EDExploration

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This page contains information related to the exploring occupation in Elite: Dangerous.


General observations

Many observations in this section seem trivial after having spent a lot of time exploring, but I distinctly remember how when I started playing Elite Dangerous they were novel and valuable.


Planets

  • If a planet has clouds this is an indicator that the planet might have an atmosphere. It doesn't mean, though, that the planet is an ELW
  • If a planet has no clouds, it does not necessarily mean that the planet does not have an atmosphere. See next point.
  • (Terraformable) water worlds can be brown and have no indicator that they have an atmosphere. Examples:
    • Synuefe XL-P B24-1 A 6 (ammonia atmosphere),
    • Synuefe KI-W B20-0 AB 2 (argon-rich atmosphere)
  • Sometimes it appears as if a planet has an atmosphere, but in fact it is only surface features; this can be discerned when zooming in closely in the system map.


Stars

  • Don't rely on how a star looks like when you want to scoop fuel. I have seen unscoopable T Tauri stars that look nice and yellow just like a regular star. If you attempt to scoop fuel from a star that is not scoopable, you will eventually get too close to the star and be dropped out from supercruise, possibly taking some damage.
  • When you are close to a star, the star's light drowns out interstellar objects such as the milky way or colorful nebulae. To get a nice sight, head out into deep space until you are a few 100 or 1000 LS away from the star.


Orientation in the galaxy map

  • The galaxy map is overlaid with a grid that displays 3-dimensional coordinates such as this: 1040 : 19 : -400
  • Coordinate numbers are in LY, so each coordinate effectively represents a cube of space that encompasses 1 LY in each direction
  • The origin of the coordinate system is the Sol system, which has coordinate 0 : 0 : 0
  • The coordinate system is shown as x : z : y (i.e. not x : y : z).
  • The x/y axis form a plane that corresponds to the galactic plane [1] (TODO: is this true?)
  • The z axis represents the vertical movement in relation to the Galaxy ecliptic. +/- mean above/below. My mental model also calls this up/down.
  • The y axis roughly represents the horizontal movement from Sol towards the galactic center. +/- means towards/away from the galactic center. My mental model also calls this north/south.
  • The x axis represents the lateral horizontal movement from Sol. +/- means right/left. My mental model also calls this east/west.
  • In short, the galaxy map uses the galactic coordinate system [2] (TODO: is this true?)


Also see this forum thread.


Real-life star names and catalogues

Many real-life stars are present in the Elite Dangerous universe, although they may be located in "unexpected" corners of the galaxy (meaning: their location does not match what we know about them in real-life). The names under which you can search for these stars in the ED galaxy map come from various star catalogues [3] that were collected by astronomers over the centuries. Here are some of the star catalogues that I have encountered:

HIPP and HD 
The system map often shows stars with IDs from two star catalogues, the HIPP and the HD.
  • HIPP is the Hipparcos catalogue, compiled from the data gathered by the ESA satelite Hipparcos between 1989-1993. The catalogue itself was published in 1997 and updated in 2007. [4]
  • HD is the Henry Draper Catalogue, published between 1918-24. [5]
NGC 
New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars. A catalogue of deep-sky objects of various types, originally compiled in 1888. [6]
Sharpless Catalogue 
A list of ca. 300 emission nebulae compiled in the 1950s. [7]
Messier objects 
A set of over 100 objects compiled by Charles Messier in the 18th century. [8]
Bayer designation
A classification system by German astronomer Johann Bayer, which was compiled in 1603 and contained roughly 1500 stars. A star in this system is identified by a Greek letter, followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. Example: Alpha Tauri (α Tauri) for Aldebaran, and, of course, Alpha Centauri (α Centauri). [9]
Names beginning with an asterisk 
There are stars whose name begins with an asterisk, e.g. "* tetO2 Orionis C". TODO: What does the asterisk stand for?


Damage control

What kinds of damage can I take while on an exploration trip? 
 ???
What is "ship integrity" and how does it work? 
  • Ship integrity is measured in percent. It starts at 100% and is dropping continuously while you play, even if you never do combat or even collide with anything. Essentially, ship integrity represents the wear and tear of use of the ship's hull, such as metal fatigue.
  • Ship integrity is not shown by any display on ship, it has to be diagnosed by starports and outposts that have the repair service
  • Even when on a starport/outpost, ship integrity appears ONLY if you go to the "Repair" menu. To repair ship integrity you have to select the entry from the menu and confirm that you want to repair for the displayed cost. Ship integrity is NOT repaired if you just select the shortcut "Repair all" on the front page!
  • Lower ship integrity means more fragility to ship damage. TODO: Example.
  • A shield generator will prevent damage to the ship from collisions, so if ship integrity is very low after a long exploration trip it may be essential to have a shield generator when you attempt to dock, otherwise the smallest collision might wipe you out (including any exploration data you collected on the trip).
  • Besides continuous wear, probably the only thing that affects ship integrity on an exploration trip is heat damage (e.g. while scooping fuel). Heat damage affects modules much more than ship integrity, though.
What is "hull integrity" and how does it work? 
 ???
What is "canopy integrity" and how does it work? 
 ???
How do modules take damage? 
 ???
What is "heat damage" and how does it work? 
 ???
How can I lower the amount of heat damage that I take? 
  • A high-quality power distributor helps dissipating heat, thus by preventing overheating in the first place it continously helps to avoid heat damage.
  • Turning unneeded modules off during the trip lowers the generation of heat and reduces the chance of overheating. I am not sure, though, if a lower general heat level helps anything with ship integrity. Potentially unneeded modules: Cargo hatch, docking computer, AFMU (while not in action).
  • For emergencies, when overheating is already occurring, one or more heat sink launchers can be used to quickly get rid of a lot of heat in a very short time.
When I am fuel scooping, does it matter how hot my ship becomes as long the temperature does not exceed 100%? In other words, if I want to keep hull integrity at a maximum, do I have to take care to scoop only at the lowest possible temperature? 
 ???
How does the Auto Field-Maintenance Unit (AFMU) work? 
  • The AFMU can repair other modules (all modules that can be turned on/off) but not the hull. The AFMU can repair the canopy as long as it hasn't reached 0%. Modules that cannot be turned off: Power Plant.
  • For its operation, the AFMU requires resources that can be bought in the form of ammunition on any station that has the re-arm service. Since the release of ED 2.0, you can also use synthesis to refill an AFMU, provided you have the necessary materials.
  • AFMU modules with better class or rating can store more ammunition
  • AFMU modules with better class or rating have a higher repair capacity. It is unclear, though, what this means exactly. The comments at the bottom of the the ED wiki page have some hints, but nothing definitive.
  • This forum post suggests that it is dangerous to repair the Life Support System (LSS) because in order to repair it you must turn it off, which will cause the amount of available oxygen to drop. The amount of oxygen available when you start depends on the LSS quality. When the oxygen level drops to 0 you will be ejected and the ship destroyed even if the rest of the ship is in good condition.


Scanning distances

Before the dramatic exploration gameplay mechanics changes in Beyond Chapter 4 (version 3.3 of the game), it used to be necessary to fly relatively close, but not too close, to a celestial body to perform a surface scan with the DSS. This section formerly contained information about how close exactly one had to fly to perform the DSS scan. This information is no longer accurate and has been removed, but if necessary can be dug out via the page history.

With the current exploration gameplay mechanics you can perform an FSS scan of all bodies from anywhere in a system, regardless of distance. If you don't perform an explicit FSS scan but happen to fly close to a celestial body (30 ls or so) your ship sensors will automatically scan the body as if you had performed an FSS san. You don't even need to target the body for this to happen.

With the current exploration gameplay mechanics you now have to fly very close to a celestial body to perform a DSS scan. So close, in fact, that the body is in plain viewing distance in the HUD. The scan consists of a mini-game where you fire a number of surface probes at the body until you have discovered 100% of the surface. The probes only have a limited range, that's why you have to get so close.


How to safely return to the bubble after a trip

List of systems slightly outside the bubble where it should be safe to dock.

If you are just interested in selling all exploration data, there are nowadays also a number of colonies outside the bubble, such as Colonia or the Pleiades. Whether these are more safe for docking is debatable.


Searching for interesting systems

Overview

The in-game galaxy map is the prime tool I use to search for interesting undiscovered systems. I never use external tools such as EDSM for this type of search, because these tools only know about systems that have already been discovered by other CMDRs.


There are three proceses how I search for interesting systems to visit:

  • A visual search in realistic mode. I use this to find star system types that are visually different from others:
    • Easily identifiable: Most Giant and Supergiant stars, Carbon stars, Wolf-Rayet stars, and class O stars.
    • Neutron stars and White Dwarfs appear as very small pins of light. Although they are visually distinct from regular stars they are hard to spot among so many other stars.
    • Black Holes appear as black spheres slightly larger than regular stars. Although they are visually distinct from main sequence stars, they are practically impossible to spot from a distance because they don't stand out from the black galactic background.
  • A visual search in map mode. I use this to find star systems which have a special map mode category.
    • Identifiable: Carbon stars, Wolf-Rayet stars, White Dwarfs, Non sequence stars (Neutron stars and Black Holes), class O stars.
  • A sector search by star system name for high-mass systems. This is possible when you know how system names can be decoded - see the section Procedurally generated star system names for the gory details.
    • Identifiable: Wolf-Rayet stars, class O stars, Black Holes


Amount of work:

  • The amount of work drastically increases with the density of the region of the galaxy you are travelling through.
  • The amount of work for a sector search by star system name is relatively modest when you only examine mass categories H and G (9 cubes to search in total). The amount of work drastically increases when you also include mass category F because this adds 64 cubes to the search, with potentially many systems in each cube.
  • The amount of work for a visual search largely depends on how thorough you want to be. Your worst enemy therefore is your OCD.


