The phenomenon emitted by the Eve gate has changed very recently and discussions over live comes proved fruitless, so my comrades from Brave Collective and I made the pilgrimage ourselves.
The Eve gate appears more turbulent than when I made my first pilgrimage. That was some months ago, shortly after receiving my license. Unfortunately, I did not think to take any pictures or sensor readings at the time. Tonight, I recorded what sensor data I could with my Legion’s systems as well as the photos above.
I can say with confidence that it is not a simple visual difference, as was being suggested by one in particular in Summit comms. Not only are the electromagnetic storms, radiation, and whatever else may be coming from the gate more pronounced on the visual spectrum, they are visually pulsing, as well, as if they have grown more intense or violent. My comrades commented on this as well, compared to their own past pilgrimages to the Eve gate.
If anyone has further data or insight to share, it would be much appreciated. I am very curious as to what’s causing these changes and in the absence of an explanation by any reputable group thus far, I hope that we may shed at least a bit of light on this with our combined knowledge.
Thank you for posting, Celeste! When Mlle. Qerl raised the idea the Gate had changed, I confess that I was suspicious she was looking for entertaining explosions. It seems like I am in the business of apologizing to her. I am glad you are more courageous than me, and took up the invitation to see for yourself. Your images are lovely!
One of my comrades is skilled in navigating wormhole routes, and found a path through the “Vidette” C13 wormhole from Querious to Central Point, so several of us took the opportunity after I asked.
It is just as breathtaking now to see the Eve gate, if not moreso, and I am even more in awe at the changes. I am honored to be the first one to share images of the changes, at least among our public circles. I simply hope the sense of foreboding I feel isn’t… I look forward to seeing the data and insights that others may have.
When I last saw the Gate on 121.09.04 I definitely recall it pulsing as well, so this is not new, but if the pulsing had decreased or disappeared for a while since my visit, perhaps there is a cyclical aspect to these changes.
Since these pictures appear to be taken closer to the Gate than the ones in the OP (as the New Eden star is not visible in mine) it makes it a bit harder to use them for accurate comparison, so I would welcome it if someone were to take new ones close to the Gate to rule out that distance is a factor in the visual differences.
My initial observation is that some aspects indeed seem more intense (the blue swirls) while others appear less intense (the orange center). In particular, I note that in the OP’s pics the stars in the background are more visible despite the New Eden star also shining into the lens.
Possibly these changes could also be caused by different camera settings.
We need more…let me find more…Ah.
A post dated June YC119 on Signal Cartel site, containing the pictures below, mentions “The new cluster-wide, universal cam-drone upgrade we all got last month has changed the appearance of the EVE Gate anomaly. It hasn’t really changed at all, and an unaugmented baseline meathead viewing it through a window would only ever see a blinding white mass of heavenly light. To us, the resolution and fidelity and dynamic range at which we capsuleers are allowed to perceive it, means it appears more alive and more deadly than ever. It looked relatively static under the old system, but now we see field lines and what look like hot gas shock fronts, and its apparent magnitude changes every few minutes like a variable star”
While I believe the Signal Cartel accounts with the difference in the video and dates of your photos, the size of the anomaly itself does not change between the updates, merely the level of detail.
While the star may not be visible in your photos, I can assure you it makes no difference. As you can see in mine, the Eve gate is so bright that the star of the New Eden system is tiny in comparison. I can assure you that the Eve gate was just as luminous no matter where we were in the system. Our photos were taken just off the observatories of the Servant Sisters of Eve.
We’re it simply a change in appearance, I might believe it were a firmware update. Such a change in magnitude and activity is not explainable by such a thing. Had I not visited myself not so long ago, I would have had trouble believing that it is as far away as it truly is, given it’s current appearance and activity.
The Sisters have been studying the Gate long enough to have seen much more of its cyclic processes than we have, so if they choose to say anything (it “could” happen), we might know if this present extent is worrisome or not.
Cyclical behavior would at least be a more satisfying mundane explanation than “drone engineers have nothing better to do with their time than slather new cosmetic effects onto a single object.” However, if drone engineers really are looking for cosmetic space candy, allow me to suggest adding our galactic core’s radio emissions to the lights we can suddenly see. This would give Caroline’s Nebula some company as a navigation aide.
I haven’t visited it since this “new development” started, but judging from and comparing these captures… To me it looks like nothing else has changed, but the amount of visible light it emits from the center has lessened in intensity, making all the other disturbances more visible than they were before.
I recently did some research into interstellar travelling and the linked article confirms cyclical behaviour:
In any case, the turbulence makes it extremely difficult to study the gate. Fortunately, the storms pulsate rhythmically, meaning that every other year or so they recede enough to allow closer scrutinizing.
