A couple of noob questions! (Civilian mines, first contact, research)

[Tokeli (OP)]

Hi errybody! I've got a few completely random questions to ask here!

1, my civilians have made a civilian colony on a comet that doesn't support any population, and have dumped a mine on it.  Will they put an automine there eventually, or do I need to help the idiots along?

2, I made first contact 5 years in after exploring Alpha Centauri, which had some wrecks.  I found a hostile race with ships the same size as mine, yet horrifyingly advanced- 4x faster, 10x further sensors, 2x faster missiles.  My ships didn't even have a chance to reverse course before they were all vaporized- by missiles so fast they didn't even show up on the sensors half the time.

So, how much time should I just spend building up my technology before I begin to explore the very mean galaxy, with the assurance that I won't get suckerpunched with my first peek outside? And, along those lines, what's some good technologies to research to speed this process up?

And 3rd. . .  What is -your- process of starting a new game? (A trans-newtonian one, not a conventional one, since I imagine they're pretty different!)

[Nightstar]

Civilian mining complexes are the equivalent of ten automines each. They don't need help. You can tax them or buy the output.

Practically no length of building up will prepare you to go toe to toe with the nastiest aliens. The good thing is that they don't have a whole lot of ships or missiles. If you can live through their barrage, you can probably win.

Um, I research engines, send out disposable scouts, prepare to killing anything that comes into sol, and I don't worry too much about the outside.