Recommendations:

  • Perform a sector search by star system name first, but only for mass categories H and G. The results might already be sufficiently satisfying to tone down your activities in later searches.
  • Knowing that you have already found the highest-mass systems, you can concentrate in your visual searches on finding Supergiant stars and Carbon stars - these are not high-mass systems, but visually they are easily identifiable. The only problem are class B stars which are common and distract the eye.
  • Keep in mind that you will never be able to find everything.


Select a waypoint

The first step always is to select the next waypoint to travel to. Besides the fact that this gives your exploration trip a direction, the stretch between your current location and the next waypoint also defines the area of the galaxy that you are going to search for interesting systems next.


Obviously, if you already know where you want to go this is no big deal, but if you just need to randomly select a new waypoint, then consider these points:

  • The galactic plane is where most people travel if they just need to go from A to B. If you are in a well-traveled part of the galaxy, then you should probably explore well above or below the galactic plane to maximize the chance that the systems you find will be undiscovered.
  • The farther away your next waypoint is, the bigger the area you have to search is. In the past I restricted myself to distances of about 1000 ly, because that was the maximum distance the route plotter in the galaxy map could handle. These days the route plotter can handle far greater distances, but I still think that splitting up an entire route into smaller chunks, such as the traditional 1000 ly, makes exploration more manageable.


Simple visual search along the route

A simple and relatively short visual search examines the route between your current location and the next waypoint:

  • Plot a route from your current location to the next waypoint.
  • Begin by placing the galaxy camera at your current location.
  • Using realistic mode, follow the route line until you reach the waypoint.
  • Switch to map mode, then follow the route line back until you reach your current location.
  • Bookmark any interesting systems you find.
  • Zoom out at least a little bit so that you discover systems that are a bit away from your route.


Thorough visual search

The "corridor" mind model

The simple visual search described in the previous section only looks at a relatively narrow "tunnel" that follows the route to your next waypoint. A more thorough search looks at an entire area of the galaxy:

  • If you think of the route to your next waypoint as also having a vertical dimension, then you can imagine that the route cuts a "corridor" through the area of space that it travels through.
  • The corridor height reaches from the galactic bottom right up to the galactic roof.
  • The corridor width depends on the zoom level you use during your search, but generally speaking it is still relatively narrow. You can widen the corridor, but this means more work and more time to spend for the search.


Visual "corridor" delimiters

Searching along the plotted route is easy because the route line provides a visual cue that you can follow with the galaxy camera. When you search a corridor, however, you have to create your own visual cues that mark the beginning and end of the corridor and thus delimit the area to search. I am using temporary bookmarks for this - temporary because once you are done with the search you can delete the bookmarks.


These are the bookmarks that I create:

  • Go to the waypoint system.
  • Bookmark a star system that is located high above the waypoint system at the galactic roof.
  • Bookmark another star system that is located far below the waypoint system at the galactic bottom (cellar?).
  • Bookmark a third star system that is located in the middle, i.e. at the galactic plane or at z=0.
  • Repeat the process and bookmark three more star systems at the location of your current system.


This is the result:

  • You now have three visual cues at both ends of the corridor: One at the bottom, one in the middle, and one at the top of the corridor.
  • In addition you have another visual cue from the current system, which is automatically marked up by the galaxy map.
  • And you probably have one more visual cue from the next waypoint system, which you should have bookmarked anyway.


Sweep searching the "corridor"

You search the corridor by repeatedly sweeping the galaxy camera along its length at different heights. The bookmarks that you created in preparation of the search now provide you with the visual cues so that you always know when you have reached the end of the corridor.


The number of sweeps depends on how thorough you want to be. For a relatively thorough search I do this:

  • Vertically limit the search between -1000 ly and +1000 ly.
  • Search in bands of roughly 200 ly height. This will leave some some gaps between each band, but reduces the amount of sweeps to a somewhat manageable number.
  • This requires 10 sweeps to cover the entire corridor.
  • Because you have to search once in realistic mode and once in map mode, the actual number of sweeps is 20. Trust me, this is a lot of work!


General notes:

  • Obviously you can widen or shortcut the search in any way you like.
    • It might be desirable, for instance, to stay in the region above or below the galactic plane, so you will make the corridor to search less high.
    • Or you might wish to add an additional band at -100 ly and +100 ly because the star density is highest near the galactic plane.
  • Zooming out makes the search go faster, but usually at the price of being less thorough.
  • Turn off the grid while you sweep, especially in map mode, this is a big distraction for the eye. Turn the grid back on only when you need to re-orient yourself during a sweep, or when you turn around and switch bands at the end of a sweep.
  • When star density is high in realistic mode, I have found that my eyes can pick out unusual patterns best when I move the galaxy camera forward in short "bursts" or "stutters" instead of in a continuous "steady cam" style.
  • When in map mode it is safer to employ the "steady cam" style because there are far fewer star systems and the eye usually can pick out everything that flies by. I frequently steer the camera in a zig-zag route, though, because the eye is better in picking out dots that change direction in front of a uniform background. Especially the grey dots of Neutron Stars get easily lost otherweise.
  • In map mode, when you have found a candidate system and place the mouse pointer on it, the galaxy map will not only show a tooltip but also helpfully highlight other systems in the vicinity that are matched by the filter criteria but which you might have overlooked. I found this useful, for instance, when cataloguing T Tauri stars, because these often occur in small clusters and I might see one but overlook others with their dull red dots.
  • Bookmark any interesting systems you find, don't think about them too much while you are still in search mode. Later on when you are done with the search, decide which systems you really want to visit. The decision can be heavily influenced by the systems' location relative to each other, because visiting everything might mean a lot more travel than just following the route.


Sector search by system name

Once you have defined your next waypoint, you can determine the sectors that you are going to cross and that you want to search:

  • Remember that procedurally generated sectors are cubes with a side length of 1280 ly.
  • Along the route to the next waypoint, randomly pick a few systems whose distance from each other is sufficient so that they might be located in different sectors.
  • Write down the sector names that you encounter.


With the list of sector names that you have compiled you can now search each sector's high-mass cubes for interesting systems.


Procedurally generated star system names

Overview

This section is based on an incredibly valuable forum post written in 2015 by CMDR Jackie Silver: "RV Sonnenkreis - Decoding Universal Cartographics" [10].

In this post CMDR Jackie Silver has managed to decode the meaning behind the random-looking names of procedurally generated systems in Elite Dangerous. Examples: "Byae Briae LL-P D5-15", or "Cho Eur BX-N C6-3".


Sectors

The galaxy is divided into sectors. Some of these sectors are handcrafted by the game designers, but most are procedurally generated.

A procedurally generated sector is a cube 1280 x 1280 x 1280 ly in size. Its content should follow the rules outlined in the next subsections.

A handcrafted sector is typically smaller than procedurally generated sectors, and it probably also "violates" some or all of content rules that apply to procedurally generated sectors.


System naming scheme

Here's a schematic of the individual parts of the name of a procedurally generated system. The meaning of each part is explained in more detail in later subsections.

Pyrie Thae XO-Z D13-12
^          ^^ ^ ^^  ^
|          || | ||  +-----> System ID within cube
|          || | |+--------> Cube ID part 4
|          || | +---------> Mass category
|          || +-----------> Cube ID part 3
|          |+-------------> Cube ID part 2
|          +--------------> Cube ID part 1
+-------------------------> Sector name


Mass categories

A star system is placed into one of 8 categories, based on the "zero-age main sequence" (ZAMS) mass of the system's primary star.


The 8 mass categories are identified by the letters A thru H

  • A = Least mass
  • H = Most mass


Sector division

For each of the 8 mass categories A-H, a sector is divided into smaller cubes, each of which has its unique designation, or cube ID. The next subsection decodes these cube IDs. Here's a table that provides an overview of a sector's division.

Sector division into cubes
Mass category Number of cubes Cube side length
(in ly)
Maximum cube ID
Decimal Power of 2
H 1 2^0 1280 AA-A 0
G 8 2^3 640 DL-Y 0
F 64 2^6 320 JH-V 2
E 512 2^9 160 RT-A 0 (?)
D 4'096 2^12 80 NC-G 0 (?)
C 32'768 2^15 40 HM-W 1 (?)
B 262'144 2^18 20 LU-X 14 (?)
A 2'097'152 2^21 10 RH-I 119

Note: In the "Maximum cube ID" column the entries that are marked with "(?)" are probably wrong. I never got around to re-calculate them properly.


Cube IDs

As a reminder: The cube ID is part of the system name. For instance, the system named "Suvaa LM-W F1-0" is in a cube with the ID "LM-W 1".


