(5,685 hours) - Phase 13 - Colours of the Milky Way
27 Sep 2020Evolution
--------------| Overview |
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The overall mission can be found here.
The log is structured into the following sections:
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| Phase 13 |
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This phase has taken 37 hours effort since the Phase 12 update and the effort felt well worth it o7. This log is what the previous 458 hours in Elite had been working for...
Phase 13 was the second part to reach Colonia from the core - that would be stage 1 of Phase 13. When Colonia is reached, stage 2 was to get allied with every controlling faction from the analysis in Phase 12 (see 'The Plan Ahead' section):
Stage 1 of the phase started from moon 'A 1 D' in the system PHRAE FLYOU CB-M D8-1201, located inside the Phrae Flyou nebula at the edge of Odin's Hold. The first destination was to the other moon I'd seen in the last log - A 1 C. I flew down to the surface and was pleased not to see gas vents, but Silicate Magma lava spouts instead:
The second destination was to see the black hole GMP location at PHRAE FLYOU HW-W F1-27, called 'Abholos'. It was very nearby, at only 2 jumps / 67.18LY and can been seen below. If you click the image, it will open in 4k:
Next, a course was set towards Colonia going via the nebula Dryooe Prou (AA-A H55). The route was set to the system DRYOOE PROU HH-C D2725 at 65 jumps / 3,283.04LY away. One jump later, an Ammonia world was discovered and can be seen here:
System AGNAIRT GX-T E3-1802 was reached on the 27th jump and had a class B star with a single HM world. It was interesting as the HM world was 12,707.28LS from the star but had a surface temperature of 1,085K, 2,221.87 atmospheric pressures and most surprisingly, it was a terraformable world:
In the DRYOOE PROU AN-I B55-92 system on the 43rd jump, the route transitioned from Odin's Hold into the Inner Scutum-Centaurus Arm on the next jump to DRYOOE PROU VU-G C26-640.
2 jumps later (45 done, 20 remaining), a valuable Metal rich lava world was discovered only 1.69 seconds from its star. Unsurprisingly, there was no atmosphere and the surface temperature was 1,241K:
With 2 jumps left (63rd from the route) at the system DRYOOE PROU LN-A D1-3204, the Dryooe Prou (AA-A H55) nebula was already filling the view with its green and red colours and I was already on the fringe. Twin Sulphur Dioxide moons (6B and 6C) were visited where this image was captured:
| Everyone who's been following the journey will know that I quite often take economical routes through Nebulae to see as many systems in them as possible. Being 1.2k LY from Colonia will mean there's less chance of finding something new, so I decided not to go into the centre of the nebula this time but to plot economical routes around the outside. That way, a lot more of the nebula will be shown in any images of interesting planets and there will be a higher chance of systems not being previously visited. |
The first mini route consisted of 34 jumps / 73.83LY to DRYOOE PROU XB-C B4-22.
After 11 jumps / 23 left, Viatorem discovered the DRYOOE PROU XA-B C2-160 system, where a WW and a terraformable HM planet were found. The WW is shown below:
On jump 14 / 20 left, I arrived at DRYOOE PROU XA-B C2-95 where 4 terraformable planets were found. Most importantly, 2 WW and a HM world in orbit around each other which is very rare, especially with a nebula and even more so as it's green. That felt like the perfect place to call it a night.
The route was replotted to DRYOOE PROU XB-C B4-22 and two extra jumps were added, meaning there were 22 left.
After 4 jumps, terraformable WW and HM planets were found in the DRYOOE PROU LN-A D1-1265 system. The WW had an Ammonia atmosphere which can be seen by its brown appearance:
I arrived at the target system, then mapped the first Gas giant and its closest twin moons. Moon '2 A A' had geological surface signals so the ship was taken down to investigate. Upon approaching the surface, a site was found in what appeared to be a dried-up valley. Scanning revealed the location to be Water Ice Geyser's so the river was apparently still there but had gone underground.
| Doing some system checks on the surface revealed a big milestone had been reached for EDSM! I'd discovered over 4,000 systems on the Galactic Network. I wish I had the true figure covering over 2 years before I knew about EDDN but that's another story. Also, at that point, I was only 20m credits away from crossing the 3 billion mark since since Phase 1. |
From there, a second economical mini route was plotted to DRYOOE PROU QU-E C1177 at 29 jumps / 66.16LY.
