It was 8 jumps to today's first target, just above Horsehead.

While flying past a star and fuel scooping on the move I noticed that my scoop maxed out at 376/s.

I soon reached my first target and plotted a course to the next, just two jumps away.

I was now at Messier 78 Sector RD-T c3-8, the closest unlocked system to the nebula (as far as I can tell).

Horsehead Nebula
Colours: 6, nice orange and fairly unique dark areas mixed in
Size: 7
Prominence: 6, blends into Barnard's Loop from some angles but the dark areas help it stand out
Accessibility: -1, I'm giving it a negative because of the permit lock zone making getting here difficult
Total: 18/32

From here I plotted a route to HD 37397, another 2 jump trip.

It was a nice class B binary system with a black hole in the middle. There was two fleet carrier but both had all services disabled. The first one I stopped at denied my landing request but I was able to land at the "R.S.V Jeanne D'Arc".

I approached the black hole which was incredibly close to one of the stars. I couldn't see it very well so I assumed it must be very small but if I got closer I would be able to see its gravitational lensing on the star. I soon got within several hundred kms and slowed to minimal speed. I dropped into the exclusion zone before I realised what was happening. I slowed to all stop and looked around, I could see the very severe gravitational lensing behind me. As I left the EZ I built up lots of heat while charging my fsd, I escaped unharmed though.

I now had a choice. There is an expedition to visit the stars in the Orion constellation that will depart from the bubble on April 5th named Man in the Sky (MitS). I could either join the expedition or continue with the nebula tour by heading towards the California Nebula. Although I could easily do the MitS trip myself it might be a good opportunity to meet some of my fellow explorers in the community. Another problem was that I played on the legacy version of the galaxy while most of the others seemed to be on the live version, the fleet carrier accompanying the expedition would not be available for me.

I decided to leave my decision for another day and instead head out towards what appeared to be another telescope error. I was aiming for HD 245203, a B class star that glowed on the map (usually an indicator of something interesting). It was 24 jumps away.

In HD 245203 there was a class B star, two brown dwarves, two class K stars and and helium rich gas giant.

I hopped over to Lam01 Orionis just 14Ly away. This one had an O class main star orbited by a black hole, a metal rich body, 2 class M stars (one with a HMCW), a class K star with a HMCW, a class B and G orbiting together and a class A orbited by a class T.

I then headed towards HIP 26294. This would bring me into the Sanguineous Rim region. It the codex apparently doesn't consider this part of Sanguineous Rim as the codex entry for B class star didn't appear, probably because it's right on the border.

I went to TYC 705-795-1 further in Sanguineous Rim. I added the M and L class star entries on the way over and the B class star once I got there.

I decided that this was enough for today and left the decisions and planning for next session.

In this session I continue my goal of navigating around the Horsehead permit lock region.

I soon arrived in HD 41253 which signals my turn downwards towards the Orion Dark Region.

The system itself was quite interesting due to its two class B stars, two class M dwarves, 4 brown dwarves and class IV and V gas giants.

I was coming in to land on a planet orbiting very close to the massive main star when my connection unexpectedly cut out causing my controller to vibrate and bringing up an error screen. I had a momentary jolt of panic, thinking that I had misjudged the distance and somehow crashed but soon I realised it was just an error and reconnected to the game just fine.
I had to go back to the planet and attempt another landing however I was a bit frustrated when the connection error occured again shortly after entering orbital cruise.
Third time's the charm, this time I successfully landed and got great views of the star.

I eventually decided to move on to my next target, the Orion Dark Region. 9 jumps away.

The dark region was a dark, dusty patch, not much to see.

My targets for next session would be:
Messier 78 Sector TO-R c4-3 overlooking Horsehead,
Messier 78 Sector RD-T c3-8 which appeared to be the closest unlocked system,
And HD 37397 a B class star with a good view into the nebula.

Begin Part 2 of 2.
This entry is a continuation of part 23.

From where I was in the centre of the unfortunately obscured Flame Nebula I would go to Trapezium Sector WY-A c4 in the middle of Barnard's Loop.

From there navigation to the Horsehead would be difficult due to Col 70 sector and Horsehead Dark Region both being entirely permit locked. To circumvent this I would go above Barnard's Loop to HD 41253 in Col 69 sector (nice) and from there back down towards the Orion Dark Region and Messier 78 sector. As far I can tell Messier 78 Sector RD-T c3-9 is the closest unlocked system to Horsehead.