A cube ID consists of four parts

  • Three single-letter parts + one numerical part
  • Letter parts begin with A
  • The numerical part begins with 0


The cube ID is increased as follows:

  • First, alphabetically increase the first letter part
  • Then, alphabetically increase the second letter part and reset the first letter part to A
  • Then, alphabetically increase the third letter part and reset the second letter part to A
  • Finally, numerically increase the numerical part and reset the third letter part to A


Here is a table with cube ID examples which illustrates how the rollover from a previous cube ID part to the next cube ID part occurs:

Cube ID examples
Cube number Cube ID
1 AA-A 0
2 BA-A 0
26 ZA-A 0
27 AB-A 0
28 BB-A 0
676 ZZ-A 0
677 AA-B 0
678 BA-B 0
17576 ZZ-Z 0
17577 AA-A 1
17578 BA-A 1
etc.


Cube placement within a sector

A sector is represented by the following coordinate system schema:

  y
  
  ^
  |
  |     z
  |    ^
  |   /
  |  /
  | /
  |/
  0----------> x


Cubes are placed next to each other within this coordinate system. The maximum number of cubes that can be placed next to each other on any of the three axis is determined by dividing the sector side length by the cube side length. For instance, cubes in the mass category F have a cube side length of 320 ly. This means that on any of the three axis you can place 1280 / 320 = 4 cubes. The entire sector can therefore hold 4 * 4 * 4 = 64 cubes of mass category F.


Cubes are placed in that coordinate system as follows:

  • Cube 1 is placed at x=0, y=0, z=0
  • Cube 2 is placed at x=1, y=0, z=0
  • When the end of the sector is reached along the x-axis, the next cube is placed at x=0, y=1, z=0
  • The next cube is placed at x=1, y=1, z=0
  • When the end of the sector is reached along the y-axis, the next cube is placed at x=0, y=0, z=1
  • The next cube is placed at x=1, y=0, z=1
  • etc.


Mass categories higher than A

For the lowest mass category A we have 128 cubes along each axis. Here are some examples that show how cube IDs monotonically increase even when the y-axis value and the z-axis value increase:

Examples of how cube IDs monotonically increase for mass category A
Cube x Axis y Axis z Axis Cube ID
Cube 1 0 0 0 AA-A 0
Cube 128 127 0 0 XE-A 0
Cube 129 0 1 0 YE-A 0
Cube 16'384 127 127 0 DG-Y 0
Cube 16'385 0 0 1 EG-Y 0
Cube 2'097'152 127 127 127 RH-I 119


For mass categories higher than A, cube IDs monotonically increase only as long as the y-axis and z-axis values remain the same. As soon as the y-axis or z-axis value changes, the cube ID is "aligned" with that mass category A cubes. For instance, even though mass category G only has 8 cubes along each axis, cube IDs in that mass category look like this:

Examples of how cube IDs can "jump" for mass categories higher than A, in this case mass category G
Cube x Axis y Axis z Axis Cube ID Remarks
Cube 1 0 0 0 AA-A 0
Cube 8 7 0 0 HA-A 0
Cube 9 0 1 0 YE-A 0 The cube ID is not IA-A 0
Cube 64 7 7 0 NB-Y 0
Cube 65 0 0 1 EG-Y 0 The cube ID is not OB-Y 0


Star system numbering

Star systems within the same mass category cube are simply numbered:

  • The first star system has number 0
  • The second star system has number 1
  • etc.

Example: Pyrie Thae XO-Z D13-12 is the 12th system in the D-mass-category cube whose ID is "XO-Z 13".


Cube ID numerical part is 0

A very special naming rule is that if the numerical part of a cube ID is zero, the numerical part is omitted.

Example: Grie Prao KL-M A0-12 is written as Grie Prao KL-M A12.


Actual system mass vs. cube mass category

A system with a higher mass letter does not necessarily contain more mass than a system with a lower mass letter. As can be seen in the following example, the mass letter G system actually has less mass than the mass letter F system, even though its mass letter would indicate a higher mass.

  • Essarg ZE-A G2
    • This system contains two primary stars, which are the only astronomical bodies in the system
    • Together the two stars have 8.3398 solar mass (5.7773 + 2.5625)
  • Truechea GG-Y F0
    • This system contains 4 primary stars and one planet of neglible mass
    • Together the 4 stars have 32.4882 solar mass (11.5898 + 5.0664 + 11.5859 + 4.2461)


The answers in the forum thread "What determines a systems star mass rating?" [11] indicate that the mass categories cannot be compared if they are in different sectors (esp. post 6 is relatively clear about this).


High-mass systems

Systems with a high mass are frequently more interesting because they are more rare. For instance, high-mass systems often contain Black Holes, Wolf-Rayet stars, giant class O stars, etc. As an explorer, finding these systems is of prime importance to me, so what I often do is this:

  • In the galaxy map I enter an incomplete system name in the search field. Example: "Plua Broae AA-A H".
  • When I start the search, the game will find the first system that matches the partial name. To continue with the example, this would be "Plua Broae AA-A H0".
  • I switch to the first tab in the galaxy map which shows me the primary stars in the system. If this looks interesting I bookmark the system.
  • I then search again without altering the content of the search field! The game will continue with the search where it left off, thus finding the second system that matches the partial name, e.g. "Plua Broae AA-A H1".
  • I repeat the process until I have gone through all systems in that particular mass category cube. I know this is the case when the search puts me back at the first system ("Plua Broae AA-A H0" in the example).


With this process I can relatively quickly get an overview of the interesting systems in any given sector:

  • Does the sector have high-mass systems at all?
  • What is in those systems?
  • What is the most efficient itinerary to visit the interesting systems?


To interpret the search results, it can be useful to remember how cubes are placed within a sector:

  • The first row of cubes begins in the lower-left corner and ends in the lower-right corner, in the front
  • The next rows of cubes are then stacked above the first row, still in the front, until the top is reached
  • The next row is then placed at the bottom behind the first row


Search patterns for high-mass systems

To facilitate the process outlined in the previous subsection, I have compiled tables with search patterns for the high-mass categories H, G and F. You can copy & paste these tables into a text editor (Ctrl + Mouse-Click lets you copy only the first column), replace "Foo" with the actual sector name, and then copy & paste the search patterns one after the other into the galaxy map search field.


Mass category H search patterns
Search pattern Remarks
Foo AA-A H There is only one cube for mass category H


Mass category G search patterns
Search pattern Remarks
Cubes in plane 1 (front plane)
Foo AA-A G Left cube in row 1
Foo BA-A G Right cube in row 1
Foo YE-A G Left cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo ZE-A G Right cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Cubes in plane 2 (back plane)
Foo EG-Y G Left cube in row 3 (behind row 1)
Foo FG-Y G Right cube in row 3 (behind row 1)
Foo CL-Y G Left cube in row 4 (behind row 2, above row 3)
Foo DL-Y G Right cube in row 4 (behind row 2, above row 3)


Mass category F search patterns
Cubes in plane 1 (front plane)
Foo AA-A F Left-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo BA-A F
Foo CA-A F
Foo DA-A F Right-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo YE-A F Left-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo ZE-A F
Foo AF-A F
Foo BF-A F Right-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo WJ-A F Left-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo XJ-A F
Foo YJ-A F
Foo ZJ-A F Right-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo UO-A F Left-most cube in row 4 (top row)
Foo VO-A F
Foo WO-A F
Foo XO-A F Right-most cube in row 4 (top row)
Cubes in plane 2 (behind plane 1)
Foo EG-Y F Left-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo FG-Y F
Foo GG-Y F
Foo HG-Y F Right-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo CL-Y F Left-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo DL-Y F
Foo EL-Y F
Foo FL-Y F Right-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo AQ-Y F Left-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo BQ-Y F
Foo CQ-Y F
Foo DQ-Y F Right-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo YU-Y F Left-most cube in row 4 (top row)
Foo ZU-Y F
Foo AV-Y F
Foo BV-Y F Right-most cube in row 4 (top row)
Cubes in plane 3 (behind plane 2)
Foo IM-W F1 Left-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo JM-W F1
Foo KM-W F1
Foo LM-W F1 Right-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo GR-W F1 Left-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo HR-W F1
Foo IR-W F1
Foo JR-W F1 Right-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo EW-W F1 Left-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo FW-W F1
Foo GW-W F1
Foo HW-W F1 Right-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo CB-X F1 Left-most cube in row 4 (top row)
Foo DB-X F1
Foo EB-X F1
Foo FB-X F1 Right-most cube in row 4 (top row)
Cubes in plane 4 (behind plane 3)
Foo MS-U F2 Left-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo NS-U F2
Foo OS-U F2
Foo PS-U F2 Right-most cube in row 1 (bottom row)
Foo KX-U F2 Left-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo LX-U F2
Foo MX-U F2
Foo NX-U F2 Right-most cube in row 2 (above row 1)
Foo IC-V F2 Left-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo JC-V F2
Foo KC-V F2
Foo LC-V F2 Right-most cube in row 3 (above row 2)
Foo GH-V F2 Left-most cube in row 4 (top row)
Foo HH-V F2
Foo IH-V F2
Foo JH-V F2 Right-most cube in row 4 (top row)


Survey of star classes and designations

Project inception and goal

The project took life when I first noticed that there is not just a single type of Carbon star, but many types: S class, MS class, C-J class etc. Within each of these classes there are other "sub-types": MS0, MS1, MS2 etc. Within each each of these "sub-types" I found even more variety, e.g. MS0 IIIA and MS0 IIIAB. When I discovered a star of type MS2 IIIB, I naturally started to wonder: Might there also be a star type MS0 IIIB?

