I wanted to do it in the Schee Flyi sector, but I realized that I was still a bit too high up for my likings (-1200 ly below the plane). So I moved a further bit core-wards and do my project now in the Bloomee sector. The starting point, a randomly chosen K star system, lies some 1900 ly below the Galactic plane...

The new main goal is the eventual finding of my "own" Glowing Green Giant, despite all odds. I know there are already some of them known in the Odin's Hold region, but it would make me very proud to find my own White Whale in that area (you'll never know what awaits you in these regions). The second goal is the "old" main goal: To find interesting systems in that area, and hopefully many Earth Like Worlds and exotic star systems...

I quickly moved over to Bloomee, and did the first 20 systems yesterday. First highlights were:

• the first 3 Water Worlds, 2 of them being terraformable.
• A not-so-special looking Class I Gas Giant in a not-so-special M star system.

If you look at its orbital eccentricity ("Orbitalexzentrizität"), you see what makes it special:

Yes, personal record! Maybe I can find a planet with 0,9999 soon?

• A "maybe" spot for mining Arsenic. By far not the highest quote (1.7%, highest found is 2.8%), but the Metal-rich world has volcanism, therefore the odds are higher to find it. It orbits 2 B stars in a triple system. There`s another planet in the far branches of that system. It has 2.1% Arsenic, but no volcanism to work with...

Let's see what comes today. I hope for Earth Likes or at least Ammonias. I don't think that I find "my" Glowing Green Giant THAT quickly...

Yesterday I started a new project. And this project is gonna be very self-confident. It consists of establishing my own search area for everything. Yep, literally everything: Earth Likes, Ammonias, Waters, exotic systems...

Yesterday the starting shot fell. I closed my eyes, pointed my finger on a random system in Odin's Hold, about halfway between Colonia and Sag A*, and hammered down there on the Neutron Highway. The destination and starting point for my evergrowing search bubble was a randomly chosen G star system in the sector Schee Flyi.

Managed to find an Earth Like in one of the refuel systems before arriving...

... then I arrived at my "System Zero" and started visiting the neighbouring systems. I visit and scan the systems given in the Nav Panel one after another, and map its interesting bodies. When I move on to the last system given in the Panel, that one will then become the new central system. Then "rinse & repeat" for a few times... In the first 15 systems (including System Zero), nothing out of the ordinary happened, star-wise. Managed to find 4 Water Worlds within the first 11 systems, 2 of them terraformable...

... an F star having 4 terraformable HMC, 3 of them sharing one barycenter...

...and then the first Landable terraforming candidate in the personal Bubble, used as my Night Camp.

No real exotics until now, but we'll see today....

After taking 2 days off (Real Life needed my full attention), I finally made it. And yesterday, at about 11:20 pm (my local time), The CEA2 expedition officially ended for me. I arrived at the destination system HIP 3289, an A star with two other stars and many planets/moons in the direct vicinity of the LBN 623 nebula, which lies in the Kassiopeia constellation.

The last 2klys were just travelling... or were they? The first of the final WPs lead me back to Carina, more specifically IC 2602. A cluster mainly consisting of B stars. WP was Theta Carinae, but its clos neghbor V518 Carinae brought some Bio sites as surprise. It were Brain Trees, that were found on moon 2A.

Via Beta Hydrae (not to interchange with Beta Hydri), the route went back to the Plejades (aka. Messier 45).

WP there was the well-known star Alcyone, also being the brightest of them all. I also wanted to dump off my data, and I chose a Carrier in Taygeta for that. Just to be safe before I get hyperdicted on the last few hundred lys (I didn't get hyperdicted once xD). And then, it were only 11 more jumps, until....

The End of the tour

... I arrived at the final destination. The aforementioned HIP 3289. I set down on planet A1 (ringed, 2.89 g) and think now it's time...

... To think about the highlights of this amazing trip. 'll put up my personal Top 5 of this trip:

5. On the tour, I managed to see 13 Earth Like Worlds, 3 of them being first discoveries. The highlight (The Blue Death put aside, because this one would outclass them all) was definitely the ringed one, found just 20 jumps after leaving Base Camp 5. BTW: EDSM didn't log my visit at The Blue Death, although I was clearly in that system. Nice bug.