I got a pretty good view of Horsehead from Barnard's Loop but while I'm out here I may as well get as close as possible even if it meant going to long way around

Barnard's Loop
Colours: 5, all the same colour but a nice vibrant red
Size: 10
Prominence: 11, bonus point got being so iconic and visible from the bubble
Accessibility: 2
Total: 28/32, one of the top of all time due to its size and prominence.

My pilgrimage to Barnard's Loop was complete, truly one of the great pilgrimages elite dangerous explorers must take and with it being so close to the bubble and with a variety of inhabited systems along the way I recommend it to anyone, explorer or not.

I soon realised that Horsehead Dark Region and Col 70 extended further over Barnard's Loop than I originally anticipated and that to get over them I would have to backtrack towards Orion then up to Messier 78 and from there I could get to Col 69 then on to HD 41253 and beyond. It was a long route around but I was up to it.

When I got up close Messier 78 appeared as large in the sky as Barnard's Loop, an amazing sight. From where I was at in Trapezium Sector CB-W v2-3 I could also see the Orion and Running Man Nebulae.

Messier 78
Colours: 6
Size: 4
Prominence: 5
Accessibility: 1, the system I was in is debatably on the edge of the nebula
Total: 16/32

From here using a combination of manual and automatic route plotting I made a route to bring me into Col 69.

Along the route I was surprised by a close orbiting Class F and double Class G triple star system. I stopped for a few pictures on a HMCW where I could see two of the stars.

I plotted the final part of my route to HD 41253 above Barnard's Loop where I would begin my descent towards Horsehead. I decided to leave that until the next day. From Horsehead I could head towards NGC 1333 and the California Nebula then back to the bubble.

Orion Nebula
Colours: 8, an interesting mix of orange and darker colours
Size: 6
Prominence: 4, unfortunately dwarfed by Barnard's Loop
Accessibility: 2
Station Bonus: 5
Total: 25/32

I decided to take a quick hop over to V2007 Orionis to get a better look at the Running Man Nebula.

In the Orion Nebula Tourist Centre I had obtained a new 6E fuel scoop. I swapped out my previous cargo rack for a 3E one since I don't carry cargo. The new scoop was twice as fast which combined with my previous power plant upgrade (and subsequent better heat efficiency) back in Witches Head meant my scooping capacity was now quadrupled from when I started this journey back in Feustel Gateway.

Running Man Nebula
Colours: 6
Size: 5
Prominence: 4
Accessibility: 2
Total: 17/32

I plotted a course to Orion Sector VT-A c9 as it would provide a good view of the entire Flame Nebula and allow access to a variety of systems within the nebula.

It appears that being this close to all these nebulae was having an effect on load times as I had been spending longer in hyperspace since I began my approach to Orion Nebula.

I tried out my new fuel scoop and got up to 330/s at only 64% heat, amazing.

From my destination the flame nebula wasn't even visible, Barnard's Loop was just too large. I got closer to the nebula.

I was now right outside the nebula but all it looked like was a dark patch on the centre of Barnard's Loop. Even from within I could barely see the orange parts.

Flame Nebula
Colours: 3, oranges mix into Barnard's Loop leaving just the dark patch
Size: 5
Prominence: 2, almost entirely obscured by Barnard's Loop
Accessibility: 2
Total: 12/32, very poor for a full size nebula

I have decided to split this entry in two due to the large amount of content.
End part 1 of 2.

I departed from Spirograph and within only a few jumps (across some uninteresting systems I didn't bother stopping at) I was in the NGC 1999 nebula.

NGC 1999 Nebula
Colours: 4
Size: 1
Prominence: 2
Accessibility: 2
Total: 9/32

The colours were about the same as Sadr. I prefer the blues and greens to the reds but maybe that's just because I'm colourblind and all the reds looks kinda brown to me.

I stopped at the "Fiery Sky" tourist beacon and went for a little excursion in my SRV. The terrain was quite rough and the gravity low so my SRV got a bit battered but it was all fine in the end.

I swiftly continued on towards the Orion Nebula and after another relatively short time I arrived. Barnard's Loop and the Orion Nebula merged together to take up a large portion of the skybox as I entered the area that appears to be a telescope error that caused a massive line of red dwarf stars to pierce through the nebula and point back to earth.

