Much of the time is spent replenishing ship fuel, choosing the next navigation destination, or in transit to the next system. Time mostly spent in proximity to the main star, and dealing with the brightness of tonnes of hydrogen fusing energetically every second. A brilliant glare that forces the canopy to dim and conceal beauty.
The journey so far has taken me out of the galactic plane and closer to the edge. Only a few hundred light years mind, but there seems to be a sweet spot at around half way towards the centre of the galaxy. A sweet spot where the intense glow of tightly packed stars is still ahead, and the dim sparse light of edge of the galaxy lie far behind.
Speeding out of the suns corona causes the brightness filters lift and clear, revealing the waterfall of stars cascading off the edge of the galaxy.
Looking up and across the centre of the galactic plane obscures the detail, and leaves a familiar darkness that is only punctured by a few close stars. Looking down I can see the broad smudge of stars ahead that are at the edge of the bright core of the galaxy.
The waterfall curtain will part and surround me on travelling further forward, but for now their subtle illumination of the night sky is a beautiful sight for this explorer.
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