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 - Galactic Exploration Catalog - 
Glorious Nebula, the Tourist Trap

Created: 2023-11-20 21:54:25 Last Edited: 2023-11-22 00:50:08
  Submitted by: CMDR Marx on behalf of CMDR Alot
Star System:Hen 2-23
Coordinates:8322.62 / 1271.03 / -1169.69
Sol Distance: 8,499.99 ly
Region:Outer Orion Spur
Category:Tourist Beacons
Category:Nebulae
 



Summary:

A planetary nebula around a Wolf-Rayet star, with a Tourist Beacon which was for some time an infamous destination, one that explorers would warn others about.

Notice: This POI shares the same star system with a prior existing entry in the Galactic Mapping Project (GMP). You can visit the original entry using the link below:

    NGC 2818 (planetaryNebula), Hen 2-23

 
Description:

NGC 2818, or Hen 2-23, is a planetary nebula around a Wolf-Rayet star, well above the galactic plane. It was named the Glorious Nebula, when Saud Kruger placed a Tourist Beacon on one of the moons here. Soon after, requests by passengers on mission boards appeared, among the many destinations on offer, this system got some special attention... as being notoriously difficult to reach at the time.

Image source here

While the system is 8,500 ly away from Sol, it's 1,300 ly above the galactic plane, in an area somewhat sparse with stars. Before engineered Frame Shift Drives became available, the only way to reach this system was with synthesized boosts... and preferably not too many passenger cabins weighing the ship down.

Editor's note: Putting more spoilers on the ship doesn't help.

Commanders who took on tourists used to think that because thus system is relatively close to Sol (when compared to many other destinations which were significantly farther away), taking missions here would be rather easy. As they neared their destination though, many of them realized too late that either they didn't have enough materials to synthesize the necessary boosts, or their ship's jump range was too low even when boosted. Thus, they had to turn back, their missions having been doomed to failure.

Because of this, explorers soon warned other explorers not to take on passengers on long distance tours to the Glorious Nebula.
However, once increased jump ranges were available, the ascent became significantly easier - although it still presented at least a small bit of difficulty.

As for the contents of this location: the system itself doesn't have many bodies left in it. Two brown dwarf stars orbit the main star, and a Class V Gas Giant orbits the first dwarf. It has two tiny Metal Rich moons of its own. It is the first one, body 1 a a, that houses the Tourist Beacon in this system.

This nested moon is a so-called "potato" moon, with a radius of only 143 km. Surface temperatures are extremely high, ranging from 2,403 K to 4,695 K: disembarking on foot is dangerous. To make things more difficult, the beacon itself is situated on a somewhat steep slope: at around 30 degrees, it's too inclined to land a ship on. The nearest suitable landing spot (in a small ship) is over 2.3 km away - and at these surface temperatures, that's too far to make a return journey safely on foot. As such, driving an SRV is highly recommended.

However, one needn't drive or walk to the beacon, as they can scan it from above in their ship as well. This is the automated message that the beacon broadcasts:

Tourist Spot 0260

A rare Wolf-Rayet star within a glorious nebula is an amazing sight recommended by Commander A lot.

Note that the message is mistaken, the system was discovered by CMDR Alot.

The nebula and the Wolf-Rayet star give some pleasant views in the sky, and the gas giant is close enough to be well visible, although its rings are viewed from their edge. Neither of the two landable moons here have any geological or biological activity though.

It's not possible to get a good view of the planetary from other systems close by, as the nearest one is 47 ly away. At that distance, it's rather difficult to make out the cloud.

 
ID64 Address:1528890492
EDSM ID:2834375

EDSM Traffic Report

 Past Day: 
 Past Week: 
 Total: 

EDSM Estimated Value

 Scanned: 
 Mapped: 

Nearest Neighbors:

 POI Name  Distance  Rating   System 
[GMP] NGC 2818  0.01  N/A  Hen 2‑23 
[GMP] NGC 2792  906.64  N/A  CD‑41 4893 
Equatorial Jewels  1,228.77  4.18  Pru Thae BF‑C c27‑1 
[GMP] NGC 3293 Open Star C...  3,623.52  N/A  V405 Carinae 
[GMP] The Spiderweb  3,624.88  N/A  CPD‑57 3520 
[GMP] Gludge Planetary Nebula  3,651.50  N/A  Gludge IS‑T e3‑0 
[GMP] Eta Carinae  3,877.69  N/A  Eta Carinae 
[GMP] Trumpler 16 Cluster  3,932.39  N/A  Trumpler 16 HG 1462 

Carriers Last Seen in this System:

 Callsign   Name  Date 
JLW‑GKW  FLYINGBARANS  2024‑04‑14 18:23:25 
Messages for this POI:
None.
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