Trip to Cupids Arrow and beyond
23 Sep 2018Imm0dium
Took a tourist to see Cupids Arrow. Started off badly, crashed into a planet half way there. Must remember........the Orca doesn't handle like my Vulture 
Back into a new Orca with a new tourist wanting to go to the middle of nowhere. Found an undiscovered neutron star on the way there and another very odd one jammed behind a regular K-Star (think it was a binary). Wish I'd taken a note of where that was - you enter facing the K-Star with the blue trails frantically waving around and poking out from behind it. Looks funny! Would be interested to know what happens if it's behind you when you arrive - it seemed close!
Good trip to the Arrow - you can see the bright line of stars through it from hundreds of LY away. Cupids Arrow is full of blue and blue-white stars, black holes and lots of other interesting sights. First time visiting black holes. Wierd! Found a cool planet (S171 30 B 2 A A) with a 20 km high mountain that you can see from half the planet away. Unfortunately it's nowhere near a record (I checked), but there's fantastic views from the top. Climbed it in the SRV in about an hour and flew off the top. RIP SRV. Good job I brought two with me.
On to the tourist destination. Stopped overnight on a planet (as I always do). Started the Orca and rolled her almost to death. My stupid joystick loves to stick on full yaw when I start the ship's computer! Now the damned tourist is asking to be dropped off at the nearest station in the next hour. Good luck with that buddy! Oh - so they would prefer an escape pod would they? I wish I could scoop it back-up for the lulz. Note to self: if you're going to enjoy exploring, do it on your own. I can't see the point of a rushed journey to the middle of nowhere just to satisfy the mid-life crisis of some ageing yuppy. I want to land on planets, drive around, do some scanning and take my time (and maybe take a few risks).
Bubble nebula next and it's exactly what it's called - a big blue bubble with one star in the middle of it. Looks good on approach, but nothing special from the system within. On to the Heart and Soul nebulae next. They look nice on approach and from the inside. There's a base in each nebula, which is very handy for a quick repair and selling some exploration data in case I tap out again. 20M at each, so I'm a good friend of the base owners now.
Now it's time to go low and see how far below the plane I can get. Made it down to Phroea Eaec YT-Z c13-0. About as far South as is possible around here. Of course, when I get there it's already been visited, but there's five high value planets at the end of this road! Also took a look at the Children Of Raxxla bases on my way down there. Systems, planets and co-ordinates are well-known, but they take a bit of finding as they're all tucked in behind mountains and craters. Very well hidden and a bit eerie driving around them in the SRV. Worth a visit if you're in the neighbourhood (Eafots).
On my way back now. Staying below the plane. Found a few more neutron stars (already tagged) but mostly new territory in between. The new exploration scanner is not good for anyone with OCD (like me), as it makes it easier to log absolutely everything in a system now. At least in the past I would see a bunch of planets 30K ls away and think it's not worth the trip. Now I am always tempted to quick-scan everything and follow-up on anything that looks interesting, so I swear it's taking me much longer to get back than it did to get out here. Still, I suppose it'll all payoff at the carto office!