I docked at the Orion Nebula Tourist Centre and decided to leave any rating or route plotting until next time.

Before I do anything else I will rate the Witches Head Nebula so I don't forget:

Witches Head Nebula
Colours: 6, same type of nebula as Iris
Size: 6
Prominence: 7
Accessibility: 2
Station Bonus: 5 Total: 26/32

One of the highest rankings, if not the highest.
After this I marked the locations of the Spirograph and NGC 1999 planetary nebulae, my next targets.

It was 223Ly to BD+12 1172, an O class system at the centre of the Spirograph. 21 jumps.

I departed from Onoros where I had previously bought a heatsink launcher, just in case.

I decided to take a quick diversion to look at a planet near it's A class star. It was one of my fastest planetary landings ever except for the last part where the landing gear just wouldn't register that I was on the ground.

BD+12 1172 was an amazing system with its Class O main star, class M dwarf, multiple brown dwarves, class III gas giants, ringed HMCWs and three notable stellar phenomena (my first accidentally encountered NSPs). There was also a Nautilus class carrier named "V.P.I Circus Maximus" owned by CMDR Tomuc of the Sodalitas Universal squadron. While it didn't have any services enabled it was still nice to dock and set my respawn point here.

The first NSP was a group of flavium metallic crystals in the ring system of a HMCW, it was very beautiful with the blue white star, HMCW, crystals, ring and cyan background of the nebula.
Thw second NSP was in the rings of a class III gas giant and had rubeum metallic crystals and plenty of solid mineral spheres.
I was quite surprised to find a Sanchez class science vessel at the third NSP. Further scanning revealed it to have a designation of CEC-1018, it apparently remained in this system at all times, jumping around between different points as evidenced by the flight plan. The NSP itself had lattice mineral spheres and rubeum metallic crystals.

I decided to take a break here and I would return to go on towards NGC 1999 later.

Before I go, a rating of the Spirograph Nebula:
Colours: 10, I love the cyan
Size: 1
Prominence: 2
Accessibility: 2
Cool features bonus: 5, for the NSPs and other cool features
Total: 15/32, this is one of my personal favourites but due to it being a planetary nebula it ranked low in size and prominence giving it a lower overall score.

As I was plotting my route to Witches Head from T Tauri I noticed a shiny blue star on the map. Upon investigation I found that it was an O class star named Mintaka. Since it was close to my route I decided to stop by.

307Ly, 19 jumps to Mintaka.

I soon got distracted some bio signals and stopped, just more bark mounds although I did get some nice images from the twilight zone of this tidally locked planet.

I noticed that there was a lot of bio signals out here, even more common that geo signals. This was strange because I only encountered a handful of bio signals while on my route prior to this.

While fuel scooping I watched the rooks (a species of crow and the namesake of my ship) outside my window swoop, dive and even roll through the air.

Mintaka had a spectacular blue giant star that bathed everything in a blue light. It also had a black hole, class V gas giant and a few brown dwarves. There was a HMCW orbiting the black hole, a tourist beacon, a ringed landable HMCW and two other HMCWs.

The tourist beacon "Blue Light" was on the planets surface so I decided not to stop by as I'd rather not spend the time on a high G planetary landing.

After briefly stopping off at the black hole I changed my mind and decided to land at the tourist beacon. The tourist beacon was hovering over the dark side so I went around to front after scanning it and cautiously landed there. I got some very nice views of the ring and the star.

I decided to take a quick break here before heading on towards witches head.

After my break I selected an orange giant star named HR 1874 nearby to go to. This would be my third giant encountered this session (including a red giant that was along my route and Mintaka A).

Ronemar, an inhabited system that seemed to provide a good view of witches head nebula, was 241Ly away, 20 jumps.

Aftet getting there I took in the views then ended today's session. Next time I will rate the nebula and then proceed on towards the Running Man Nebula.