5 jumps in, the system DRYOOE PROU IH-C D199 was reached where there was an Icy body twice the mass of a Gas giant and three times the mass of a 'Gas giant with water based life' from the same system. I flew out and visited the rings of the Icy body which was 65.8x the mass of Earth:
22 jumps later (2 remaining), a terraformable HM planet was found in the DRYOOE PROU QO-E C962 system. There hadn't been many worthwhile mapping planets in this run so I felt like this would be the last one near the Dryooe Prou (AA-A H55) nebula:
Viatorem arrived at the target DRYOOE PROU QU-E C1177 and after over 450 hours to get this far, it was time to finally plot a course for Colonia! Colonia was only 22 jumps / 1,117.30LY away then.
| Looking in EDSM at the 65 jumps of both economical mini routes around the nebula, it’s surprising to report that 63 had never been visited before and only 2 had. I honestly expected a lot less new discoveries so close to Colonia, especially at the 2nd closest nebula. |
Twin terraformable HM planets were found in the system EOL PROU KJ-V C17-672 which was 9 jumps away from Colonia:
| The last part was done very quickly as I wanted to get to Colonia to rest there overnight. There was 1 high value planet I hadn't mapped and most annoyingly, I'd wanted my total scan value for all the phases to be over 3b but it was so, so close, at 2,999,958.159! It was only 41,841 credits off so I guess I couldn't really complain (although I just did!). On the positive side, it wouldn't take long to reach the milestone in stage 2 of this phase (below). |
The journey was all worth it when approaching Jaques Station, to be greeted by this in all its glory:
Viatorem was docked and it was time to get some sleep, ready for stage 2 the next day.
After a good night's rest, stage 2 started on the next day (as explained near the top of the log). In short, there were 41 stations I needed to visit to be Allied with the controlling factions of Colonia. Whilst doing that, the normal stat totals were recorded as well.
| The rest of the phase shows highlight details and images, tables for the objective and end of day stats. |
| Allied factions are shown in the tables as green and any that couldn't be completed (i.e no cartographic vendor) are in red. |
For the final system of the day (PERGAMON), three Notable Stellar Phenomena were visited whilst on route to Malcolm Oasis to get allied with the faction Societas Eruditorum De Civitas Dei. The first phenomena was a green Viride Lagrange Cloud containing Flavum Metallic Crystals and Solid Mineral Spheres.
The second signal was another green Viride Lagrange Cloud containing Purpureum Flavum Metallic Crystals, Solid Mineral Spheres again and also Luteolum Umbrella Molluscs (shown below on the right):
Lastly, the third was very different looking as the phenomena didn't have a Lagrange Cloud and was inside a planetary ring with Pradinum Metallic Crystals:
| Distance | System | Station | Minor Faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00LY | COLONIA | Jaques Station | Jaques |
| 0.00LY | COLONIA | Colonia Hub | Colonia Council |
| 0.00LY | COLONIA | Holloway Biology Centre | Holloway Bioscience Institute |
| 8.62LY | OGMAR | Whirling Station | Galcop Colonial Defence Commission |
| 8.88LY | RATRAII | Colonia Dream | Colonia Co-Operative |
| 10.24LY | DERISO | Giles Station | Hotcol |
| 10.97LY | SOVEREIGN'S REACH | Harold's Respite | The Sovereignty |
| 15.58LY | AMATSUBOSHI | Hayabusa Landing | Tenjin Pioneers Colonia |
| 16.05LY | PYTHEAS | Hipparque - Cartographers' University | LGC - Colonia Cartographers' Guild |
| 16.13LY | TIR | Bolden's Enterprise | Colonia Citizens Network |
| 16.66LY | PERGAMON | Malcolm Oasis | Societas Eruditorum De Civitas Dei |
The next day, economical routes were enabled and stars filtered to unvisited systems to ensure as many places were visited as possible whilst getting allied with all the main factions.
