One of the Colonia Connection Highway outposts, constructed in October 3302. The depot is named after old Earth explorer Edmund Hillary. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. Fittingly this depot is located at the base of a large mountain.
The bright O-type star HD 175876 has a companion neutron-star with a surprising feature: Extremely large rings. The effective radius of the rings are 12 light seconds, and it has a mass of 5.16 x 10^17 kg - slightly greater than Thebe, a small moon of Jupiter. As the neutron star has a radius on the order of 10km, this object has an exceptionally large ring size relative to the central body. These massive metal-rich rings would provide enough material for hundreds of years for any colony.
Thor's Eye is the name given to this system containing a massive O-class star and a black hole. Some cartographers consider it to have been misnamed - the Norse God who lost an eye was Odin (not Thor).
Thor's Eye is a common waypoint for travelers heading to the Lagoon Nebula, which is just 250 Ly toward galactic north. Thor's Eye is situated in the middle of open cluster NGC 6530, composed mainly of class-A and class-B stars and various stellar remnants (neutron stars and black holes). A blue-white supergiant can also be found nearby (HD 164865).
One of the Colonia Connection Highway outposts, constructed in October 3302. Located inside the Lagoon Nebula, this is the second of the deep-space outposts on the route from the bubble to Colonia. The outpost is named for explorer Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen. Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions on Earth. He led the Antarctic expedition of 1910–12 which was the first to reach the South Pole, on 14 December 1911. In 1926, he was the first expedition leader for the air expedition to the North Pole. Amundsen is recognized as the first person, without dispute, as having reached both poles.
Situated 5,300 LYs from Sol, this Black hole is located inside a stunning deep blue nebula.
Within the system there is a navigation beacon with visitor point details and history, and many passenger liners come to visit the celestial treasure of this recent supernova. The system is located just on the edge of the Sagittarius Spiral Arm, near the Omega Nebula, which is also a beautiful tourist destination in itself.
#7 - PW2010 210 (The PW2010 Supercluster)
The PW2010 Supercluster (NGC 6618) is a cluster of young stars of stellar types B and A, lying in the vicinity of the Omega Nebula, from which it evolved a mere million years ago. The cluster holds more than 800 solar masses and is responsible for burning away a good portion of the surrounding gas. Several black holes and neutron stars can be found as binaries, bearing witness to the violent nature of the cluster's birth.
The Omega Nebula is a blue, red and purple nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius at a distance of app. 5.500 LY from Earth. It is a low-density cloud of partially ionized gas which spans some 15 light-years in diameter and has a mass of an estimated 800 solar masses.
The nebula was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745 and Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764. But the name of the nebula was added somewhat later. The first attempt to accurately draw the nebula (as part of a series of sketches of nebulae) was made by John Herschel in 1833, and published in 1836. He described the nebula as such: "The figure of this nebula is nearly that of a Greek capital omega, Ω, somewhat distorted, and very unequally bright."
#9 - CD-23 14350 (NGC 6629)
This nebula located in the Sagittarius constellation was discovered by German-born British astronomer William Herschel in August 1784 at the beginning of his second 'deep sky' survey. The nebula's white core is a Wolf-Rayet star that is surround by a halo of blue and purple nebular gas. A solitary Class III gas giant orbits the star at a distance of over 11,000 light seconds.
#10 - NGC 6629 Sector SU-O b6-3
This system contains a Stellar Phenomena, within which can been found Solid Mineral Spheres, making it a location of scientific interest and worth a visit for those passing through the NGC 6629 Sector.
One of the Colonia Connection Highway outposts, constructed in October 3302. Eagle's Landing has dual origins for its name: It is situated inside the Eagle Nebula; and named for the Eagle, the lunar module used on the Apollo 11 mission by which the first humans landed on Earth's moon.
Not only does this system feature a rare triplet of earth like worlds, but the three planets orbit close enough to be mutually tidally locked, and all three skirt the lower limits of mass and temperature for Earth-like habitability. Inhabitants of the inner binary would see a blue-green marble appearing larger than Earth's moon hanging motionless in the sky. Meanwhile those living on the world that orbits those two would see two brilliant little blue beads juggling together in a never ending dance, their common center likewise fixed in the sky. There would be plenty of time for stargazing too, since thanks to the tidal lock, all three planets have days and nights that last for weeks. For those interested in exploration a 4th water world is also found here. Named "Al-Qūhī Oasis" after Abū Sahl al-Qūhī, a great mathematician and astronomer of 10th century Baghdad, who is said to have first developed an interest in parabolic arcs while juggling in the market.
A ringed earth like world in binary orbit with a ringed helium-gas giant. This highly unusual arrangement is a must-visit for the explorer who wants to see everything the galaxy can create.
One of the smallest known worlds in the Galaxy so far discovered, with a radius of just 137 km. The world has interesting geological features, with a variety of colours ranging from sandy yellow, to beige, orange, and brown.