After that I started to make a note of the exact type of every Carbon star that I found. Whenever I found a new type I had never encountered before, the hunter/gatherer in me excitedly jumped up and down and wanted more, so I was forced to extend the survey to other star types, not just Carbon stars.


Today the goal of the survey is this:

  • Find every type of star that exists in the game. For the moment I am restricing the survey to "special" star types, i.e. I'm not (yet) interested in most main-sequence star types. I made an exception for class O and class B stars, but class A, F, G, K and M stars are still out of the survey's scope.
  • For every star type write down the name of at least one example system. In case there is some other distinguishing attribute, keep examples of those, too. For instance, Wolf-Rayet stars of the same star type appear in different colors in the game, so I am also including the color in the survey.
  • If possible, visit every star type at least once.
  • If possible, have a first discovery tag on every star type.


You will find the sections with the actual survey results further down. But first I had to learn more about what a star type designation such as "MS0 IIIAB" actually means.


Overview of star classes

In real life, stars are classified according to the Morgan-Keenan (MK) spectral classification system. The Wikipedia article on "Spectral classification" [12] has the details, some of the information is replicated in paraphrased form in the following sections.

Elite Dangerous generally follows the real life MK classification system, although the ED system has its own quirks. The following chart shows how star type designations in Elite Dangerous can be split into spectral class and a luminosity class, according to the MK system:

ED star type   Spectral class   Luminosity class
---------------------------------------------
B8 IIIAB       B8               IIIAB
TTS8 IVB       TTS8             IVB


Spectral class

The spectral class is an indicator for the temperature of a star. The spectral class is built from a letter code followed by a numeric digit. The following codes exist:

  • Letter codes, from hottest to coldest: O, B, A, F, G, K, M
  • Numeric digits, from hottest to coldest: 0-9


Luminosity class

The luminosity class is an indicator for the size of a star. The luminosity class is built from a Roman numeral followed by an alphanumeric suffix. There can also be numerous other prefixes and suffixes to indicate peculiarities.

  • Roman numerals, from largest to smallest: 0, I, II, III, IV, V
  • Alphanumeric suffixes, from most luminous to least luminous: A, AB, B


List of luminosity classes from the Wikipedia article:

0 / Ia+ - hypergiant
Ia      - luminous supergiant
Iab     - intermediate luminous supergiant
Ib      - less luminous supergiant
II      - bright giant
III     - regular/normal giant
IV      - sub-giant
V       - main sequence star
sd      - sub-dwarf
D       - white dwarf


Spectral and luminosity classes in Elite Dangerous

The system map in Elite Dangerous only refers to the general class of a star (e.g. "Class M stars are red stars [...]"). To see the exact type of a star, which includes both spectral and luminosity class, you have to view the system in the galaxy map. The galaxy map lists all stars in a system in "depth first" order, i.e.

  • The first primary star
  • Then stars that orbit the first primary star
  • Then the second primary star
  • Then stars that orbit the second primary star
  • etc.


If you haven't visited a system yet, the galaxy map only lists primary stars. Once you have visited a system and performed a "honk" (i.e. activated the Advanced Discovery Scanner) you will see non-primary stars as well. This may result in the galaxy map showing an absurdly long list of star types, such as "Black Hole, TTS8 VI, TTS2 VI, TTS2 VI, B0 VZ, B0 VZ, TTS2 VI, TTS3 VI, TTS2 VI, TTS8 VI, TTS6 VI, TTS8 VI, TTS8 VI".


Some observations how Elite Dangerous implements spectral and luminosity classes:

  • I have never seen the luminosity class prefix "sd" (for "subdwarf")
  • White dwarfs indeed have the luminosity prefix "D". In ED the prefix precedes the entire star designation. Example: DA0 VII.
  • I have observed luminosity classes which are not mentioned in the Wikipedia article: "VI" (e.g. B9 VI, AEBE0 VI) and "VII" (e.g. DA0 VII). Or is this luminosity class "V" with the suffixes "I" and "II"?
  • I have observed the luminosity class suffix "Z" which is not mentioned in the Wikipedia article. Examples: B0 VZ, O0 VZ. According to a forum post by Andrew Gaspurr [13] the suffix "Z" means "Zero". To quote from the post: "VZ is synonymous with 'Main Sequence (V) Zero (Z)'."
  • For carbon stars, Elite Dangerous has the spectral class letter codes "CJ", "CN", "MS" and "S" which are not in the Wikipedia article. Examples: CJ5 IIIB, MS0 IIIAB, S3 III.
  • Ditto for Herbig AE/BE stars: Here Elite Dangerous uses the spectral class letter code "AEBE". Example: AEBE3 VI.
  • Ditto for Wolf-Rayet stars: Here Elite Dangerous uses the spectral class letter codes "W", "WC", "WO", "WN" and WNC". Examples: WC0 I, WO0 I.
  • Elite Dangerous uses luminosity class suffixes "A", "AB" and "B" not only for supergiants but for other stars as well. Example: F7 VAB. According to the Wikipedia article, in real life this would be called F7 V.
  • In a November 2016 forum thread "Where are all the procedural red supergiants? Where are all the procedural Class C stars? [14], there is a lot of interesting information about luminosity classes in Elite Dangerous:
    • In post #13, Jackie Silver talks about his experience how Elite Dangerous implements luminosity classes. According to Jackie, the ED implementation has at least one known error: B9 IA is less luminous than B9 IAB.
    • In posts #13, #35 and #37, the formula L = (R**2) / (T**4) (which refers to the Stefan–Boltzmann law [15]) is mentioned: Apparently Elite Dangerous uses this formula to calculate a star's luminosity. T = Temperature, R = Radius, ** = the operation "to the power of". The result is a luminosity value.
    • In Post #22, Jackie Silver says about the VZ luminosity class that "[...] the VZ in Elite is an indicator of very young stars just out of the protostar state."


Carbon stars

Some notes:

  • Carbon stars are not scoopable.
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists carbon stars with different star classes, depending on the concrete type (e.g. "CJ Star").
    • In the system map, carbon stars are labelled with their concrete type (e.g. "C-J Class star")
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map (e.g. "CJ Star").
  • How to find carbon stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, carbon stars appear as big bright yellow spheres that are distinctly larger than regular stars.
    • In map mode there is an explicit filter for carbon stars
    • carbon stars are relatively rare, but you should be able to find some if you are looking for them in the areas 1000 ly above and below the galactic plane, where there are also many Neutron Stars, White Dwarfs and Black Holes.


The following tables list all the different types of carbon stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table provides an overview of the general types, the second table serves as a quick checklist, and the third table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

General types of carbon stars in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class letter code System map
C Carbon class
CJ C-J class
CN Class C-N
MS MS class
S S class


List of Carbon star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class Luminosity class
II III IIIA IIIAB IIIB
C0 (*)
C5 *
C6 *
CJ5 *
CN4 *
CN5 *
CN6 *
MS0 * *
MS1 *
MS2 * *
MS3 *
MS4 *
MS5 *
S0 (*) *
S1 *
S2 * *
S3 * *
S4 *
S5 *


List of Carbon star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with examples
Type Example(s)
C0 III HIP 12028 (not visited)
C5 II HR 7089
HD 171804
C6 III HD 168227
CJ5 IIIB Eorld Pri WO-A D2336
CN4 IIIB Eorld Pri AV-Y D5081
CN5 IIIB Graea Hypue ZU-Y D66
CN6 IIIB Cyaumie OZ-G D10-1
MS0 IIIA Gria Eaec CQ-G D10-56
MS0 IIIAB Eorld Pri FB-X D1-975
MS1 IIIAB Floarps XL-D D12-891
MS2 IIIB Floarps PT-R D4-241
MS2 IIIAB Boepp WF-O D6-185
MS3 IIIB Graea Hypue RO-R D4-17
MS4 IIIB Floarps NI-T D3-435
MS5 IIIB Graea Hypue LN-T D3-87
S0 IIIA Hypiae Phyloi LI-I D10-155 (not visited, see post 1760 by CMDR EtherealCereal in the forum thread "List of Earth-like worlds, v2" [16]
S0 IIIAB Dryaa Flyuae BW-N D6-435
Dryaa Flyuae VT-R D4-1899
S1 IIIAB Boepp SZ-P D5-92
Floarps HN-K D8-1306 B
S2 IIIB Boepp BM-M D7-397
S2 IIIAB Eorld Pri FB-X D1-4920
S3 III HD 49368 (not visited)
S3 IIIB Floarps BM-M D7-377
S4 IIIB Floarps BM-M D7-377
S5 IIIB Graea Hypue LN-T D3-7


Herbig AE/BE stars

Some notes:

  • Herbig AE/BE stars are not scoopable.
  • The appearance of Herbig AE/BE stars has changed in the past with different versions of Elite Dangerous. This is good to know when you look at old screenshots.
    • Elite Dangerous 2.1 and before: It seems that VA, VB and VAB types are yellow colored, while VI types are white, or blue-white colored.
    • Elite Dangerous 2.2 and later (this information from 26.10.2016): All Herbig star are now yellow colored. This is a change that is explicitly mentioned somewhere in the release notes for 2.2. I found out about this beccause I found both a yellow-colored AEBE3 VI (Ooctarp CG-Y E2) and AEBE8 VI (Ooctarp KM-W E1-0) star, which conflicts the original information about colors from above. This triggered me to recheck the system maps of all systems in the list below that I had visited a long time ago, and also the system map of a system that I had visited just before the update to 2.2, and for which I had a screenshot proving that the Herbig star appeared white/blue-white. I found that the Herbig stars suddenly were all yellow colored, which confirms the information from the 2.2 release notes.
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists Herbig AE/BE stars as "Herbig AE/BE star" (duh!), regardless of the concrete type.
    • In the system map, all Herbig AE/BE stars are labelled as "Herbig AE/BE stars" regardless of the concrete type.
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map, i.e. "Herbig AE/BE star".
  • How to find Herbig AE/BE stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, it is practically impossible to find Herbig AE/BE stars because they do not stand out in any way and completely blend in with their surroundings.
    • In map mode there is a filter for star class "Proto stars". However, T Tauri stars are also proto stars, and those are much more frequent than Herbig AE/BE stars, so it is still relatively difficult to find Herbig AE/BE stars if you are explicitly looking for them.
    • That being said, Herbig AE/BE stars tend to show up as companions to other stars with high mass, notably class B and class O stars, and also Wolf-Rayet stars. So if you are looking out for those other star classes, or for high-mass systems in general (mass code H, G and F), you will certainly find enough Herbigs.


The following tables list all the different types of Herbig AE/BE stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table serves as a quick checklist, and the second table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

List of Herbig AE/BE star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class Luminosity class
VA VAB VB VI
AEBE0 * * * *
AEBE1 * * * *
AEBE2 * *
AEBE3 * *
AEBE4 (*) * * *
AEBE5 * (*) * *
AEBE6 * *
AEBE7 * * * *
AEBE8 * * * *
AEBE9 * * *


List of Herbig AE/BE star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with example(s)
Type Example(s)
AEBE0 VA Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H282
Blaa Dryou AA-A H48
AEBE0 VAB Weqee AA-A H0
Kyloopoo FG-Y G0
Phreia Byio CL-Y G0 (not visited)
AEBE0 VB Cyaumia BA-A G2
AEBE0 VI Mylaifai CL-Y F360
AEBE1 VA Vegni AA-A H13
AEBE1 VAB Ihab DA-A F0
AEBE1 VB Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H614
AEBE1 VI Hypoe Flyi FG-Y F1789
Traikoa HG-Y E15 (not visited)
AEBE2 VAB Moihuia AA-A H62
AEBE2 VI Mylaifai BQ-Y E7374
AEBE3 VAB Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H630
Vegni AA-A H13
AEBE3 VI Hypoe Flyi FG-Y F633
Ooctarp CG-Y E2
AEBE4 VA Byaa Theia AA-A H1 (not visited)
AEBE4 VAB Blaa Dryou AA-A H48
Blu Aec AA-A H5 (not visited)
AEBE4 VB Vegni AA-A H13
AEBE4 VI Mylaifai FW-W E1-2284
AEBE5 VA Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H539
AEBE5 VAB Blu Aec AA-A H1 (not visited)
AEBE5 VB Kyloopoo AA-A H0
Plieliae AA-A H42
AEBE5 VI Eeshovvy IM-W F1-1806
AEBE6 VAB Flimbuae AA-A H0
AEBE6 VI Mylaifai EW-W E1-1105
AEBE7 VA Ooscs Briae AA-A H0
AEBE7 VAB Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H13
AEBE7 VB Hypoi Flyi CL-Y G10
Xembeae ZE-A G11 (not visited)
AEBE7 VI Mylaifai YE-A F7
AEBE8 VA Phroea Hypai AA-A h0
AEBE8 VAB Ihascs BA-A G2
Schreang DL-Y G6 (not visited)
AEBE8 VB Yoqeia DL-Y G4
AEBE8 VI Eeshovvy IM-W F1-131
Ooctarp KM-W E1-0
AEBE9 VAB Dryaa Flyuae EG-Y G614
AEBE9 VB Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H714
AEBE9 VI Hypoe Flyi XE-R E4-4928
Ploxuia AB-W E2-2
Eok Pruae AA-A H24 (not visited)


T Tauri stars

Some notes:

  • T Tauri stars are not scoopable.
  • T Tauri stars appear in various colors
  • Purple colored T Tauri stars look like a dwarf star and also have very small size. From the galaxy map it's impossible to predict whether a T Tauri star has dwarf size or is regularly sized. The only potential indicator is the system's mass letter, but I'm not sure whether that's really of any help.
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists T Tauri stars as "T Tauri star" (duh!), regardless of the concrete type.
    • In the system map, all T Tauri stars are labelled as "T Tauri type stars" regardless of the concrete type.
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map, i.e. "T Tauri star".
  • How to find T Tauri stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, it is practically impossible to find T Tauri stars because they do not stand out in any way and completely blend in with their surroundings.
    • In map mode there is a filter for star class "Proto stars". Using that you will quickly find T Tauri stars simply by randomly panning around the galaxy map - especially if you're searching within the galaxy-wide band of barren stars between y = -25 and y = -40.
    • T Tauri stars also frequently show up as companions to some other star types, notably class B and Herbig AE/BE stars.


The following tables list all the different types of T Tauri stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table serves as a quick checklist, and the second table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

List of T Tauri star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class Luminosity class
IVAB IVB VA VAB VB VI
TTS0 * * * *
TTS1 * * * *
TTS2 * * * *
TTS3 * * * *
TTS4 * * * * *
TTS5 * * * * *
TTS6 * * * * * *
TTS7 * * * * *
TTS8 * * * * *
TTS9 * * * * *


List of T Tauri star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with example(s)
Type Color Example(s)
TTS0 VA Orange Truechuia JQ-G C10-9
Truechuia MK-G B24-1
Yellow-orange Truechuia ZD-T D3-3
Blie Chrea KR-W E1-0
TTS0 VAB Dark yellow Eogarld BH-S D5-22
TTS0 VB Yellow Braitu GW-N E6-3
TTS0 VI Purple Eogarld SA-S A31-0
Smootaae BA-A G1
TTS1 VA Yellow-orange Eogarld YU-R C7-4
Orange Truechuia VC-W B15-2
TTS1 VAB Yellow-orange Truechuia JQ-G C10-9
Dark yellow Blie Chrea IR-W E1-1
Yellow Suvua BA-A F0
TTS1 VB Yellow Plua Broae BA-A E0
TTS1 VI Red Eogarld DR-I B15-0
Blie Chrea MM-W E1-3
Purple Eogarld NU-T A30-1
TTS2 VA Orange Truechuia ZD-T D3-2
TTS2 VAB Dark yellow Blie Chrea KR-W E1-0
TTS2 VB Yellow Braitu OS-U E2-3
TTS2 VI Purple Truechuia GG-Y F0
TTS3 VA Yellow-orange Hyphielaei EA-A E1
Truechuia QI-T D3-13
Truechuia ZD-T D3-9
TTS3 VAB Dark yellow Truechuia ZD-T D3-9
TTS3 VB Yellow Truechuia NC-V D2-19
White Eogack NI-B E1
TTS3 VI Red Truechuia PW-X B14-0
TTS4 IVAB White Chraichoi DH-U E3-7
TTS4 VA Orange Eogarld HB-K B14-1
Blie Chrea MM-W E1-3
TTS4 VAB Dark yellow Smootaae YD-T D3-4
TTS4 VB Yellow Blooe Prao FI-H D11-5
TTS4 VI Purple Eogarld YU-Y B20-1 (not scanned)
Red Truechuia MK-G B24-1
White Plooe Briae DA-A F0
TTS5 IVB Orange Chraichoi GO-B C16-16
Coetls JP-B C2-34
TTS5 VA Dark orange Truechuia MK-G B24-1
TTS5 VAB Yellow Eogarld YU-X E1-1 (not scanned)
TTS5 VB Yellow Blie Chrea OI-T D3-6
TTS5 VI Red Eogarld CC-C A40-0
Purple Truechuia OV-E B25-1
Smootaae BA-A G1
TTS6 IVAB White Fachee FB-X F1-0
TTS6 IVB Dark orange Suvua MF-N C20-4
Braitu JY-W B42-0
TTS6 VA Dark orange Truechuia QI-T D3-13
Truechuia DW-W B15-0
Yellow-orange Truechuia ZX-U D2-7
Striechie FG-Y G0
TTS6 VAB Yellow Braitu CB-O E6-3
TTS6 VB Yellow Truechuia ZX-U D2-7
TTS6 VI Purple Eogarld CC-C A40-0
Smootaae BA-A G1
Red Truechuia PW-X B14-0
TTS7 IVB Dark orange Chraichoi QH-P B53-10
Braitu NJ-X C28-4
TTS7 VA Dark orange Truechuia UJ-R B18-1
Truechuia PW-X B14-0
Eogarld YU-R C7-4 (not scanned)
Yellow-orange Striechie FG-Y G0
TTS7 VAB Dark yellow Truechuia TD-T D3-12
White Essarg ZE-A G2
TTS7 VB Yellow Truechuia TD-T D3-12
TTS7 VI Purple Truechuia GG-Y F0
Eogarld FX-B A40-1
Smootaae BA-A G1
Dark red Truechuia GG-Y F0
TTS8 IVB Dark orange Truechuia MK-G B24-1
Eogarld CL-K B14-1
Plua Broae AA-A F0
TTS8 VA Dark orange Truechuia OV-E B25-1
Eogarld HB-K B14-0
Dark yellow Truechuia ZD-T D3-2
TTS8 VAB Dark yellow Plooe Briae AK-A E0
Suvua MF-N C20-4
Essarg XP-X E1-0 (not scanned)
TTS8 VB Yellow Truechaae MM-W E1-0
TTS8 VI Dark red Eogarld CC-C A40-0 (not scanned)
Purple Eogarld RA-V A43-2
Truechuia PW-X B14-0
Smootaae BA-A G1
TTS9 IVAB Blue-white Plua Chruia GG-Y F0
TTS9 VA Yellow-orange Hyphielaei EA-A E1
Dark yellow Eogarld DQ-X E1-0
TTS9 VAB Yellow Essarg QZ-O E6-0
Blue-white Chraichoi DH-U E3-7
TTS9 VB Yellow Truechaae LM-W E1-0
TTS9 VI Blue-white Bla Blou BV-X E1-1
Hyphielaei EA-A E1
Blie Chrea IR-W E1-1
Dark orange Eogarld YU-Y B20-1
Suvua MF-N C20-4
Purple Eogarld KJ-Y A41-1
Truechuia GG-Y F0
Dark red Truechuia OV-E B25-1


