which Nebula I'm Looking At

withnail67

withnail67
Wander lust has got the better of me once again, so I jumped in my Asp X and headed towards the outer rim of the Milky Way. I've seen a nice looking Nebula I'd like to go and visit, but on opening the Galaxy Map, I was confronted with several likely candidates.

Is there any way to know which direction your ship is facing in relation to the Map? In the end, I spent ages plotting routes to near by stars until I found one in the right direction, then used the "line of sight" made by the route plot to find the Nebula I was after. Is there an easier/quicker method?

Cheers
Withnail67 o7
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
withnail67 said:
Wander lust has got the better of me once again, so I jumped in my Asp X and headed towards the outer rim of the Milky Way. I've seen a nice looking Nebula I'd like to go and visit, but on opening the Galaxy Map, I was confronted with several likely candidates.

Is there any way to know which direction your ship is facing in relation to the Map? In the end, I spent ages plotting routes to near by stars until I found one in the right direction, then used the "line of sight" made by the route plot to find the Nebula I was after. Is there an easier/quicker method?

Cheers
Withnail67 o7
Click to expand...
What I usually do is I target a star I know (for example a distinctive one I've just been to, or usually simply Sol), then return to cocpit, look at the targeted star, then turn the ship at the nebula/whatever interesting, and try to estimate the angle. Then I return to the map, zoom all the way in, look at Sol and then try to replicate the angle and elevation.
It mostly works but it's a bit of a drag and I wish there was easier way. (For example an option to target visible stars FROM the cockpit.)
 
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withnail67

withnail67
Chris Simon said:
What I usually do is I target a star I know (for example a distinctive one I've just been to, or usually simply Sol), then return to cocpit, look at the targeted star, then turn the ship at the nebula/whatever interesting, and try to estimate the angle. Then I return to the map, zoom all the way in, look at Sol and then try to replicate the angle and elevation.
It mostly works but it's a bit of a drag and I wish there was easier way. (For example an option to target visible stars FROM the cockpit.)
Click to expand...
Thanks, I did try plotting a route to reach of the possible candidates, but the first jump isn't always heading straight towards it, which complicates things.

One more explorer question if I may: I know that, when you set a long route, you get a solid line to the last main sequence refuelling star and a broken line after that. Does the route planner take into account my jump range and fuel load for the whole route, or do I need to recheck after each refuelling point to make sure it's still safe to continue? (Don't want to have to contact the Fuel Rats!)
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
withnail67 said:
Thanks, I did try plotting a route to reach of the possible candidates, but the first jump isn't always heading straight towards it, which complicates things.

One more explorer question if I may: I know that, when you set a long route, you get a solid line to the last main sequence refuelling star and a broken line after that. Does the route planner take into account my jump range and fuel load for the whole route, or do I need to recheck after each refuelling point to make sure it's still safe to continue? (Don't want to have to contact the Fuel Rats!)
Click to expand...
Cargo aside, the route planner take into account the wet mass of your ship - all current equipment and a full tank. So no matter how much fuel you have at any given time (if you're planning the route while having an empty tank), you will be able to jump the distance, even if it means the planner doesn't actually use your jump capability to the maximum.
If you want to use your maximum range (meaning jumping with as little fuel as possible), you'd have to plot each jump manually.

Also, regarding the full and dotted lines, it works a bit differently. The full line means how far you can travel with the fuel you currently have onboard. Dotted line means you don't have enough fuel to continue without scooping up more (as you said).
But the last scoopable star has its own icon. And it doesn't have to be at the end of the full line. Sometimes your "last fuel star" can be in the middle of your range and the full line will continue past it, only through unscoopable stars.
From how you said it I suspect you expect to be able to top up at the end of the full line, which is not always the case.
Naturally you can tell your route planner to ONLY route you through scoopable stars (KGBFOAM) and not worry about it at all.
 

withnail67

withnail67
Chris Simon said:
From how you said it I suspect you expect to be able to top up at the end of the full line, which is not always the case.
Naturally you can tell your route planner to ONLY route you through scoopable stars (KGBFOAM) and not worry about it at all.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I worded that rather poorly! I'm aware that the last fuel star isn't necessarily at the end of the solid line part of the route.

Assuming I fully refuel at the indicated star, can I be confident there will be another fuel star available before I run out on the next section of a long route?
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
withnail67 said:
Sorry, I worded that rather poorly! I'm aware that the last fuel star isn't necessarily at the end of the solid line part of the route.