The first jump at EOL PROU IW-W E1-1201 contained a Notable Stellar Phenomena with a yellow and green Lagrange Cloud, Prasinum Metallic Crystals and Viride Umbrella Molluscs. After a quick stop off, I headed to the next system:
The second jump brought me to EOL PROU PX-T D3-290 which had another three Notable Stellar Phenomena! I've never seen so many in such a small area - 3 jumps in a row! The first signal didn't have a Lagrange Cloud but had Rubeum Metallic Crystals and Solid Mineral Spheres which looked interesting, set against the bright stars in the distance:
The second signal was a green Lagrange Cloud with Purpureum Metallic Crystals:
Signal three was completely different looking as the Caeruleum Lagrange Cloud was deep blue and this was possibly the first time I've not been able to see any stars in space. The signal also had more Purpureum Metallic Crystals and Luteolum Umbrella Molluscs:
The second from last jump from PERGAMON to CHRYSUS was to EOL PROU IW-W E1-291 where there were two Notable Stellar Phenomena. The first signal appeared to be an opaque; black Lagrange Cloud. As I travelled inwards, the cloud transitioned to bright blue which revealed Viride Umbrella Molluscs and a new creature - Lattice Mineral Spheres. It looked very much like it was underwater which is something I'd never seen before:
I travelled back out again and as the colour shifted, it also changed the colour of the star:
The other signal was inside the rings of a brown dwarf, which had Flavum Metallic Crystals and Viride Umbrella Molluscs:
The system Luchtaine contained another Notable Stellar Phenomena. I decided that due to the shear number of Stellar Phenomena, I'd only record anymore which differ from the others. This signal did indeed, as it was a red Luteolum Lagrange Cloud with Prasinum Metallic Crystals and Solid Mineral Spheres. The red cloud made the ship interior look gold - to finally match the outside!
After arriving at the Asteroid base Moore's Charm in LUCHTAINE then selling data to get allied with Ukraine Colonist Alliance, it was time to call it a night.
| Distance | System | Station | Minor Faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18.51LY | CHRYSUS | Rock | INO Research |
| 19.63LY | LUCHTAINE | Moore's Charm | Ukraine Colonist Alliance |
The following day, the first highlight was in the system RODENTIA when visiting Surly's Nest to get allied with The Fuel Rat Colony. The system had a ringed Earth Like world which I hadn't seen one of for a long time.
In the EOL PROU IW-W E1-862 system, a HM planet looked like it was covered in water but it was actually the effect of the light from its Class B star, 1,492.73LS away:
| Distance | System | Station | Minor Faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20.05LY | PYRRHA | Tsiolkovskiy Horizon | ICU Colonial Corps |
| 20.97LY | RODENTIA | Surly's Nest | The Fuel Rat Colony |
| 21.96LY | MORPHEUS | West Base | Order Of The West's |
| 23.66LY | DUBBUENNEL | Dunker's Rest | Ed'S 38 |
| 24.17LY | CANONNIA | Arcanonn's Legacy | Canonn Deep Space Research |
| 24.27LY | AURORA ASTRUM | Prisma Renata | Likedeeler Of Colonia |
| 24.30LY | VALAC | Salted Womb | Marquisate Of Valac |
As you'll see in the table (below this day's images), the distances aren't in order of the distances from the COLONIA system anymore. As the intended systems were becoming increasingly far away in any direction, so from this day they were plotted in relation to each other.
The first highlight of the next day was in the system EOL PROU RS-T D3-270, which was a Croceum Lagrange Cloud containing Flavum Metallic Crystals. The cloud was half orange and half black and gave the star a very green colour:
After a visit there, it was time to continue on route to MAGELLAN. If you haven't been to a Lagrange cloud before, jumping to hyperspace in a lot of them looks amazing:
Walhalla Port in the MAGELLAN system was on a really nice planet with mountains overlooking the port:
| Distance | System | Station | Minor Faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.66LY | MAGELLAN | Walhalla Port | Pioneers And Explorers |
| 32.86LY | SOLITUDE | Knight's Retreat | Knights Of Colonial Karma |
| 41.75LY | LUX CAELI | Tristan's Rest | Infinity'S End Deep Space Company |
| 27.84LY | KOPERNIK | Kolonia Sobieski | The Winged Hussars Colonia Initiative |
| 25.19LY | FAR TAURI | Chaydar Correctional | Nu Simbad |
| 29.28LY | SIGNALIS | Broadcasting Bay | Radio Sidewinder Galactic |
The following day, I used a helpful site to get all of the distances between the remaining systems (that you can find here). The distances were put into a spreadsheet and a route was plotted to tackle the remaining 15 places as efficiently as possible.
