Month: February 2023

CEA 5 Leg 6 – Caldwell 19

CMDR Kezika

This will be the largest (in terms of quantity of systems) Caldwell cluster to scout during this expedition. We have 448 systems to scout for this leg! Please reference the scouting spreadsheet for the full list and for filling in of scouting information: Scouting Spreadsheet

Dates

Start Date: February 25 2023
End Date: March 04, 2023

Distances

Basecamp Line: 1,262.97 Ly
Main Waypoints: 1,262.97 Ly
Optional Waypoints: N/A

Basecamp: HD2002 Star 137

Main Waypoints

  • Map References quick reference list, more details below
    • HD2002 Star 137

Main Waypoints Details

  • Map Reference: HD2002 Star 137
    • POI: Caldwell 19
    • Caldwell 19, also known as The Cocoon Nebula, or IC 5146 is a reflection nebula in the Cygnus constellation area of the sky.

      Caldwell 19 is a star forming region. The most massive star known in the cluster is BD+46 3474 (doesn’t appear to be in game under any of it’s other identifiers either such as IC 5146 42, 2MASS J21532885+4715595, or ALS 12039)

      Another interesting star in Caldwell 19 is V1578 Cygni which is an example of an HAeBe Star (however in game it is A class, but that isn’t too weird as HAeBe stars eventually will become A or B class, and given Cocoon nebulae’s distance from Earth being about 2500 Ly, what we see today from Earth would be the star as it was in roughly 477 BC, and it may have become main sequence in the intervening 3,786 years between 477 BC and 3309 AD)

Optional Waypoints

The optional waypoints for this leg are all the systems in the Caldwell 19 cluster which can be found on the scouting spreadsheet.

CEA 5 Leg 5 – S171

CMDR Kezika

So this one isn’t a Caldwell cluster, but it is a prominent cluster in this area of the galaxy nonetheless, and there is a Caldwell cluster to swing by along the way.

Dates

Start Date: February 18 2023
End Date: February 25, 2023

Distances

Basecamp Line: 3,696.36 Ly
Main Waypoints: 4,650.81 Ly
Optional Waypoints: N/A

Map, (click for full size):

Basecamp: S171 7

Main Waypoints

  • Map References quick reference list, more details below
    • Kappa Cassiopeiae
    • NGC 457 124
    • S171 7

Main Waypoints Details

  • Map Reference: Kappa Cassiopeiae
    • Kappa Cassiopeiae is a runaway blue supergiant star, moving at about 2.5 million miles per hour relative to its neighbors. It’s stellar wind and magnetic field create a bow shock 4 light years ahead of the star, which reaches behind the star as well for a total bow shock length of 12 lightyears.

      Additionally is has an unusual spectrum with unusually weak nitrogen lines for a B-class star.
  • Map Reference: NGC 457 124
    • POI: Caldwell 13
    • Caldwell 13, also known as NGC 457, as well as The Dragonfly Cluster is an open cluster of stars in the Cassiopeia constellation area of the sky. It is generally an easy target for amateur astronomers as it can be seen with small telescopes even in light-polluted skies.

      Two bright stars, Phi Cassiopeia and HD 7902 form the eyes of the dragonfly in this cluster.
  • Map Reference: S171 7
    • POI: S171
    • Sharpless 171 is an emission region in the larger star forming complex known as NGC 7822. One of the hottest known stars discovered within a kiloparsec of the sun is found here, HIP 139 with a surface temperature over 45,000 Kelvin.
    • SIMBAD Link
    • EDSM Link

Optional Waypoints

No optionals for this leg.

CEA 5 Leg 4 – Caldwell 10

CMDR Kezika

Dates

Start Date: February 11 2023
End Date: February 18, 2023

Distances

Basecamp Line: 757.11 Ly
Main Waypoints: 1,629.80 Ly
Optional Waypoints: N/A

Map, (click for full size):

Basecamp: BD+60 327

Main Waypoints

  • Map References quick reference list, more details below
    • HD 15558
    • BD+60 327

Main Waypoints Details

  • Map Reference: HD 15558
    • POI: IC 1805 Cluster
    • The IC 1805 cluster is the cluster which the Heart Nebula is also a part, the brightest part of the cluster is also separately classified as NGC 896 as it was the first part of the cluster to be discovered.
  • Map Reference: BD+60 327
    • POI: Caldwell 10
    • Caldwell 10 also known as NGC 663 is an open cluster in the Cassiopeia area of the sky as seen from Earth. It is considered bright enough to be detected with the naked eye in a dark enough sky. The cluster is of extra interest to astronomers because of the high number of Be class stars, with a total of about 24 discovered in real life.
    • SIMBAD Link
    • EDSM Link

Optional Waypoints

The optional waypoints for this leg is to simply scout out any stars you can within the cluster. There is a shared discoveries spreadsheet available at this link: https://theexpedition.info/Caldwell1 to keep track of what has already been scouted by the group and what needs to be scouted still. Please make sure to record any progress there as well!

CEA 5 Leg 3 – Caldwell 14

CMDR Kezika

For the next week we will be doing an in-depth survey of the cluster known as Caldwell 14. Discovering, mapping, and bio-scanning anything we can find in there, and logging it to our discoveries spreadsheet for the leg, which can be found: here

Dates

Start Date: January 14, 2023
End Date: February 4, 2023

Distances

Basecamp Line: 480.18 Ly
Main Waypoints: 480.18 Ly
Optional Waypoints: N/A

Map, (click for full size):

Basecamp: BD+56 472

Main Waypoints

  • Map References quick reference list, more details below
    • Bubble Sector PD-S B4-4
    • Hypoae Ain MO-I d9-37
    • BD+56 472

Main Waypoints Details

Optional Waypoints

The optional waypoints for this leg is to simply scout out any stars you can within the cluster. There is a shared discoveries spreadsheet available at this link: https://theexpedition.info/Caldwell1 to keep track of what has already been scouted by the group and what needs to be scouted still. Please make sure to record any progress there as well!