Assuming I fully refuel at the indicated star, can I be confident there will be another fuel star available before I run out on the next section of a long route?
Click to expand...
No, actually. If you want to be sure, you have to check whether the next "last fuel star" is within the range of the full line. There are some vast dead stretches of the galaxy through which you have to plot the route from fuel star to fuel star instead of just hoping there will be one on the route the route plotter laid out. :)
 

withnail67

withnail67
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I'd noticed the sky has a lot less stars as I approach the gap between spiral arms and didn't want to just carry on regardless.
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
withnail67 said:
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I'd noticed the sky has a lot less stars as I approach the gap between spiral arms and didn't want to just carry on regardless.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the fringe regions can be quite challenging, depending on your jump range and to a certain degree, luck. Once you're in between the arms, pay attention to your route very closely. You may end up stuck in a place where you can't scoop for several jumps forward AND back and you're gonna have to embarrass yourself. :LOL:
 

Dommarraa

Dommarraa
A trick from ye olden days.
If you get down to 1/3 fuel, swap to economic till you hit a scoopable, then back to fastest. Saves a lot of phaffing about retargeting.
Using the scoopable stars filter is for noobs.

Synthesis is for emergencies.
 

withnail67

withnail67
Ant hill said:
On the original topic. I had some fun with a similar problem . I gave it some thought and posted some other tips on the thread. Thread
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Well, that was a bit of a spooky coincidence as it was NGC 7822 that I'd noticed from a distance and wanted to head to (It's the string of type O stars that make it stand out so much when your in that area). Unfortunately, I just skirted the edge to take some holiday snaps and then headed back to the Bubble. Reading about all the lovely data inside the Nebula, I'll be returning for a more detailed investigation soon.

But I bagged another 218 newly discovered planets on my rather indirect route there, to add to my "vanity list".
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
withnail67 said:
Well, that was a bit of a spooky coincidence as it was NGC 7822 that I'd noticed from a distance and wanted to head to....
Click to expand...
😁
It's always NGC 7822.... ongoing joke in the exploration subforum. If someone asks "what is that", you can be pretty sure the answer is NGC 7822.

And yes, also for me NGC 7822 was the first time I encountered the problem you describe (i.e., plan a course in the GalMap to something you see through your canopy).
 

withnail67

withnail67
Ashnak said:
😁
It's always NGC 7822.... ongoing joke in the exploration subforum. If someone asks "what is that", you can be pretty sure the answer is NGC 7822.

And yes, also for me NGC 7822 was the first time I encountered the problem you describe (i.e., plan a course in the GalMap to something you see through your canopy).
Click to expand...

It does stand out, especially when the star density starts to thin out and it's also the first time I entered a new sector. It wasn't until I zoomed out on the Galactic Map that I realised just how small a distance I'd covered. If I played on PC, I'd definitely have a second explorer account.

Having been a back garden astronomer, I thought the Orion Nebula would have been my first such object as I've spent so much time looking at it, but NGC7822 just looked so stunning!
 

CptArcher

CptArcher
withnail67 said:
Wander lust has got the better of me once again, so I jumped in my Asp X and headed towards the outer rim of the Milky Way. I've seen a nice looking Nebula I'd like to go and visit, but on opening the Galaxy Map, I was confronted with several likely candidates.

Is there any way to know which direction your ship is facing in relation to the Map? In the end, I spent ages plotting routes to near by stars until I found one in the right direction, then used the "line of sight" made by the route plot to find the Nebula I was after. Is there an easier/quicker method?

Cheers
Withnail67 o7
Click to expand...

That's the way I do it too. Trial and error. Something else I would do is reference off the galactic core a bit and nearby features that I know to get a bearing. As matter of fact, I kind of do this on almost every jump and get my bearings by referencing off the core and if I am going "up" or "down" relative to the galactic plane.

It's kind of amazing how long one ends up looking at the galmap when out exploring!
 

withnail67

withnail67
CptArcher said:
It's kind of amazing how long one ends up looking at the galmap when out exploring!
Click to expand...

One advantage of being a new player is; apart from the area around LHS 3447 and Farseer Inc, everywhere is new ground to me! ;)

Using a single jump route path as a "line of sight" worked fairly well/quickly. My initial mistake was to plot a route all the way to possible candidates, as there's no guarantee the first jump will line up with your destination. Although a "galactic compass" would be handy.
 
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