Expedition Log, Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, Addendum #1
05 Nov 2017User78245
I did a bit more investigating around the Witch Head Nebula, then headed off in the direction of the Spirograph Nebula, which looks like a blue cigar wrapped around a star from a distance. Nobody knows why it's called what it is, "spirograph" is a word whose meaning is lost to history.
It may be blue on the outside, but on the inside it's a nauseating shade of chartreuse. Likely a strange combination of the gas's color with the blue light from BD-12 1172. I don't know...it looks green to me. I don't like green.
The other nebulae I've travelled from really stand out in contrast with the greenness.
I ran into my friends on The Gnosis again, which wasn't by accident. I downloaded a copy of their flight plan before I left last time, and it may have influenced my decision to come here.
From there, I travelled onward to V380 Orionis, which illuminates NGC 1999, another planetary nebula.
Since I was in the area, I decided to check out this "Orion's Belt" I've heard so much about. Apparently from Earth, there's three visible stars in a line and the locals think it looks like a belt and it's really important to them. I get the idea of constellations, but people from Earth really get excited about "Orion's Belt", so fine, I went to Mintaka.
Then I went to Alnitak, which was just another blue star like Mintaka. I don't see the big deal. Terrans are strange people. What was far more impressive were the rings around one of the brown dwarfs out there.
I took some readings, the outer edge of the rings was 85 light seconds out from the dwarf. Something huge got ripped apart out there.
I'll be heading directly toward the OMMC starting tomorrow. No more dangerous approaches into the Witch Head station while it's in the umbra of HIP 23759 11. I almost hit an asteroid last time I came in. They really need to put some beacons on those.