Coalsack Nebula
Colours: 0, too dark, no colours
Size: 8
Prominence: 5, very dark, blends in
Accessibility: 2
Station bonus: 5
Total: 20/32

Helix Nebula:
Colours: 7, nice but a bit faint
Size:1
Prominence:3, fairly prominent by planetary nebula standards.
Accessibility: 0
Total: 11/32

Dumbbell Nebula:
Colours: 3, not very colourful
Size: 1
Prominence: 2
Accessibility: 2
Total: 8/32

Veil West Nebula
Colours: 10, very nice blues and reds
Size: 5
Prominence: 7, stands out quite well and is distinctive Accessibility: 1
Total: 23/32

Sadr Nebula
Colours: 4
Size: 6
Prominence: 6
Accessibility: 2
Station bonus: 5
Total: 23/32

Veil East Nebula
Colours: 6
Size: 6
Prominence: 6
Accessibility: 2
Total: 20/32

Pelican & North America Nebulae
These two are rated together since they are so close.
Colours: 6
Size: 8
Prominence: 8
Accessibility: 2
Total: 24/32

Iris Nebula
Colours: 6
Size: 5
Prominence: 4
Accessibility: 1
Station bonus: 5
Total: 21/32

LBN 623
Colours: 7, nice pink, not many pink nebulae
Size: 5
Prominence: 5
Accessibility: 1
Total: 18/32

Pleiades Nebula
Colours: 6, very faint but nice
Size: 6
Prominence: 5
Accessibility: 2
Station bonus: 5
Total: 24/32

Ranking
Pelican&North America, Pleiades (24)
Veil West, Sadr (23)
Iris (21)
Coalsack, Veil East (20)
LBN 623 (18)
Hind (15)
Helix (11)
Dumbbell (8)

This log entry covers 2 sessions

Session 1: I marked the locations of a few anomalies of varying types across the galaxy. Of particular note was a cluster of K type anomalies and an E type anomaly in the Wepaa BA-A g sector of Odin's Hold. All of these systems had black holes as the primary celestial body. There was also a few anomalies relatively close together near Sagittarius A. The anomalies near Sagittarius A can be visited when going to visit the galactic centre however I believe Wepaa sector deserves its own expedition due to the quantity of anomalies there. Or maybe I will pass through Odin's Hold on the way to Beagle Point.

After this I visited rubicundum and roseum lagrange clouds in a nearby system. I found red metallic crystals and solid mineral spheres again but got some more codex vouchers for them. I didn't have much time left this evening so I left it there to continue tomorrow.

Session 2: I visited a viride and a roseum lagrange cloud in one system then decided to head straight to T Tauri at the centre of the Hind Nebula. I was leaving behind three Lagrange cloud systems but to reach them I would have to go upwards them back down, lengthening my journey. I decided to skip them and head straight for Hind then onto Witches Head then onto Barnard's Loop.

I soon arrived in T Tauri and docked at Hind Mine, an asteroid base in a gas giants ring system owned by Azimuth Biotech. I redeemed 115,000c of codex vouchers from all the lagrange clouds, crystals and mineral spheres.

While here I devised a nebula rating system. It used the following categories: colours, size (how large the nebula itself is), prominence (how visible is it from the surrounding area), accessibility (can you get into or near the nebula). Colours, size and prominence are marked out of 10 while accessibility is marked out of 2; not accessible is 0, access to the edge/just outside is 1, able to get fully inside the nebula is 2. This means a nebula is marked out of 32. I've also decided to give any nebula with a station or permanent DSSA carrier a +5 bonus.

The Hind Nebula:

Colours: 6, nice oranges.

Size: 1, all planetary nebulae are small and thus consigned to getting 1 here.

Prominence: 1, not very prominent even by planetary nebula standards.

Accessibility: 2

Station bonus: 5

Total: 15/32

I will make ratings for the other nebulae on this route on another entry.

After some consideration I decided to go to the Pleiades. I'd read that it was safe as long as you don't poke the Thargoids. It shouldn't be any more dangerous than the Coalsack has been.

I plotted a course to Asterope, 145Ly away, only 8 jumps.

In Asterope I took a courier mission to Merope but first I went to Delphi in hopes of getting some better modules since it is a high tech system.

I got a new power plant in the Oracle in Delphi and did some minor upgrades to a few other modules.

After a stopping in Merope to complete the courier mission I set a course for Struve's Lost Nebula.

I soon arrived and found this nebula to be quite similar to the Helix Nebula: has a cool name, is not accessible, is very small, quite underwhelming.

After this I visited rubicundum and croceum Lagrange clouds in one system then roseum in another.

I was then en route to another Lagrange cloud system when I noticed a system with 2 bio signals and multiple geo signals. Both bio signals had bark mounds and one geo signal had water ice fumaroles. I haven't finished looking at the geo signals yet but I have decided to take a break and come back later to look at the others then continue on to the next lagrange clouds.