Outer Rim Stations Tour photo journal 7: Crab Nebula to Jellyfish Nebula via California Nebula
17 Jul 2018Thunktone
3304 July 12, Thursday18:21
You have got to be kidding me. I've had a look at the local passenger missions and the most promising was Britany Greer and her colleague who want to gather data from the "Crab Nebula Expedition" tourist beacon. I checked the coordinates and it's back in Epsilon Indi, right in the Sol Sector! I think she's just forgotten what she came here for.
Bit of a side note, but as I might have expected there is no Search and Rescue centre in this anarchic system. So the escape pod I picked up will have to stay on ice for now.
18:53
I'm back inside the Crab Nebula. That dark canker in the green is the Monkey Head Nebula that I just visited. No idea why it is so clear here.
20:10
I decided to go looking for volcanic activity again but instead ended up searching a cliffside for something my scanners picked up.
3304 July 13, Friday
13:04
Looking back on my exploration career again. I have discovered 3054 astronomical bodies in 1495 different systems. I wouldn't have guessed it was that many, though it's a drop in the ocean compared to many dedicated explorers.
3304 July 14, Saturday
08:26
3304 July 15, Sunday
Another self-imposed challenge. I spotted this mountain whilst flying between the moons in the previous photo and decided to climb it in my Scarab. It was about 17 km high, so it took a while. I called down my ship and stopped for the night halfway up.
08:50
Still in the vicinity of the Crab Nebula, I found this crashed ship. There were six survivors so I now have seven occupied escape pods in my hold. I would hope that someone would do the same for me.
17:18
The group decided to do two mass jumps today, one from Station X and the other from a supernova remnant some 500 Ly away. I was a little late to the first one having forgotten to allow time for the 10 kLs supercruises, so I didn't get any photos there.
I was far from the slowest ship in hyperspace though, so I did find time for a photo next to this waterworld. Our next destination, Jellyfish Nebula, is in the top right with Barnard's Loop once more silhouetted against the milky way, a sight that still excites me. The Loop always fascinated me when flying from Forward Horizons to my school in Sharon Lee.
17:21
I'm preparing for the final jump to the black hole but I still had time for this shot of the ejecta. You'll notice this again in some of my other photos.
17:24
This place may be even more beautiful than the "Devil's Dancefloor". It's certainly making me more queasy.
17:29
I scouted as close as my nav computer would let me, closer than some of the hotter ships dared to go. Jumping from this close would have done some damage but I reckon I could have gotten away with it.
17:39
Nice to see another Diamondback. I'm not sure if that's the same one from the early waypoints or not. If it is then they've found the time to get their ship resprayed. Maybe back when I was messing about in Sidewinders?
17:42
17:57
You can still see the green blob of the Crab Nebula in the distance here.
And that's the Jellyfish Nebula I'm heading towards in this photo. The sky is full of nebulae here.
18:30
Galactic Mapping might not care about ice worlds but they can still be worth a visit.
19:07
I decided not to spend the night here but I do like this photo. You have a waterworld on the left, I think it was a new one. Then on the right is the Jellyfish Nebula. Makes a change from my usual pics of waterworld flybys.
19:34
Here is the moon where I did spend the night. Strange how colour coordinated it is with the gas giant it orbits.
3304 July 16, Monday
06:11
What a view to wake up to!
06:28
You can find an eclipse just about anywhere with supercruise. But I think this one came out well.
06:48
07:09
14:52
15:12
15:18
15:28
Oops, unscheduled detour. I was trying to film myself flying into the station but I left my ship in front of the slot too long.
16:37
Busted back to Sidewinder!
16:47
Kidding, I kept my research vessel. This is a very attractive prison with views of the California Nebula. 5*, would offend again.
16:53
It was only one jump to take a look inside California Nebula.
17:00
Going to cover some void tonight, I have some telepresence commitments over the next couple of days so I'll need a headstart to get back to the waypoint in time.
17:23
17:39
17:49
18:08
18:19
18:33
19:12
19:21
19:40
A new earthlike, time to celebrate! Crime does pay! If only I still had that moonshine.
3304 July 17, Tuesday
06:42
07:57
08:12
No dawdling this time, I'm just going to land.
08:16
Oh, this is just prejudice! I paid my fine and did my time, why am I still most wanted?
You know, it's the seven innocent people that were frozen in my hold that I really feel sorry for. If they had A rated escape pods like mine they wouldn't have needed picking up in the first place.