Editing Openai/6966dc77-ed58-8011-baae-ea32a8500057 (section)

===== ⏳ How Long to “Explore Every System” at Current Rates =====

People have tried to estimate how long it would take to chart all systems based on discovery rates and published data:

📌 If the current rate stays roughly constant:
* One analysis estimated it could take around ~150,000 years for players to collectively map the entire galaxy at about 17,500 new systems per day. TweakTown<ref>{{cite web|title=TweakTown|url=https://www.tweaktown.com/news/43174/galaxy-elite-dangerous-explored-over-150-000-years/index.html|publisher=tweaktown.com|access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref>
* Older estimates put similar numbers — e.g., ~56,000 years based on earlier exploration rates — although these vary with how many systems are actually logged. PC Gamer<ref>{{cite web|title=PC Gamer|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-players-have-only-explored-0003-percent-of-the-galaxy/|publisher=PC Gamer|access-date=2026-01-14}}</ref>

⚠️ Caveats
* Rates aren’t constant — as more of the nearby galaxy is explored, new discoveries become rarer and harder to find, meaning the rate could slow further with time.
* Many players don’t upload discoveries to public databases, so real exploration might be somewhat higher than reported — but not drastically so.
* “Exploration” in this sense refers to first discoveries (i.e., being the first to scan a system). Many players still visit systems already discovered by others.