Questions tagged [stars]
For questions about luminous spheres of plasma held together by their own gravity, generally comprised primarily of hydrogen and helium.
258
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7answers
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What elements would be created in a star composed entirely of gold?
I'm working with the idea of creating a sun made out of pure gold. Of course, this would be completely man-made. Why would anyone want to do this? Because I want a cool concept like that in my story! :...
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2answers
57 views
Can an Unstable Ternary Star System Last Several Hundred Years?
After reading the following question, I know that there are not that many solutions to the 3-body problem, and I know that a ternary system is unstable. The 3 stars all orbit each other in a rotating ...
8
votes
1answer
97 views
What color would plants orbiting a white dwarf have?
So, let's say there's a white dwarf star that has recently been born (by recently, let's say about 3 million years ago) Now around that time, a rogue planet, about the same size and mass as earth, ...
56
votes
12answers
12k views
If every star in the universe except the Sun were destroyed, would we die?
If every star and planetary system and blackhole—all mass (not sure whether to include dark matter or not) except what directly makes up our solar system—in the Universe except the Sun were wiped from ...
3
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4answers
191 views
Can a planet orbit two stars, the first sun being like Earth's Sun, the second and larger star only visible from the planet around the horizon?
My planet orbits two suns. The orbit of the first sun is similar to Earths orbit around our sun. The orbit around the second sun however makes it appears only around the horizon. Is this possible?
2
votes
2answers
71 views
How is the visual luminosity of a star calculated?
My idea is a planet that orbits a red dwarf at a distance in which the apparent magnitude of this seen from the planet is the same as that of the sun seen from Earth. Does this mean that the daylight ...
4
votes
1answer
44 views
A Stable Red Giant Trinary System
In an alternate universe, we have a spot in the Orion Arm where we have nine Earth-like planets orbiting three red giants. Judging from the size and luminosity of each star, it's been conferred that ...
19
votes
7answers
5k views
A continuous water “planet” ring around a star
It is impossible to have a continuous mostly liquid water ring around a star?
Probably such a configuration would be unstable under normal planetary forming condition. I am looking for a good ...
3
votes
3answers
180 views
Which Stars Would Best Suit For the Habitable Zone of The Nine Norse Earths?
In an alternate universe, the nine realms of Norse mythology--Midgard, Asgard, Vanaheimr, Jotunheimr, Alfheimr, Hel, Nidavellir, Niflheim and Museplheim--are actual, real-life "Earths", in the sense ...
9
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5answers
380 views
What sort of solar system / atmospheric conditions, if any, would allow for a very cold planet that still receives plenty of light from its sun?
The setting I'm interested in would involve a cold planet (cold enough for most bodies of water to be frozen - I'm thinking of an average global temperature of -20C or below). The simplest way would ...
7
votes
2answers
219 views
Life around Cepheid Variable stars
Are there any unique challenges life would face evolving on a planet orbiting a Cepheid Variable star? I'm aware this is a broad question, so to narrow it down, consider this a question about Great ...
48
votes
20answers
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Killing a star safely
A messenger from the stars just arrived in peace but has brought horrible news.
A vast swarm of planet devouring phototropic insects are approaching from deep space and our only hope is to obscure or ...
5
votes
3answers
265 views
Can you prevent a star from dying with infinite energy?
In my story, an advanced alien civilization that can travel to other universes has created an infinite energy source, named "an amvelian core". This core resembles a small sphere in appearance (about ...
1
vote
3answers
204 views
In Search of a Super-Bright, Super-Stable Star
Long ago, I asked a question on how to make possible turning the nine realms of Norse mythology--Midgard, Asgard, Vanaheimr, Jotunheimr, Alfheimr, Hel, Nidavellir, Niflheim and Museplheim--into nine ...
9
votes
2answers
436 views
What is the theoretical maximum number of habitable planets in one solar system?
In the DC comic book universe, the Vega System is a solar system around the star Vega (Alpha Lyrae), which is depicted as having dozens of habitable planets. While it seems to be an implausibly large ...
