The Horsehead Nebula is the 26th Interstellar Object, the 9th Nebula and the 5th Diffuse obtained in The Beyond Bubble Universe, which can generate Stardust. (Unlocked at Rank 24, branching off of Orion Nebula)
In-Game Description[]
"A small, dark nebula, like the Horsehead, is a nursery bustling with star births. Here’s why: the cloud is super dense with grains that block the light behind it, and that dense matter can easily clump into protostars that form stars."
Traits[]
Common[]
- Stellar Nursery (Speed):
"From Earth, the horse’s head is visible by telescope near Orion's belt. But remove that equine silhouette—using an infrared lens—and the nebula’s bright, blue babies pop into view. This nursery has many stars in the process of birth."
- Sigma Orionis (Payout):
"This brightest light in the nebula is what lets us see it at all. A quintuple star system bathes the clouds in UV light. Sigma Orionis A and B are an orbiting pair of blue main sequence stars; C, D, and E will one day venture off as solo stars."
Rare[]
- Cosmic Dust (Payout):
"Cosmic dust goes everywhere: It’s in interstellar space, between galaxies and stars and planets, orbiting bodies, and even falling to Earth as meteoroids. The particles can be organic or inorganic matter, and most of them are extremely tiny—a few molecules or so."
Epic[]
- Cosmology (Speed):
"The scientific study of the universe asks the very biggest questions. How did it form? What came before? How does it work? Is it infinite? Will it die? All the pieces we observe—comets, moons, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, and even voids—provide some answers."
- Dark Matter (Payout):
"Dark matter acts like a superhero. It’s everywhere in space and yet invisible. Its gravity distorts huge objects that we can see. It can even buttress a dwarf galaxy against annihilation by a giant one. The duo of dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of the universe."
- Dark Energy (Discount):
"Little is known about dark energy, except that it’s repulsive. Opposing gravity, this strange force causes matter to scatter rather than attract, pushing our universe to expand faster and faster. Dark energy makes up 68% of the universe’s mass-energy density."
Constellations[]
- Eridanus (1.5x Speed):
"Eridanus, The River, is the longest constellation in the sky. It starts near Rigel and twists and turns all the way to its brightest star, Achernar (“River’s End” in Arabic). It was named after Eridu, an early Sumerian city in the marshes of what is now southern Iraq."
- Perseus (2x Speed):
"With his pointy head and boxy chest, Greek hero Perseus stands by Andromeda, his wife. In mid-August, during Earth’s annual whoosh through the dust of comet Swift-Tuttle, gaze their way at the Perseid meteor shower. It’s visible worldwide but flashiest in the north."
- Serpens (1.5x Speed):
"The long belly of the Serpent is hidden by the grasping hands and body of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer. Only its tail (left) and V-shaped head emerge, marked by a triangle of bright stars. The Eagle Nebula, visible with a small telescope, nests in the tail."
Achievements[]
- Pistol Nebula (Rank 3):
"The Pistol Nebula features a young, blue hypergiant much hotter and more luminous than the red hypergiant VY Canis Major. Pistol Star shines so brightly that, despite being near the center of the Milky Way, it would be visible to our eyes if dust weren’t in the way."
- Star Stuff (Rank 6):
"Astronomer Carl Sagan said, “We are made of starstuff.” Seven octillion atoms in your body form 60 elements that were fused in the bellies of stars that died and recycled in nurseries like the Horsehead. At each rebirth, the chemical stew grows richer."
