Nebula Grand Tour 2: Taurus Dark Region
09 Feb 2022Solari Parravicini
At the edge of the California nebula I took stock of my placement in the galaxy. The Witch Head nebula seemed so close but when I plotted the route it became obvious how far the trip would be. There seemed to be a economical presence between the two, near the Taurus Dark Region, but it would require heading back towards Sol. Still, for a beginner explorer like myself it felt like the safer option. T Tauri was the destination.
Rather than planning for speed I charted a leisurely course and stopped to FSS every system I entered. Most had been mapped, some by many names and others with only one CMDR as discoverer and another as mapper. It makes sense that this is well-explored territory since it is so close to the allure of the California nebula. As I got further away though I did jump into a few systems with unmapped bodies! These were mostly ice bodies that were 2000 ls or more away from the main star so it made sense why they had been left unexplored. I'm a new explorer though: getting my name on even the most obscure bodies is still thrilling.
Entering T Tauri is surreal. There is no nebula around it, no explanation that I could see, but the skies around T Tauri are streaked with red and pink. It looked like a watercolor painting. I approached a station (Hind Mine) near a ringed planet and paused for a while enjoying the bizarre backdrop. I HIGHLY recommend that if you're in the vicinity you drop by this system, it's incredible.
On my way to the Taurus Dark Region I stopped to map some little moons and found a gorgeous pink and blue moon. I landed and mined a bit in my SRV: the gravity was so low that when I shot a chunk of mineral it would take seconds and seconds to fall. The mountain tops were pink while the valleys in which I was mining seemed other-worldly in their blue glow.
The Taurus Dark Region was small but cute. It's a very dark blot as you approach but does not loom as much as the Coalsack nebula did. There were few systems inside so I remained on the outside and took some pictures. Then I had to make a tough decision: whether to head on or go home for some maintenance.
This first leg of the Nebula Grand Tour has been really fun. It has also revealed some issues in my build. I got killed very quickly by Thargoid scouts and my un-engineered shields hadn't been able to protect me from a rocky landing. These were inconsequential in a system that had a human presence: they would have been devastating if I was further from home. For now I will head back into the Bubble, build up some credits, and add some much needed auto-maintenance field units to the AspX.
I can't wait to head out again though. Of the 21 nebulae visible from the Bubble, 19 still remain.
There's no way I'll be able to resist their call for long.