First Major Trip - Part 3: Nebulae and New Friends
09 Sep 2020Torrle
It'd been a while since we'd landed, and the view has changed considerably from a similar vantage point. You can even see Andromeda just above the horizon. Once again it was time to embark on the next leg of our first journey.
Although there's still a pretty sunrise coming up behind us, ... or is it a sunset? It's hard to tell. The galactic core's nice and bright as we get closer, and it seems like you can't jump very far without getting close to some sort of nebula, which is not a complaint in the slightest. I just wish I could remember their names. That's what nav computer logs are for, I suppose. CMDR Kipeo even got himself a new paint job. How he applied it while he was out here... well, I couldn't tell you. Livery Limpets?
It was chilly on this moon and my cockpit had completely frozen over, I didn't want to wait around too long. There were some brief concerns that my Asp would have trouble starting, but once she got warmed up (and I got some coffee in me) we were all set to go.
Ok, I've heard of hybrid stars, but .. not quite like this.
I'm surprised this binary pair is so civil; I'm surprised that the neutron star isn't stealing matter from it's partner and forming an accretion disc, but .. there's a lot about this galaxy I've yet to see.
Speaking of nice things to see, while passing close to a nebula, CDMR Kipeo found a great spot to land, get out in our SRVs, and take in some sights. Not shown: Overthrusting and falling down a cliff on the other side of this rise. That's fine .. that's what repair synthing is for. Gonna cross my fingers that I don't wreck this thing before I need it, since it's probably 2,000 Ly to the nearest carrier, or more.
Inside the BLAA HYPAI DR-V E2-16 planetary nebula. You know, I've never been in a planetary nebula before, and didn't know it was quite so bright! Had to go wide-angle just so show how much there was around me.
The gravitational lensing around the neutron star makes it look like the nearby nebula has an eye. It's a beautiful, yet intimidating sight, like an angry cyclops staring after me .. and not like the kind from the Pleiades!
A nice spot to land together and take in the sights from afar. It was tempted to camp out at this spot, especially with a few campfires already lit for us, but we both had high energies and good spirits, so we pressed on.
Never seen these in a ring before. I'm continually amazed by the wondrous sights that the galaxy has to offer, both on the titanic scale, and the minuscule.
While checking out the crystals and the clusters of odd-looking spheroids, I even made a new little friend!
Setting down for the night in GRU PHIO KH-V D2-545. Kipeo and I didn't land in the same place, but we're both on this oddly misshapen, bumpy moon. A close moon, resembling a rusty iron "Death Star" looms on the horizon.
The next leg of the journey is promising to take us to more exciting places, and possibly the ones I've been looking forward to the most. Despite the delays that got me here, I can hardly wait.