6. The Thargoids are a foe to the galaxy, but also interesting. And on Day 2, I managed to visit a Thargoid base for the first time! What an experience. Only thing missing: A Tharg ship docking at the base...

7. My first "Extreme G" Landing. It was at Epsilon Orionis, planet A2 had 7.11 g. I didn't land higher G's than 3.86 before, but I knew what I did and managed to land successfully and without damage!

8. The trip lead us through many sights and Nebulae along the way. Many planets, moons, nice vistas... A mesmerizing experience. I recommend every new explorer to take part in such an expedition any time soon.

9. My first "live" Fleet Carrier Jump which took place on June 16th, going straight into M 67. Wow! What an experience! Would do that any time again!

Future plans

Today I'll head back to Caeritis, grab my AspX (MCS Skywalker) and re-visit The Blue Death (fingers crossed that it logs this time...). There are Neutrons near it, so I think I'll enter the Highway back to Colonia from there on... Back in my searching area, I think I'll put up short reports and showcases of highlight systems. That means: Exotics, ELWs, ...

O7, CMDRs, and greetings from IC 4604! Today, "Real Life" had me in its claws, and therefore, my Clipper and I take a day off, with me working on the Recap of the previous 4 expedition days. Well, here it is, my (I think) penultimate logbook entry for the CEA2 expedition.

Planetary Nebulae and Wolf-Rayets galore

It started with me being a bit clumsy. I wanted to plot a route up to GCRV 715, and forgot that I still had the Eco Mode activated from traversing NGC 3590... the plotter didn't plot and after putting my anger up on the GalCom Network (Discord), it all came down that I needed a jet boost and Eco Mode doesn't allow that. Re-configured the ship computer and made my way, finding an Earth-Like after the first jump...

... I made my way through 3 different planetary nebulae, all having a WR star as their center. Here is one of them, GCRV 715, in the middle of the Vlue Planetary Nebula.

Notable Stellar Phenomena

were found in some of the systems. Two in the rings of a Gas Giant somewhere in the black, and 2 more at HD 160167, one of the WP systems in Messier 6, located in the Scorpius constellation. One of those 2 spots featured solid mineral spheres, whose fog gave an interesting aspect to the light of that star:

Just right round the corner, the system of V970 Scorpii awaited me. It features a B star and to Neutrons. One is so close by, that it could give that B star a "Bowtie" (hence the name of the system) - when time and angle are right. And, yeah, it looks beautiful...

An Earth-Like where it shouldn't be

After a short stop by HD 94144, the next stop was HIP 69445. Another Wolf-Rayet, with a close-orbiting binary planet...

... but the main reason to visit the system was THIS:

An EARTH-LIKE. Orbiting a WOLF-RAYET. A "once in a lifetime" combination, discovered by fellow CMDR The Red Death. The ELW is in a very mortal position, because the star is massive, and is going supernova in maybe a few million years. It was dubbedf "The Blue Death" in honor of its discoverer, and the planet being a blue lively planet, but it is surely doomed.

IC 4604 and foresight

Late in the evening, I reached IC 4604. It is an emission nebula just 500 lys from the bubble. Perfect for testing new builds without taking very long trips. It features an abandoned megaship named GCS Sarasvati, which is located in the Sheron system. Those are always great to see and have interesting stories to tell...

As I said, this will most likely be my penultimate log entry on the CEA2 expedition, because it is due to end this week. With this, there are only 2klys for me to go until reaching the final destination of HIP 3289, next to the LBN 623 Nebula. So next time, I will tell you about the final 2klys, and give you my Top 5 highlights of the tour (Difficult, everything is a highlight!). I will start pushing back towards Colonia right this week (that means, I will miss the wrap-up party, because 1.) it will be on a Tuesday (I have no time on Tuesdays), 2.) I think it will be America-centered, that means, its 3 am my time, and 3.) Real Life will need my unlimited attention with an oral exam at university next week...