A high-mass high metal content world inside the exclusion zone (1.68LS) of a White Dwarf star, creating incredible eclipses. The planet is so far within the exclusion zone, it cannot be probed. (Closest approach is approximately 0.80LS). The planet completes an entire orbit around the star in about two real hours. So fast in fact, it can be observed with casual observation. It seems to slightly elongated out of a perfect sphere shape, and more like an egg.
The system contains a MS star at the end of its stellar life that is orbited by M star at the distance of 30,000 light seconds. This young star carries 8 atmospherics, 3 of which are water worlds with active carbon-based life. All of them are doomed to be burned by supernova in next the several million years.
A visually striking planetary nebula along the Colonia Connection Highway. The neutron star at its center provides a welcome boost to long-distance travel, but taking a pause from your journey to admire the view is well worth it. The deep-red stellar remnant, aptly named "The Rusty Net," has caught within it a G-class secondary with two life-bearing water worlds and two rocky terraformables. From within the planetary nebula the nearby Skaudai emission nebula is clearly visible, lighting the way to Sacagawea spaceport and on to the Festival Grounds.
A typical double-lobed blue planetary nebula surrounding a neutron star, the result of a supernova approx. 296 million years ago. Life has managed to survive through this cataclysm; the fourth planet is a life-filled water world.
#19 - Skaude AA-A h294 (Skaude (Collection of Wonders))
This incredible system (also known as 'Collection of Wonders') contains two black holes, a ringed M-class star, a ringed white dwarf, and a ringed neutron star. The M-class star is one of the largest known stellar bodies containing a ring system. A tourist beacon is set up near the M-class star.
#20 - Skaudai CH-B d14-34 (Sacaqawea Space Port)
Sacaqawea Space Port – Skaudai CH-B d14-34, planet 1 A
Located inside the Skaudai Nebula, this is one of the Colonia Connection Highway outposts, constructed in October 3302. The port is named after 'Sacagawea' of old Earth. She was a Lemhi Shoshone woman who helped the Lewis and Clark Expedition achieve each of its chartered mission objectives exploring the Louisiana Purchase. With the expedition, between 1804 and 1806 (old Earth years), Sacaqawea traveled thousands of miles from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean, established cultural contacts with the Native American populations, and researched natural history.
#21 - Eodgorph PI-T e3-21 (Spear Thistle Nebula)
Spear Thistle Nebula!
This whispy, purple planetary nebula is centered on a black hole. The low mass of the black hole makes it possible to experience lensing effects while travelling under normal propulsion. Combined with the bluish-purple background and the view towards the nearby Octopus nebula this makes for quite a scenery. This was featured in the holovid Stellar Ballet by CMDRs Skoomer and Zach.
The system also contains three icy bodies and a white star.
A wondrous blue planetary nebula that is illuminated by a neutron star and a class F Star in combination. Named after Llyn Tegid, the original Welsh name for Lake Bala in Wales. A place rich in local folklore and legend, including the tales of the Goddess Ceridwen. Here she is said to have attempted to brew a liquid form of pure inspiration and knowledge, known as the Awen. But by accident the Awen was transferred to a boy who worked for Ceridwen, who became the legendary poet Taliesin.
One of the Colonia Connection Highway outposts, constructed in October 3302. Located inside the Vostok-1 nebula, this port is named after old Earth astronaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to fly into outer space and orbit Earth. Vostok-1 was the name of the vehicle on which he achieved his historic space flight.
A system of 4 bodies; 3 pulsars and a black hole. Of particular interest is the binary orbit of the black hole with the closest star: the orbital period is only 5 hours and the semi major axis 1,500,000 km. They are really close. Being relatively close to one of the outposts to Colonia it would make for a nice stop for any passenger liner, having both a black hole and a fast spinning pulsar extremely close together making for a beautiful sight right on the frame shift drop point.
A tight binary pair of pulsars with a third pulsar also, in a tight orbit with jets point perpendicularly to the binary pair. When viewed from a particular angle it looks like a cross, hence the name "The Crux." The main body of the system is a black hole of 30 stellar masses. Also of note in the system is a ringed Brown Dwarf.
This system contains a Class V gas giant that orbits its white dwarf primary in only 15 minutes, and passes through the jet of the WD! Its orbital distance from the WD is 0.4 ls, so close that it cannot actually be reached using supercruise (the WD drops the ship out of SC about 2 ls out). There is also a nearby M V companion star a few ls away. As an aside, there is an unusually high number of Carbon Star systems around this location too.
The planet is so close to the WD that (a) it is within the WD's Roche Limit and should have been torn apart to form a ring system and (b) orbits faster than the WD's rotation period (which itself is only 16 minutes) and therefore is spiralling in to the WD anyway due to tidal forces. The system is also 7.8 billion years old - how the gas giant continues to survive, how it got into its current orbit around the WD, and how the WD and its planet both got so close to the M V star after the end of the WD's former red giant phase are all deep mysteries!