First on the list was to head to The Bone Yard in the CANIS SUBRIDENS system. Although the nebula isn't in the background, the site looked interesting as it was set high on a plateau in a mountainous region:
When travelling between KIOTI 368 and JUNIPER, a detour was taken to visit EOL PROU IW-W E1-1273 as Viatorem's codex showed it to contain a different type of Lagrange Cloud.
The system also had an incredibly rare group of planets around planet 18 - a Gas giant that I visited first. There were 5 planets just over 6,425LS from the star, 4 had rings, 4 were terraformable and there was also a water world.
Next, was to visit the Notable Stellar Phenomena. The signal was a pink Roseum Lagrange Cloud containing Viride Umbrella Mollusc's and a vast amount of Purpureum Metallic Crystals:
Between the EARTH EXPEDITIONARY FLEET and UNION systems, the codex was checked and a second detour was taken to EOL PROU PX-T d3-1363, to see the final type of Lagrange cloud.
Viatorem travelled to both signals in the system and although they were nice to see, neither of them were a Proto Lagrange Cloud like the codex had listed. So, not to waste any more time, a direct course was plotted to the UNION system.
A final detour was taken towards EOL PROU KW-L C8-32 after leaving EINHERIAR and before heading to the KAJUKU system. This was to specifically visit planet 4 - one of the incredibly rare bright green Gas giants I'd heard all about. As the Gas giant is water based, the green colour is likely to be a form of chlorophyll, where the alien life absorbs sun light in the upper atmosphere:
| Distance | System | Station | Minor Faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38.25LY | CANIS SUBRIDENS | The Bone Yard | Smiling Dingo Crew |
| 27.82LY | MOBIA | Pedersen's Legacy | Mobius Colonial Republic Navy |
| 31.94LY | KIOTI 368 | Kremmen's Respite | Privateer'S Alliance Expeditionary Force |
| 27.55LY | JUNIPER | Marigold City | Bloodhounds |
| 26.29LY | PHOENIX | The Nest | Last Phoenix Vault |
| 28.71LY | MERETRIDA | Dezhnev Landing | Eol Prou Group |
| 44.44LY | FARWELL | Phoenix Industries | Iron Phoenix Enterprise |
| 39.43LY | RODENTIA PETRAM | Rock Rats Reach | Rock Research Ring |
| 46.42LY | WHITE SUN | Eavesdown Docks | Browncoats |
| 40.57LY | EARTH EXPEDITIONARY FLEET | Vicktore's Promise | Earth Expeditionary Fleet |
| 29.26LY | UNION | Rebolo Port | Explorers' Nation |
| 36.88LY | CARLOTA | Cubil del Lobo | Lobos De Loki |
| 41.17LY | EINHERIAR | Pilkington Orbital | Einheriar Agri-Works Ltd |
| 35.85LY | KAJUKU | Prince Kajukus Paradise | Simple Elite Corps |
| 43.53LY | LYCANTHROPE | The Crypt | Carpe Noctem |
Viatorem reached the final port of The Crypt in LYCANTHROPE and the objective was completed! 40 of Colonia's controlling factions were then allied o7.
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| Progress Stats |
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The progress values for Phase 13 were:
Combining the totals from the 13 Phases gives the overall progress of:
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| Route |
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This section shows the route I'd taken
Shown just for Stage 2 of Phase 13 (Colonia) in EDD:
Shown for Phases 1-13 in EDSM:
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| The plan ahead |
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After the 458 hours effort it's taken to complete all the key objectives of the mission since Phase 1 (shown here), there are the final parts left..
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| Ship details |
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Exploration ships are usually as light as possible which sacrifices some usage when they reach their destination.
Although Viatorem is an exploration ship, it can also be used for other aspects as well. Some features of Viatorem include:
The ship description and full information can be found on INARA here and Coriolis here
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Thank you for having a read through. Feel free to give me a shout if you have any comments or questions.
Stay safe and fly safe.
o7, Evo