2
votes
0answers
175 views
Can a system of 10 planets be stable if star is not on the main sequence?
My star is 2.17 Solar masses. For narrative purposes, I decided this so it will collapse in the theoretical Quark star. Could such a big star that isn't on the main sequence (Because it is class A, ...
3
votes
1answer
104 views
How Far Can The Stars Ve and Vili Orbit The Main One, Odin?
In this solar system, there are three K-type main sequence stars, or "orange dwarves", named Odin, Vili and Ve. At the center of this solar system, Odin is 80% the mass of our sun. The middle star, ...
5
votes
1answer
165 views
How might star formation work in a universe similar to the one described in the orthogonal series?
In our universe, in order for a cloud of gas to collapse into a star it needs to release heat energy in the form of radiation, so that it can cool down enough to collapse into a star.
I read what ...
15
votes
3answers
1k views
Hiding a solar system in a nebula
I have a planetary system with a yellow dwarf similar to our own Sun and three habitable planets. I want to hide this system from sight and long range scans in a nebula, a giant cloud of dust and gas ...
6
votes
2answers
402 views
How would our skies look if our sun was a white dwarf instead?
What I'm using your information for:
My planet is small, has a thicker atmosphere than earth and it's orbiting a white dwarf. The main reason I chose it to be a white dwarf is that I read somewhere ...
6
votes
1answer
213 views
What would be the effects on a planet orbiting a shedding red giant?
In a sci-fi RPG I eventually intend to run for a couple of friends, I had the idea of them visiting ancient ruins on a planet orbiting a shedding red giant.
Now, ignoring the problem of intelligent ...
47
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0answers
2k views
How soon can the first stars form?
Introduction
In our universe, the cosmic microwave background was formed approximately 400,000 years after the Big Bang. It was hot, but within a few million years after the Big Bang, it would no ...
8
votes
5answers
829 views
Can you make a star from other gases, and how long would they last?
In my Conworld, the inhabitants have discovered a type of star they cannot identify. I would like it to be a star made not from just hydrogen and helium, like our sun and countless others. But my ...
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Plausibility of “diamond”-like crystal and/or mineral substances forming on a planet orbiting a dwarf star
Alright, so the primary inspiration for this is 55 Cancri e, the speculated carbon "diamond world" and to a degree, Nkllon, a planet in Star Wars that is essentially what Cancri is, but "confirmed" to ...
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votes
8answers
6k views
How much damage would a cupful of neutron star matter do to the Earth?
Suppose we used SCP-261, the vending machine that produces anything, and ask for a cup of neutron star. The machine instantaneously produces this.
Suppose also that the vending machine is located at ...
7
votes
1answer
100 views
Visibility of a Red Dwarf Companion Star
An interstellar traveller stands upon the surface of an alien planet beneath the light of an unfamiliar sun. The planet upon which he stands orbits one star of a binary system in which one is a G-...
4
votes
3answers
271 views
Use bomb to detonate a white dwarf?
Suppose there is a Sirius A based alien civilization, but their planet is heavily defended, so direct attack is useless. Could we use some kind of weapon to detonate the Sirius B and cause a disaster ...
3
votes
5answers
288 views
How can this habitable planet have a moon with a naturally occurring atmosphere?
Assuming the planet is earth-like, with more surface water and atmospheric oxygen, and within the habitable zone of a sun-like star, how can a moon orbiting this planet retain a thick atmosphere?
The ...
6
votes
1answer
101 views
Effects of Red Dwarf CME (Flare) on Biological Life and Atmosphere
I have a planet circling an M-Class star (M3/M4). I'm trying to figure out what the effects of flaring on the planet's biosphere might be.
Background: As some of you may know, M-class stars are ...
1
vote
1answer
130 views
Longest possible eclipse in double star system
I have a planetary system that consists of two close stars:
A Sun-like star - small but bright
A much larger, but much darker star (about 5-10 times larger)
A habitable planet orbiting both of the ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the Habitable Zone of a Red Dwarf star?
This question is pretty straightforward:
What is the minimum and maximum distance for a planet to be in the habitable zone of an average sized (not biggest, not smallest) Red Dwarf star?