A system containing 6 black holes. One of the highest concentrations of system-specific black holes currently discovered, it is named in honour of John Michell who first postulated the existence of black holes back in the 18th century.
This black hole has 2 pairs of binary Neutron & White Dwarfs performing two sets of dances to the backdrop of BOEWNST AA-A H118 Nebula creating a stunning view of bright and dark. Make sure you're not getting to close for you risk getting caught in a dance of spirals.
#30 - Byoi Ain WE-R e4-913 (Jade Ghost Stellar Remnant)
Bluey-green stellar remnant when viewed from outside, but in the system we see nothing but a beautiful green hue surrounding a black hole. Located only 213 light years from Polo Harbour deep space outpost, this small nebula is an ideal place to visit for travellers on the Colonia Connection, or travelling towards the core.
The close proximity to the dark Venetian Nebula makes for some remarkable lensing effects.
Polo Harbour was constructed in October 3302, as part of the Colonia Connection Highway. It used to be the final stop for travellers on their way to Colonia before they would reach their destination: however, a year later, a new colony was built in a closer system, Kashyapa. Unfortunately, this planetary base offers only basic services, neither shipyards nor outfitting are available.
A system Containing a black hole and 4 neutron stars that would undoubtedly create Gravitational waves from all the objects in the system, hence the name "Gravitas" or Gravity in Latin (source).
A spectacular ringed Earth-like world with exactly 1 g. When this spectacle was discovered by the Chapterhouse Mission to Jaques and news broke back on Kamadhenu a local sect of sadhus interpreted this as fulfillment of a prophecy; They saw the ringed ELW as "Kashyapa" - the legendary consort of Mother Kamadhenu, a fabled paradise - and are now fixated on one day establishing a religious retreat in this system.
In October of 3303, this location was colonized by the Chapterhouse Curate. The Vihara Gate starport and Martyrs' Rest outpost are available for travelers, explorers, and pilgrims.
A blue and purple planetary nebula located approximately 200 LY away from Vihara Gate on the way to Colonia. The system is a binary one including a neutron star. You can land on A1A.
#35 - Eoch Flyuae UU-O e6-2971 (The Dragonfly Nebula)
The Dragonfly Nebula is a planetary nebula located along the galactic highway leading from the human inhabited "Bubble" to the Colonia Nebula. The swaths of deep blue are punctuated by swirls of faint pink, a sight made even more impressive due to the "dim" nature of the central neutron star.
The Central Star of The Dragonfly Nebula is a neutron star. Careless pilots may find their ships forced out of supercruise, leading to a potentially fatal situation. Pilots planning on visiting the nebula are advised to zero their throttles during the hyperspace jump to the system.
A black hole inside a dark blue planetary nebula, which is in turn inside a large, dense cluster of bright blue stars. This is unusual amongst planetary nebulae in that its central remnant has already captured some extrasolar planets.
This unusual pink/purple supernova remnant contains a black hole orbited by several gas giants with moons. There are F V, K V, and M V stars in the system too that are orbiting the barycentre rather than the black hole itself and provide illumination for the planets and moons.
#38 - Colonia (Jaques Station / Animula Spires / The Mosta-Murdoch Raceway)
Jaques is a barman, a property owner and a cyborg. Back in the year 3200, Jaques had been running the same bar in the same starport for an inhumanly long period of time. His tale was recounted in the “Stories of Life on the Frontier” booklet included with 1993’s Frontier: Elite II, wherein we learn Jaques owns half the starport and plans on taking it on a voyage across the galaxy just as soon as he buys the rest.
"I guess it will take me about another fifty years to buy up the rest of this place and another ten to fit it out with enough drive engines. I think I'll do what Augustus Brenquith did and fly off into the unknown and explore new systems. But I like people as well, so in sixty or so years time there will be an invitation going out: anyone who wants to come along can join me on a long trip.”
Twenty-two years after David Massey wrote the short story “All That Glisters...” in Stories of Life on the Frontier, Jaques is doing just that. It took a little longer than expected (the old Coriolis Station wasn’t robust enough to take the drives he wanted…) but he got there in the end.
A large 48 stellar mass black hole roughly 100ly from Jaques Station. Visually quite impressive as you can see the whole 'ball of stars' effect even on hyperspace entry distance and impressively spectacular if you fly right up to the exclusion zone with the galactic center behind it (source).
A thick canopy of stars stretches over an entire hemisphere of the sky, unbroken apart from a triangular region, nearly devoid of stars (the "gate"). Adjacent to this system is a large cluster of white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes (the "graveyard").
This point of interest would best be viewed from the observation deck of a Beluga Liner, given that it covers such a large region of the sky.
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