So long, see you next time for the personal Wrap-up!

It is already the final stretch :( that is the main tone of the CEA2 expedition actually. Right now I stand in the cluster of NGC 3590, from which I'll depart this evening. I can already say: The Clipper will be my ship of choice at the next expedition (maybe the DW3?), because it performed (and still performs) really well and is a pleasure to fly!

The last stretch is more like a "Road Trip" back to the Bubble. Just coming back slowly, enjoying some last sights on the route, and then... just arrive and relax.

But first, let's have a glance at the biggest star I visited so far! x Carinae is a Yellow Hypergiant, a very rare type of stars. It sports a radius of 700 Solar radii! And this is how it looks like from 3.5kls away, orbiting a Class V gas giant, which is a moon of a Y star.

The Statue of Liberty Nebula was right around the corner. From like 5 jumps away, it looked like this. You may see the Statue OF Liberty upside-down in that structure.

And at the WP system, parked next to Bark Mounds:

The 2 WPs after that were 2 more clusters on the way. First was IC 2944. It sports a Nebula ("Running Chicken Nebula") with cluster inside in reality, in ED it is just the cluster (it lies in the Centaurus constellation). But it had some nice B and O stars around. And one of them has a close Neutron/Black Hole binary, and in the best moment, you can see a Golden Watch in that system:

NGC 3590 was just 7 jumps away from the "golden watch". It is 30 million years old and consists mostly of young A stars with the occasional B (one of them being the WP there) in between. The view from outside (3 jumps away) looked as amazing as the inside:

And this is it for today. I'll resume the travel this evening and will file my next report on Sunday...

Yesterday was only a rather short travel for me, as I just wanted to reach this weeks' basecamp. Today I depart for the final stretch of the tour...

and here it is, Eta Carinae, the hypergiant that might go hypernova in a few thousand years. It is an O star in reality, and depicted as a massive 120 solar-mass B star in ED.

Star B is an O star ingame...

There was also a planet with Anemones on it, but a rather hilly site, where I was unable to land a Clipper prompted me to move on towards...

NGC 3293, one of the brightest clusters visible in the southern hemisphere. It onsists of 50 rather massive O and B stars, all younger than 10 million years. One of the stars is V405 Carinae, which hosts the basecamp for the week. But before I hit the basecamp, I took a look on the nearby stars. I also wanted to stock up on Jumponium mats, especially Arsenic and Germanium. A 1.91g planet in the nearby system CPD-57 3632 had both together with Niobium...

Well, um... yeah... I got a whopping 3 units of Arsenic, but plenty of the other two. I departed to further look at those stars, and then finally turned back to V405 Carinae for the camp... mapped an unmapped moon on the way... and then set down at moon 8AA, Geo site 2. Also got some more Niobium and Polonium from there...

And now it's already time for the final stretch :( A nice tour is going to end this week...

Yesterday, I arrived in the Carina constellation, with Eta Carinae (and its nebula) being its most famous interstellar objects. Now we turn back towards the West, and that means the final stretch of the CEA2 tour is about to start...

Yesterday I made it to 3 WPs, the first being the visit to NGC 3211, a planetary nebula in the Vela constellation. On the final jumps towards it, the Eta Carina Nebula already was quite large in the skies, here from a few hundred, maybe a thousand lys away - this (already fully mapped) Earth Like was seen in a T Tauri system on the way:

NGC 3211 itself was... blue. Not only the Nebula, but also the star, its central star "only" being a normal A class star with a few planets. But it had a Lagrange Cloud with Crystals and those freaky energy balls shooting lightnings and grilling my hull - through the shields.

After that it was only a hop, skip and a jump into the Eta Carina Nebula. The next WP was a B star with a Black Hole companion. But one of our FCs awaited awaited me in that system, ready to receive my collected data and to repair my hull. After that I moved on quite quickly, yes, this area is a tourist magnet and most systems over here are already fully scanned. Night stop is the star HG 1462 in the cluster Trumpler 16. The cluster is composed of some of the brightest and heaviest stars known in the galaxy, one of them being the infamous blue (double) hypergiant Eta Carinae. Together with 2 others open clusters, Trumpler 14 (depicted in the game) and Collinder 228, it builds up a cluster complex named Carina OB1.

