27.01.3305--Distant Worlds Expedition Log #1
28 Jan 2019VictoriaTerpsichore
Supplemental: Due to some sort of error in the logbook interface, I am currently unable to embed images. Photos of the journey so far (and continuing) will be available here. I apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to an update to the interface sometime soon. When I first set out two weeks ago on the first leg of my journey to Beagle Point, I was both anxious to get started and nervous of what may lay ahead. This is my first long-range expedition, done so in concert with over 10,000 other brave CMDRs. Some are seasoned explorers—others, like me, spend most of their time engaged in other pursuits. Up until this point in my career as a space commander, I've mostly worked in station repair, hauling items to damaged starports. I cut my teeth on rescuing stranded passengers from burning starports. Obsidian Orbital was my first trip away from the bubble. I'm no ace at engineering, but I've done some combat with fellow CMDRs and have built up a decent purse running passenger missions and Hutton Orbital runs (back when they still paid decent).
Having started in Pallaeni along with the others, I took my time getting to each point on the map.
The first waypoint in the journey was at Omega Sector VE-Q b5-15, roughly 5,500 light years from Sol. Along the way, there were several optional sites and curious space anomalies to discover. What kind of explorer would I be if I didn't at least stop to take some pictures?
First was Shapley-1, viewed from the Fine Ring Sector. The nebula itself is peculiar in its shape, described as a torus-shaped (or donut, for us non-astronomers) cloud or shell of gas. Fun fact: there are many types of nebulae in our galaxy. Shapley-1 is called a planetary nebula--named so because the first astronomers, using small and less precise telescopes, were initially unable to tell them apart from planets.
After taking an image of the small nebula, I traveled to Shapley-1, where I was greeted by a magnitude 14 white dwarf star. Packed densely and blinding upon first entry, I was bathed in a cool purple light by the star, and despite its brilliance I only took a few photographs before moving onto the next stop.
After taking a few pictures at Shapley-1, I traveled to HR6164 to try a landing at The View.
On approach to The View, I was first struck by its strange beauty. Bright pink planets are not common, at least not in my experience. It was here that I first met a cohort of fellow explorers, who offered advice and caution.I would not find this out until I had already begun my approach, but HR6164 ABC1 has 3.30x gravity. I have landed on high-gravity planets before, but never within direct eyesight of other commanders. High-G landings are dangerous and require finesse and skill (or a hell of a lot of luck). Still, it’s called The View for a reason.
I breathed deep, swore often, and worked very slowly at easing down the surface. I managed a landing with no hull damage (but a lost ring in shields) doing precisely what I shouldn’t have done--used my downward thrusters. Using your downward thrusters on a high-gravity planet will cause the ship to plummet perilously toward the surface. We’re talking a distance of a 200 meters in a second. Videos and accounts came out later of commanders crashing into the planet, including a very famous one of an Anaconda flipping over and exploding. It was my first taste of danger on the expedition.
Next on the journey was Cycladia, in the Blu Thua GI-B b55-2 system. After forty or so hyperspace jumps, the brain starts to wonder if the journey is really worth it. Then you come across Cycladia, an Earth-like world (ELW) with one very distinct difference.
I stayed here much longer than I should have, trying to imagine what it might look like from the surface. Since we aren’t allowed to land on anything with a breathable atmosphere, my imagination of what planetary rings look like from the perspective of a seaside bar will have to do as I continue on my journey.
The next stop was Labrinto, in the Traikaae CH-Y c10 system. On my way there was the first time I saw the PW 2010 Supercluster.
I will admit freely that my interest in this Labirinto was very low. I had seen other reports and excellent footage, but planetary canyon racing has never been one of my interests. After the harrowing experience that was my landing at The View, I was hesitant to land. I’m glad I did, though, because I got one of my best shots of the journey so far.
Thor’s Eye was an interesting system as well. Unacquainted as I am with black holes, and given the darkness of the system itself, I didn’t feel it necessary to get too close to one. Instead, I focused on some other beautiful curiosities in the system.
I find myself drawn to creating these eclipse images, as you'll see in the album. I think I took a few pictures in the Lagoon Nebula, but I found it to not be nearly as picturesque as my approach toward the next stop.
The Cinnabar Moth Nebula was beautiful beyond words.
With each jump I got closer to the PW 2010 Supercluster, visible from over sixty jumps away. Words cannot truly do justice to the majesty of seeing that many stars in such close formation. I’ve included quite a few pictures, but suggest looking up the Hyperion proto-supercluster, a discovery made in 2018 of a supercluster that is roughly 5,000 times the mass of the Milky Way.
Words simply fail to do justice to the feeling of being surrounded by the supercluster. I felt an extreme loneliness paired with a rather humbling feeling. The sort of worries I have day to day melt away when paired against a beauty that most people will never see. Someone once said that travel isn't a cure for wanderlust, it's a symptom, and I never really knew what that meant until I had reached Omega Mining Operations. As soon as I reached the safety of a station, I felt this irresistible pull back out into the black, away from the mundanity of station life, combat, and mining operations. Events beyond my control have pulled me away from my journey until today, coinciding almost perfectly with the announcement of our new waypoint.
I look forward to sharing more about my travels as the weeks press onward, and thank you for coming along on the journey with me.