Gorf wrote:Oh, and try to avoid exploring with alcohol in your system, and don't try to watch youtube and scoop at the same time...
Chortle.
I did that last night. Explored NGC 6530 after having three really strong cocktails. There are a lot of black holes and neutron stars in that cluster. I got pulled out of supercruise three times, and took heat damage twice. Got some good video, though...
I'll add one more thing for the OP: Don't get too caught up with having to have any particular ship. The best explorer ship for you is the ship you can take out exploring. I've done short range scouting in a Sidewinder and an Eagle and made money doing it. The Eagle isn't the best scout (very limited internal compartments and a tiny fuel tank), but it was a really fun experience and it taught me a lot about fuel scooping. Mainly because I had to scoop 250 times in a 2000 light year round trip.
I'm currently exploring in a Cobra Mk III. It's a fantastic long range explorer, at a cost of under 5 million equipped. People have taken Sidewinders and Eagles to the galactic core and back.
Here are four solid explorer loadouts, all but one under 3 million (and most of that cost is in the sensor package):