Hey Speedy.
Exactly as you point out, i was sure myself that those 2 things IS not the same, and what the quest tells me to do, is the one with the "telescope".
But as far as the quest goes, i think that i have had quests before telling me to "scout" the sectors, either that or i have scouted one my self, hence not being able to complete this quest at the moment, since i cant scout anything anymore.
So my only further question in this is, if i get new sectors when i have taken over the "starter" sectors we get. Because then i would be able to complete the quest and move on. But apart from that, my other quest is to conquer the "last" sector i have open for now, so maybe when i do that it will all come back on track.