Maybe I'll take a look or 2 on some of the stars here. I already saw some of the O class giants on the map...

Well, after my computer crashed on me, and "Real Life" wanting my full attention all week, I was forced to rewrite my entry...

So, I departed from HD 55854 this Monday with the next basecamp in sight - V405 Carinae. 6 other waypoints are on the way there, 1 of them being the infamous hypergiant Eta Carinae, which will probably go hypernova in approximately a million or a few thousand years.

The first waypoint on the way was NGC 2818 (the Glorious Nebula) in the Pyxis constellation. A planetary nebula illuminated by a Wolf Rayet star called Hen 2-23. It is a well-known tourist spot for wealthy people in the year 3306, as said by the tourist beacon in that system. It is located on a moon of a Class V gas giant, which is a moon of a Brown Dwarf by itself.

The last few jumps up needed a bit of Jumponium and a Neutron boost. I used the route linked on the site of that system. I also found 2 Earth Likes on the way there, one of them was ringed! I couldn't resist diving into its rings...

The second ELW was alrady discovered, but not less beautiful...

.

Close binaries and even trinaries were rather abundant. I even jumped through the binary partner once! But I quickly emerged and had no damage resulting of that.

One of our Carriers then brought me to NGC 2792. A rather white nebula illuminated by a B class Giant, located in the Vela constellation. For the next WP, NGC 3211, I need to cross 3.2kly. Started from there on Thursday, and what did I see after the first jump...

Right now I sit about halfway between the 2 nebulae, and today I will reach NGC 3211. The legs after that will mostly be a few hundred lys long, and we also can say: The expedition is nearing its end, because the leg next week is the final leg of the Tour...

Day 40 is told pretty quickly. It was just a total flight time of about an hour from Thor's Helmet to the end point of the leg. Through the Brown Dwarf Layer, that means icies, icies, icies. 2 Water Worlds and some terraformables along the way, and...

HD 55854

...I reached the waypoint, which also serves as expedition basecamp (I'm on Xbox in Open, therefore I won't see them all, only our Carriers). The system itself has 2 B class giants with a good mix of L/T/Y stars, Gas Giants and Rockies around them. One of them being a landable ringed HMC with a gravitation of 3.84 g, featuring Bio and Geo signals. This is Bio Site 3, featuring Bioluminscent Roseum Anemones:

The next stretch: to HEN 2-23 we go, that means the second-longest stretch on the tour. And it ends up in a climb-up with Jumponium! Don't worry, I already have a route for my Clipper...

Not much happened yesterday, as most systems I travelled through were either empty or only had Ice worlds. 2 Water Worlds and 1 Ammonia were in the mix, but else... just jumping and docking twice in between:

New Beginning

was only a short hop away from my starting point. It is located at Rosette Sector CQ-Y d59 and therefore, right at the caenter of the Rosette Nebula. With a nice view on the cluster NGC 2244 and the nebula:

... and then I just went straight to the Seagull Nebula, which lies at the border between the constellations of Monoceros and Canis Major:

The waypoint up there was definitely the most stunning asteroid base I've ever seen:

Hell Port

...located in the G star system Seagull Sector DL-Y d3. I thought the (only) planet to orbit the main star, But it is located around star B (M class). Around 11kls away. No problem, just a 5 minute trip. But then... Hugo Chavez, the reincarnated former president of Venezuela, tried to interdict me! He had no chance and I moved on to Hell Port. Well, those pics don't need comments I think?

The next waypoint of the tour was right around the corner:

Thor's Helmet

is located in the Canis Major constellation and a nice looking emission nebula in RL. It is around 15 kly (in RL, in-game that are around 5 kly) away from Sol. That made a distance of 300 ly (7 jumps) between Hell Port and this nebula. From just 2 jumps away, it looked like this:

Here is my next night camp. Today I move on to HD 55854, our next basecamp. But expect me to go further by tomorrow...