I never got very far in Elite when I was younger, probably because I could never actually figure out how to travel between systems. You not only have to figure out how to use the Hyperspace drive, but also how to use the Jump drive and how to locate the space station once you reach your destination.
I figured all of this out, except how to reach the space station. The one thing I never realised until years later is that the circular indicator at the bottom right shows the direction to the space station!
I wonder if this was all made non-obvious deliberately as a form of copy protection mechanism.