Wolf-Rayet stars

Some notes:

  • Wolf-Rayet stars are not scoopable.
  • Wolf-Rayet stars appear in various colors, even though their system map description always mentions that "they appear in brilliant blue".
  • All Wolf-Rayet stars that I have seen have luminosity class I.
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists Wolf-Rayet stars with different star classes, depending on the concrete type (e.g. "Wolf-Rayet O Star").
    • In the system map, all Wolf-Rayet stars are labelled as "Wolf-Rayet class star" regardless of the concrete type. However, the description text slightly varies depending on the concrete type.
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map (e.g. "Wolf-Rayet O Star").
  • How to find Wolf-Rayet stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, Wolf-Rayet stars appear as big bright white spheres that are distinctly larger than regular stars. Note: The color is always white, regardless of the star's actual color.
    • In map mode there is an explicit filter for Wolf-Rayet stars
    • Wolf-Rayet stars are very rare. I have never found one by explicitly looking for it. I found that the best chances are to search a sector for mass code H systems, i.e. enter "<sectorname> AA-A H" into the galaxy map's search field.


The following tables list all the different types of Wolf-Rayet stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table provides an overview of the general types, the second table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

General types of Wolf-Rayet stars in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class letter code Galaxy map (map mode) / target panel designation The system map description says ...
W Wolf-Rayet Star ... nothing about their spectrum.
WC Wolf-Rayet C Star ... that their "spectrum is dominated by ionised carbon lines".
WO Wolf-Rayet O Star ... that their "spectrum is dominated by ionised oxygen lines".
WN Wolf-Rayet N Star ... that their "spectrum is dominated by ionised nitrogen, carbon-oxygen and helium lines".
WNC Wolf-Rayet NC Star ... that their "spectrum is dominated by ionised nitrogen and helium lines".


List of Wolf-Rayet star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with examples
Type Color Example(s)
W5 I Blue-white Shapley 1
W6 I Blue-white HIP 90299
WC0 I Blue-white Eok Pruae AA-A H10
Eok Pruae AA-A H56
Yellow Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H523 C
WC5 I Blue-white CSI-61-15434
WO0 I Red Eok Pruae AA-A H291
Blue-white Eok Pruae AA-A H106
Eok Pruae AA-A H250
White Eok Pruae AA-A H73
Brown (like a dwarf) Hypoae Scrua AA-A H145 (not visited, color from a screenshot by CMDR Duck of Death)
WNC0 I Red Eok Pruae AA-A H291
Yellow Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H523 D
Blue-white Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H282 A
WN0 I Blue-white Eok Pruae AA-A H16
Yellow Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H254


Giant stars

Some notes:

  • In Elite Dangerous there are two "official" types of giant stars that are not supergiants: Orange giant stars (spectral class K) and red giant stars (spectral class M). By "official" I mean: Those stars contain the word "giant" in their designation in the galaxy map, system map and the target panel.
  • In addition to the "official" giant star types there are also a number of "inofficial" types: Stars with these types appear as bigger-than-normal colored spheres in the galaxy map, they have unusually large sizes when you fly close to them, but they do not contain the word "giant" in their designation in the galaxy map, system map or the target panel. "Inofficial" giant stars have spectral classes A, F and G.
  • I have never seen a procedurally generated giant star with one of the "inofficial" types - these seem to be used exclusively for non-procedural systems.
  • All giant star types are scoopable.
  • Designations of "official" giant star types
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists giant stars as "K (orange giant) star" and "M (red giant) star", respectively
    • In the system map, giant stars are labelled as "Orange giant star" and "Red giant star", respectively.
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map (e.g. "Orange giant star").
  • Designations of "inofficial" giant star types
    • They use the same designation as regular main-sequence stars of the same spectral class
  • How to find giant stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, giant stars appear as big spheres that are distinctly larger than regular stars. The only exception to this rule are red giants with type M7 IVB and M8 IVB - visually these red giant types are indistuingishable from regular class M stars.
    • In map mode there is no explicit filter for giant stars, they appear if you tick the filter for class A, F, G, K and class M stars.
    • Orange and red giant stars are medium rare. The best chance you have to find them is to travel through areas with medium to high star density and to look out for them in realistic mode.
    • White and yellow giants can be found best near the bubble, where the density of non-procedural systems from one of the real-life star catalogues is highest. In other regions of the galaxy you will probably not find any of these giant star types because non-procedural systems are almost non-existent there. Even if you do find such a system, it will probably be a Black Hole, a class O star or a supergiant star.
    • Finding a red giant of type M7 IVB and M8 IVB is pure luck since there is no sensible way how to search for them. A semi-methodical way is to plot a course wherever you want to go, then review the route in the galaxy map by checking each system in the route whether it contains an M7 IVB or M8 IVB star. Usually you will find one of them every few kly that you travel.


The following tables list all the different types of giant stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table serves as a quick checklist, and the second table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

List of giant star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class Luminosity class
II IIA IIAB IIB III IIIA IIIAB IIIB IVB
A5 *
A7 *
A9 *
F2 *
F7 *
G5 *
G8 *
K0 *
K1 *
K2 *
K3 * *
K4 *
K5 *
K6 *
K7 *
K8 *
K9 * *
M0 * *
M1 *
M2 * * *
M3 *
M4 * *
M5 *
M7 *
M8 *


List of giant star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with example(s)
Type Example(s)
A5 III 61 Omega Eridani
A7 III HD 144631
A9 III HIP 91899
HIP 97900
F2 III HIP 90278
HIP 90278
F7 II HR 8470
G5 III Mu Coronae Austrinae
G8 III HD 142491
HIP 83910
25 G. Canis Majoris
K0 III HIP 93255
HIP 84302
HR 2086
HIP 34028
K1 III HIP 10446
HR 2200
HR 2465
K2 III HD 138081
HIP 84918
HIP 36823 (contains a Guardian Beacon)
HIP 37052
K3 IIA Dryio Flyue ND-S E4-835
K3 III HD 140507
HD 142699
HR 2411
K4 III NGC 6530 CDZ 115
K5 III HD 39699
K6 IIAB Floawns XE-R D4-45
K7 IIAB Eok Flyuae RX-U D2-901
K8 IIAB Hypoe Flyi RJ-X D2-2061
K9 IIB Hypoe Flyi RJ-X D2-6218
Schee Phio QN-T d3-3
K9 IIIA Gria Eaec HW-E D11-886
M0 IIIA Gria Eaec HW-E D11-683
M0 IIIAB Eok Flyuae EN-B D13-1403
Eeshorks KX-L D7-907 (not visited)
M1 IIIAB Floarps RO-R D4-467
Eeshorks DW-N D6-659 (not visited)
M2 III HIP 38700
M2 IIIAB Eok Flyuae KT-Z D13-2869
M2 IIIB Eok Flyuae KT-Z D13-3065
Blooe Prao CB-M D8-1
Eeshorks DW-N D6-319 (not visited)
M3 IIIB Eok Flyuae JT-Z D13-243
M4 IIB Eok Flyuae VD-T D3-864
M4 IIIB Eok Flyuae JT-Z D13-752
Eok Flyuae DR-N E6-758 (red giant is binary to a Neutron Star)
M5 IIIB Hypoe Flyi UO-R D4-2186
M7 IVB Clookeou WR-S B46-0
M8 IVB Hatchooe AH-T B46-0
Byeia Chruia EX-Z B1-0
Hypiae Aihm RG-Y d67 (red giant is not the primary star)


Supergiant stars

Some notes:

  • In Elite Dangerous there are three types of supergiant stars: Blue-white supergiant stars (spectral classes A and B), yellow-white supergiant stars (spectral classes F and G) and red supergiant stars (spectral classes K and possibly M).
  • I have never seen a red supergiant of spectral class M, but I suspect that they might exist because red supergiant stars of spectral class K appear in the galaxy map with the designation "M (red supergiant) star" - deducing from this designation and the pattern how the galaxy map designates other supergiants it would only seem logical that a spectral class K supergiant should exist.
  • All supergiant star types are scoopable.
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists supergiant stars with different star classes, depending on their type. However, the designation is not based on the supergiant color (e.g. "blue-white"), instead it includes a spectral class letter code (e.g. "F (white supergiant) star"). Because every supergiant type encompasses two spectral classes, this designation system is correct only half of the time and misleading the other half of the time. For instance, a "G0 IB" supergiant star clearly has spectral class G, but the galaxy map still shows it as "F (white supergiant) star".
    • In the system map, supergiant stars are inconsistently labelled, sometimes based on the supergiant color only (e.g. "Red supergiant star") and sometimes also with the spectral class included (e.g. "Class F yellow-white supergiant star").
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map (e.g. "F (white supergiant) star").
  • How to find supergiant stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, supergiant stars appear as big blue-white, white and red spheres, respectively, that are distinctly larger than regular stars.
    • In map mode there is no explicit filter for supergiant stars, they appear if you tick the filter for class A, B, F, G, K and M stars.
    • Supergiant stars are very rare and, despite their bigger size, not easy to spot. I had moderate success by looking for them while panning around in the galaxy map in realistic mode, with the zoom level set so that the grid shows 10 or even 100 ly per square. Supergiants tend to be visible from relatively far away, so if during panning you notice a star's parallax shift to be less than usual you might be looking at a supergiant. I also prefer to turn off the grid in the galaxy map options to reduce visual distractions. Unfortunately, this technique doesn't help to distinguish regular B class stars from blue-white supergiants, because both appear as large spheres with colors that are very similar.

The following tables list all the different types of supergiant stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table provides an overview of the general types, the second table serves as a quick checklist, and the third table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

General types of supergiant stars in Elite Dangerous
Supergiant type Spectral class letter codes Galaxy map (map mode) / target panel designation System map
Blue-white supergiant A
B
A (blue supergiant) star Class A blue-white supergiant star
Yellow-white supergiant F
G
F (white supergiant) star Class F yellow-white supergiant star
Red supergiant K
M (speculative)
M (red supergiant) star Red supergiant star


List of supergiant star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class Luminosity class
IA IA0 IAB IB IIA IVA
A1 (*)
A3 * *
A4 *
A5 *
A6 *
A7 *
A8 *
A9 *
B1 *
B2 (*)
B3 *
B5 *
B6 (*)
B8 *
B9 * * *
F1 *
F2 *
F3 *
G0 *
G5 *
G9 *
K0 *


List of supergiant star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with example(s)
Type Example(s)
A1 IA0 Dryau Aod AA-A H9 (binary to a class O star; not visited, see post 25 by CMDR Pirin in the forum thread "Where are all the procedural red supergiants? Where are all the procedural Class C stars?" [14]
A3 IA Sphauloea FW-W F1-0 (50.1004 solar radius, 6.5664 solar mass)
A3 IB Floawns EG-Y F660
A4 IB Graea Phreia MI-B E305, Blae Eaec PM-W E1-413, Schienaei FB-X E1-32
A5 IB Eok Flyuae SY-S E3-2982, Dryio Flyue IX-T E3-558, Hypio Flya CQ-X E1-323
A6 IB Graea Phreia MI-B E384
A7 IB Bleia Phreia EC-U E3-519, Dryio Flyue CG-X E1-539
A8 IAB Phipoea RY-R E4-1398
A9 IAB Floawns VE-R E4-54
B1 IIA Thailooe AA-A H31
Nyuenooe AA-A H120 (not visited, see this forum post by CMDR Pirin)
Zunoa AA-A H0 (not visited)
Moihea AA-A H77 (not visited)
B2 IVA Phoe Aowsy AA-A H0 (not visited)
Thailooe AA-A H30 (not visited)
B3 IA0 Blu Aip AA-A H1 (326.7839 solar radius)
Yoqeia AA-A H28 (not visited)
B5 IA0 Vegni AA-A H0 (376.7221 solar radius)
Dryaea Chrea AA-A H0 (361.7722 solar radius, 78.4688 solar mass, first discovered by CMDR Calbaron)
Pha Free AA-A H0 (386.4399 solar radius, 95.3320 solar mass, first discovered by CMDR Aidryen)
B8 IA0 Umbaitt AA-A H30 (457.5818 solar radius, 59.8398 solar mass)
Bauloo AA-A H0 (428.1259 solar radius, 46.2109 solar mass, first discovered by CMDR Calbaron)
B9 IA Suvua FG-Y F0 (52.4191 solar radius)
Flimbuae GG-Y F4 (52.9520 solar radius, 9.3437 solar mass)
B9 IA0 Vegni AA-A H14 (480.1431 solar radius)
Flyoo Eohn AA-A H14 (not visited, see this forum post by CMDR Katejina)
B9 IAB Plua Chruia MS-U F2-0 (53.1451 solar radius)
Bauloo DA-A F1 (53.2303 solar radius)
F1 IAB Bleia Phreia CH-U E3-540
F2 IAB Scheau Phio RI-B e10 (46.1609 solar radius)
F3 IAB Blae Eaec XY-S E3-979, Speamoea RD-S E4-307
G0 IB Schienaei OT-R E4-20
G5 IAB Dryio Flyue HX-T E3-697
G9 IAB Athaip DW-N E6-4143
K0 IAB Dryio Flyue ND-S E4-151


Class O stars

Some notes:

  • Class O stars are scoopable
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists class O stars as "O (blue-white) star", regardless of the concrete type.
    • In the system map, all class O stars are labelled as "Class O type stars" regardless of the concrete type.
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map, i.e. "O (blue-white) star".
  • How to find class O stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, class O stars appear as big blue-white spheres that are distinctly larger than regular stars.
    • In map mode there is an explicit filter for class O stars
    • Class O stars are medium rare. You do have a small chance finding them while randomly panning around the galaxy map, both in realistic and map mode, but this method is highly efficient.
    • You will find class O stars much more often if you simply search a sector for high-mass systems (mass code H, G and F). Unless you are in a sector with low star density, such a search will quickly turn up a dozen or more class O stars per sector, sometimes alone, but doubles are also not infrequent. After searching several sectors in this way, a triple class O star system usually should also find its way into your collection.
    • The type most often found is "O0 VZ".


The following tables list all the different types of class O stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table serves as a quick checklist, and the second table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

List of class O star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class Luminosity class
I III IIIA IVA V VZ
O0 *
O5 * *
O6 *
O7 * * * *
O8 * *
O9 * * * *


List of class O star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with example(s)
Type Example(s)
O0 VZ Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H648 (9.8934 solar radius, 36.9531 solar mass)
Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H656 (10.4953 solar radius, 37.6719 solar mass)
Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H539 (6.6555 solar radius, 18.6992 solar mass)
O5 IVA Dryeae Aoscs AA-A H1 (not visited)
Lysooch AA-A H1 (not visited)
O5 V HD 46150
O6 IVA Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H539 (61.0820 solar radius, 80.6563 solar mass)
Schreang AA-A H43 (79.8949 solar radius, 73.7227 solar mass)
O7 I HR 5680
O7 III HD 41997
O7 IVA Moihea AA-A H72 (not visited)
O7 V Delta Circini
O8 IIIA Vegni AA-A H9 (177.7254 solar radius, 76.8711 solar mass)
Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H648 (150.6118 solar radius, 57.2891 solar mass)
Moihuia AA-A H62 (144.0625 solar radius, 104.9219 solar mass)
O8 V HD 167971
O9 I HD 165319
O9 III X Persei (0.7279 solar radius, 63.8477 solar mass, first discovered by CMDR Suizida)
O9 IIIA Flimbuae AA-A H0 (199.7073 solar radius, 95.3203 solar mass, first discovered by CMDR Mistress Lilith)
Dryau Aod AA-A H9 (not visited, see this forum post by CMDR Pirin)
O9 V HD 125206, HD 37366


Class B stars

Some notes:

  • Class B stars are scoopable
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists class O stars as "B (blue-white) star", regardless of the concrete type.
    • In the system map, all class B stars are labelled as "Class B type stars" regardless of the concrete type.
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map, i.e. "B (blue-white) star".
  • How to find class B stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, class B stars appear as big blue-white spheres that are distinctly larger than regular stars.
    • In map mode there is an explicit filter for class B stars
    • Class B stars are quite common. You should be able to find them by simply panning around the galaxy map at random, both in realistic and map mode.
    • The type most often found is "B0 VZ".


