CEA 5 Leg 7 – Final Leg

We set off now on the final leg of the Celebration of Early Astronomy expedition, which will stop at our final basecamp in the Scorpius-Centaurus Association.

Dates

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

Distances

Basecamp Line: 3,055.73 Ly
Main Waypoints: 4,209.98 Ly
Optional Waypoints: N/A

Map, (click for full size):

Basecamp: J Centauri

Main Waypoints

  • Map References quick reference list, more details below
    • NGC 752 DLM 167a
    • V518 Carinae
    • X1 Centauri
    • J Centauri

Main Waypoints Details

  • Map Reference: NGC 752 DLM 167a
    • POI: Caldwell 28
    • Caldwell 28, also known as NGC 752 is an open cluster in the Andromeda constellation region of the sky as seen from earth. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783, and cataloged by her brother William Herschel in 1786, however an object that is now believed to be NGC 752 had also been described by Giovanni Batista Hodierna prior to 1654.
  • Map Reference: V518 Carinae
    • POI: Caldwell 102
    • Caldwell 102, also known as the Southern Pleiades is an open cluster in the Carina constellation of the sky as seen from Earth. It was discovered by Abbe Lacaille in 1751 from South Africa. It is one of the closest clusters to our solar system, being only roughly 486 light-years from our solar system. Theta Carinae (also in game) is the brightest star in the cluster.
    • SIMBAD Link
    • EDSM Link
  • Map Reference: X1 Centauri
    • X1 Centauri and X2 Centuari (another nearby system), are two stars near each other in the Centaurus constellation area of the sky as seen from earth. Both are late B-type main sequence stars. They are fairly bright and can be seen with the naked eye in dark enough viewing locations.
    • SIMBAD Link
    • EDSM Link
  • Map Reference: J Centauri
    • POI: Scorpius-Centaurus Association
    • J Centauri is B-type main sequence star located in the Scorpius-Centaurus association, the nearest OB association and stellar formation region to our own solar system at a distance of about 420 light-years.
    • SIMBAD Link
    • EDSM Link

Optional Waypoints

No optional waypoints for this leg.

CEA 5 Leg 6 – Caldwell 19

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

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

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

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!

Celebration of Early Astronomy 5 – Caldwell Edition

Dates: January 07, 2023 to March 11, 2023

Planned Map (Still subject to alterations to orange line) (click for full size):
Distance: 26,100.35 Ly

“The early 2000s, they were often the speculative setting of early science fiction works. Early imaginings of interstellar travel, first contact with aliens, apocalypses, pandemics, you name it, there was probably a movie or book set in the early 21st century of it. While humanity may not have invented interstellar travel by 2020 as many novels and films purported, they still discovered plenty gems of our galaxy by then.

Lucky for us in 3308 we do have interstellar travel and can visit these gems that humans on Earth in the early 21st century could only dream of visiting. So that is just what we will be setting out to do. This expedition will visit many of the noteworthy celestial objects discovered by the early 21st century, some of which even still are considered noteworthy even today in 3308.

We will be setting off from our faction’s home system Keltim, also known as Gliese 149 to the humans of 2020. From there we will be travelling our route clockwise. Many of the sights on this expedition revisit those featured on earlier CEA expeditions for those that weren’t on those.

— Patron Kezika T. Wylair

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Please fill out a sign-up form if you’re coming along!
Note: even if you’re not sure yet all your details, the form will give you an edit link once you submit so that you can come back and edit your submission in the future with any changes you make. Just make sure to save your link!

Sign-up form: https://theexpedition.info/Register
Roster: https://theexpedition.info/Roster
EDSM Page: https://theexpedition.info/EDSM

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Summary and Information

Dates: January 07, 2023 to March 11, 2023
Waypoint Count: 20
Distance: 26,100.35 Ly
Expedition Discord: https://theexpedition.info/Discord

For Celebration of Early Astronomy 5 we are focusing on exploring various Caldwell clusters, and in particular, Caldwell 1, a large cluster high up from the galactic plane that can only be entered and exited using a carrier. The Caldwell catalog was created by Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, a British astronomer and influential TV presenter on the topic of astronomy.

All legs will be one week long with the exception of our week in Caldwell 1, which will be three weeks long in duration. During this time there will be a pair of carriers swapping positions daily

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Waypoints

Start: Keltim
End: J Centauri

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Current Waypoint List
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Leg 1 – 1/7 – 1-14

  • Keltim (GL 149)
  • 45 Tauri (Caldwell 41)
  • Musca Dark Region HM-V c2-29 (Caldwell 99 – Coalsack Nebula)
  • BrSO 14 (Caldwell 68 – R Corona Australis Nebula)
  • Veil West Sector DL-Y d68 (Caldwell 34 – Veil West Nebula)
  • North America Sector LC-V c2-3 (Caldwell 20 – North America Nebula)
  • Ploea The YQ-U d3-0 (Caldwell 1’s pre-entry point)

Leg 2 – 1/14 – 2/4

  • V785 Cephei (Caldwell 1)
  • NGC 188 SMV 4385 (Caldwell 1)

Leg 3 – 2/4 – 2/11

  • Bubble Sector PD-S B4-4 (Bubble Nebula)
  • Hypoae Ain MO-I d9-37 (Heart & Soul Nebulae)
  • BD+56 472 (Caldwell 14)

Leg 4 – 2/11 – 2/18

  • HD 15558 (IC 1805 Cluster)
  • BD+60 327 (Caldwell 10)

Leg 5 – 2/18 – 2/25

  • Kappa Cassiopeiae
  • NGC 457 124 (Caldwell 13)
  • S171 1 ([GMM2009] S171)

Leg 6 – 2/25 – 3/4

  • HD2002 Star 137 (Caldwell 19)

Leg 7 – 3/4 – 3/11

  • NGC 752 DLM 167a (Caldwell 28)
  • V518 Carinae (Caldwell 102)
  • J Centauri (Scorpius-Centaurus Association)

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Each Leg will additionally have an announcement post when they start detailing any optional waypoints they may have added to them. Optional waypoints are subject to be added during the expedition up until the start of the leg.

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