The Great Orion Odyssey - Day 1 (10/11/3301)
11 Nov 2015Jim Beaumont
So I decided to visit the 7 main stars that make up the constellation of Orion, for some me time and escape the Bubble rat race. Just thought I'd give you a little read while your cruising to the next station.I picked up my explorer Asp from Kaushpoos, and headed out to Bellatrix, the nearest star of the 7, at only 215Ly. Quickly there as its only a short ride, photo op done and then on to Saiph, a further 400Ly away. I decided to change to Economical routing here, dipping the scanner as I go. Managed to find some leftovers in a system at under 300Ly, put my name up in lights. At Saiph, another photo op, next up Mintaka which is only round the corner in galactic terms from Saiph. Variety isn't great with Orion, they are all blue/whites apart from Betelgeuse, which I'm saving for last on my return to the bubble. From here it was Alnitak, but you can visibly see the nebula of Orion, Horseshoe, and Running Man getting closer and closer with each jump, great hues of red and pink. Next stop Rigel, the blue white supergiant. And boy is it. You actually enter the system at it's smaller partner Rigel B, and make the run over to Rigel. A black dot between two burning whites.
From here on, it's into and through the nebulas. Some beautiful views, the Flame nebula on the far side was fantastic. Weirdly though, in trying to make my way to Epsilon Orionis, the furtherest out of the stars, I hit a brick wall, an amazing sudden drop in stars. It transpires that I reached the edge of our spiral and was staring at the gap beyond which lay the outer spiral. A gap I can't traverse with my current setup. (A good learning tip for a future Sag A* journey).
So I have made my way upwards at the wall and managed to find what I hope will be a way to bridge the gap to be able to reach Ep Orionis. It may be that I don't make it, as it is a little 'out there'.
But since I made those first discoveries it's been barren all the way to here, some 1200Ly from Kaushpoos. Only now am I managing to find more leftovers to put my name to. Fingers crossed for a fresh system soon.
Cmdr Beaumont