The following tables list all the different types of class B stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table serves as a quick checklist, and the second table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

List of class B star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class Luminosity class
I II III IIIA IIIAB IV IVA IVAB V VA VAB VB VI VZ
B0 * *
B1 * *
B2 * * * *
B3 * *
B4 * * * *
B5 * *
B6 * *
B7 * *
B8 * * * * * * *
B9 * * * * * * *


List of class B star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with example(s)
Type Example(s)
B0 IVA Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H254 (not the primary star)
Byae Aim AA-A H0 (not visited)
B0 VZ Eok Flyuae ZK-P E5-2492
B1 III BD+04 1299S
B1 V HR 6929
Sagittarius A* (not the primary star)
B2 I 46 Upsilon Sagittarii
B2 IVA Kueme AA-A H26 (not visited)
B2 V Furud
HR 3089
B2 VI Floawns EG-Y F50
B3 V HR 3137, HR 2276
B3 VA Floawns EG-Y F
B4 IV HR 2759
B4 IVA Dryaa Flyuae AA-A H714
B4 V NGC 2244 CDZ 111
B4 VI Floawns EG-Y F84 (not scanned)
Floawns EG-Y F58 (not visited)
B5 V HD 35120
B5 VA Eok Flyuae IM-W F1-3234
B6 IVA Eok Flyuae VE-R E4-2936
Throsaae IH-U E3-0
Col 107 Sector QY-R e4-12
Skaudai AA-A H41 (not visited, see post 28 by CMDR Akira Masakari in the forum thread "Where are all the procedural red supergiants? Where are all the procedural Class C stars?" [14]
B6 V HD 173770, 3 Iota Leporis
B7 IVA Eok Flyuae VE-R E4-3871
B7 IVAB Eok Flyuae VE-R E4-119
B8 II HD 159380
B8 III M Puppis 35347
B8 IIIA Dryio Flyue ER-V E2-51
B8 IIIAB Eok Flyuae ZK-P E5-480
B8 IVAB Eok Flyuae VE-R E4-1011
HR 3089
B8 V HD 140360
B8 VAB Eok Flyuae ZK-P E5-1766
B9 III HD 150500
HIP 35040
B9 IIIAB Bloo Prao GN-S E4-3
Bloo Prao SZ-O E6-2 (not visited)
B9 IVAB Eok Flyuae ZK-P E5-1782
HR 3089
B9 V HD 258985
B9 VAB Eok Flyuae Zk-P E5-464
Plua Chruia IM-W E1-6
B9 VB Eok Flyuae VE-R E4-3183
B9 VI Eok Flyuae ZK-P E5-3306
Plua Chruia NS-U E2-4


White Dwarf stars

Some notes:

  • White Dwarf stars are not scoopable.
  • All White Dwarf stars that I have seen have luminosity class VII.
  • Designations
    • In the galaxy map in map mode, the tooltip window's "star class" line lists White Dwarf stars with different star classes, depending on the concrete type (e.g. "DA (White Dwarf) Star").
    • In the system map, all White Dwarf stars are labelled as "White Dwarf star" regardless of the concrete type. However, the description text slightly varies depending on the concrete type.
    • The target panel shows the same designation as the galaxy map (e.g. "DA (White Dwarf) Star").
  • How to find White Dwarf stars in the galaxy map
    • In realistic mode, White Dwarf stars appear as very small pins of white light
    • In map mode there is an explicit filter for White Dwarf stars
    • White Dwarf stars are very rare in most areas of the galaxy. Their very small size makes them extremely hard to spot in realistic mode, so it is usually better to look for them in map mode with the filter turned on.
    • If you know where to look, however, White Dwarf stars suddenly become quite common. The best places to find large quantities of White Dwarf stars are 1000 ly above and below the galactic plane, in areas not too far away from the galactic core.


The following tables list all the different types of White Dwarf stars that I have seen so far in the game. The first table provides an overview of the general types, the second table lists each star type with at least one example per type.

General types of White Dwarf stars in Elite Dangerous
Spectral class letter code Galaxy map (map mode) / target panel designation The system map description says ...
DA0 DA (White Dwarf) Star ... Class DA stars are white dwarf stars with a hydrogen rich atmosphere.
DB0 DB (White Dwarf) Star ... Class DB stars are white dwarf sub-types with a helium rich atmosphere with neutral helium emission lines.
DC0 DC (White Dwarf) Star ... nothing about their atmosphere or spectrum.
DAB0 DAB (White Dwarf) Star ... Class DAB stars are white dwarf type stars with hydrogen and helium rich atmospheres and neutral helium emission lines.
DAV0 DAV (White Dwarf) Star ... DAV class stars are also known as pulsating white dwarfs as their luminosity changes according to non-radial gravity waves within the star. They have hydrogen rich atmospheres.
DAZ6 DAZ (White Dwarf) Star ... Class DAZ stars are white dwarfs which are hydrogen rich metallic stars.
DBV0 DBV (White Dwarf) Star ... DBV class stars are known as pulsating white dwarfs as their luminosity changes according to non-radial gravity waves within the star. They have helium rich atmospheres.
DCV0 DCV (White Dwarf) Star ... Class DCV stars are white dwarfs with varying luminosity.


List of White Dwarf star types that I have seen in Elite Dangerous, with examples
Type Example(s)
DA0 VII Dryaa Flyuae RN-K D8-1833
DB0 VII Dryaa Flyuae RN-K D8-3531
DC0 VII Dryaa Flyuae NH-M D7-2757
DAB0 VII Dryaa Flyuae PS-K D8-4418
DAV0 VII Dryaa Flyuae RN-K D8-2308
DAZ6 VII LHS 235
DBV0 VII Dryaa Flyuae DM-M D7-2416
DCV0 VII Dryaa Flyuae RN-K D8-304


Records and achievements

TODO


Notable stellar phenomena

Notable Stellar Phenomena (ED wiki link) are a type of signal source found in certain star systems, at stellar or planetary lagrange points or in Planetary Ring Systems. They were added in version 3.3. of the game (Beyond Chapter 4). to discover in deep space. Each instance usually features a colorful Lagrange Cloud surrounding various organic and/or inorganic entities. These entities can be scanned by a Short Range Composition Scanner (integrated module) to obtain Codex data, and samples can be extracted from some of the organics with Research Limpets (requires a Research limpet controller module).

When scanning a system in the FSS, Notable Stellar Phenomena appear under the category "Concentrated Signal Sources" on the spectral analysis band. Once they are scanned, they appear in the navigation panel and can be targetted as any other in-system destination.

Scanning an object at a newly discovered site results in a Codex discovery voucher (currently valued at 2500 Credits).

Here's a list of systems that I have discovered that contain Notable Stellar Phenomena:

List of systems with notable stellar phenomena
System Site Description
HIP 34028 1 Prasinum Metallic Crystals, Flavum Metallic Crystals
2 Flavum Metallic Crystals, Albulum Gourd Mollusc
2 ?


Notable places

Here is a list of notable places that I have visited.

List of notable places
Name System Planet Coordinates Description
Jameson crash site HIP 12099 1 B -54.2 -50.3 A crash site where CMDR John Jameson died after deploying a mycoid virus weapon against a Thargoid ship. There are 4 data points that can be scanned to obtain written and spoken audio logs. Very memorable. Canonn page.
Dav’s Hope Hyades Sector DR-V c2-23 A 5 44.8180 -31.3893 An abandoned mining settlement that is important because everytime you relog you can collect a batch of rare/semi-rare Engineering material canisters, among them the notoriously hard-to-find Chemical Manipulators which are required to modify FSD modules for increased jump range. Canonn page.
Yellow-Vines Harvests San Huang - - - An agricultural installation run by Vandenberg LLC. The first agri-installation that I spotted.
The Bug Killer
SRV Wreckage
HIP 16613 1 A -11.0093
-11.0962
-95.6755
-96.0339
A site where a young pilot crashed his Anaconda after killing Thargoids. About 4 km in direction 270° is another site with an abandoned SRV. There are 3 data points near the ship and 1 data point near the SRV that can be scanned to obtain written and spoken audio logs. Also, at the ship site there are a few cargo racks that can be fired at to obtain the cargo within. When the first cargo rack is fired upon a Thargoid ship appears that scans both ship and SRV. There's nothing that can be done during this encounter, it's more like a cut scene. At the SRV wreckage site I found an Occupied Escape Pod canister - wonder who's in it? Very memorable. Canonn page.


References

  1. Wikipedia article: Galactic plane
  2. Wikipedia article: Galactic coordinate system
  3. Wikipedia article: Star catalogues
  4. Wikipedia article: Hipparcos Catalogue
  5. Wikipedia article: Henry Draper Catalogue
  6. Wikipedia article: New General Catalogue
  7. Wikipedia article: Sharpless Catalogue
  8. Wikipedia article: Messier object
  9. Wikipedia article: Bayer designation
  10. ED Forum Post: RV Sonnenkreis - Decoding Universal Cartographics
  11. ED Forum Post: What determines a systems star mass rating?
  12. Wikipedia article: Spectral classification
  13. May 2017 post in the forum thread "The Galactic Mapping Project & Expedition Hub": Explanation of what luminosity class suffix "Z" means, by CMDR Andrew Gaspurr
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 November 2016 forum Thread: Where are all the procedural red supergiants? Where are all the procedural Class C stars?
  15. Wikipedia article: Stefan–Boltzmann law
  16. April 2017 post in the forum thread "List of Earth-like worlds, v2": ELW discoveries by CMDR EtherealCereal include a Carbon star of type S0 IIIA