8
votes
5answers
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Distance between star systems
I'm writing a story that will eventually escalate from being focused on one planet to the entire star system that planet belongs to, and finally to a big story involving the two nearest star systems ...
6
votes
2answers
309 views
Planet Orbiting a Red Dwarf
I'm trying to create my planet orbiting a red dwarf, honestly I've thought other scenarios but it's like every answer opens new questions. I'll just say what I want my planet to be and I'd like your ...
8
votes
2answers
188 views
Can I arrange my stars in a tetrahedron?
Inspired by this question:
Consider a trinary star system, in which the three stars are arranged in an xy plane and all revolving the same direction, equidistant from each other. The inward pull of ...
5
votes
1answer
172 views
Explaining a Low-Mass Brown Dwarf
Considering the well-established relationships between stellar mass, surface temp, and luminosity, how unusual would it be to find a star (or brown dwarf) that possesses about half the mass of an ...
17
votes
7answers
6k views
Is a solar system around a black hole possible?
Is it possible for there to be a "solar system" of sorts with a black hole and a few suns orbiting around it?
Could that system be stable and (if so) would it be possible for some civilization(s) to ...
6
votes
1answer
157 views
How close from Earth could a wandering flare red dwarf star be without causing havoc?
Rewriting the question to clarify:
The time and location is now in our current Earth. A wandering red dwarf flare star (like Wolf 359) is moving towards our Solar System.
The question: How close could ...
4
votes
4answers
302 views
Purple plants on a planet orbiting a green star?
Before I continue, yes, green stars don't really exist visually. Although stars like the Sun are green stars, they appear white (and are known as yellow dwarfs) because it doesn't only emit green ...
8
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the minimum size for the Sun?
How small could our Sun be and still "burn" with nuclear fusion and emit the same spectrum of light and other radiation as the real Sun does?
Edit:
The goal is to have a small sun inside a huge ...
6
votes
3answers
188 views
How to navigate a ringed planet at night?
I'm working on a story set in an Earth-like world but with rings (say, proportionately similar to Saturn's). I'm trying to get a solid handle on how these rings would affect the sky. For the ...
3
votes
1answer
123 views
Could this moon of a gas giant orbiting a neutron star support life?
Making the following assumptions:
1. The three moons of the Gas Giant are safe enough distances from and massive enough not to pull each other apart or send themselves careening into the void.
2. ...
10
votes
6answers
772 views
Can a collision with a neutron star make a planet via the can-o-snakes method?
Simplistically, a neutron star is a celestial body with enormous mass crushed into a small volume. That crushing force is gravity and the result, one might think, is atoms packed much more closely ...
25
votes
14answers
8k views
How do you non-catastrophically reduce the mass of the Sun by half?
In my previous question, I asked how much mass the Sun would have to lose in order for Saturn's orbital velocity to be its escape velocity.
The answer proved to be somewhat unexpected - when the Sun ...
4
votes
4answers
222 views
How would an advanced alien race go about preventing their sun from dying?
I'm currently designing an advanced alien race that has found a way to prevent its host star from dying. But I'm not sure how exactly would that happen.
So my question is, "How could you prevent the ...
8
votes
2answers
324 views
Would it be possible to create an artificial iron star?
I ran a quick calculation, and the mass of iron required to form a black hole is on the order of 10^40kg. So, suppose that in my story there is this almost much iron available to somehow be brought ...
10
votes
1answer
134 views
Increased Luminosity in Stars
I'm trying to construct a solar system, and I'm toying with the idea that the planet capable of sustaining life was initially outside of the habitable zone, but the star's advanced age has caused the ...
4
votes
1answer
238 views
Would this simplex ternary system be stable?
I'm trying to make a trinary star system but I'm not sure how it would work. The primary star is an M0Ve star (red dwarf flare star). The orbits of the other two stars are slightly more complicated. ...
19
votes
6answers
520 views
Can my spaceship figure out its position using Cepheid Variables?
In my story, reasonably far in the future, an intrepid group of explorers are on the first manned mission to the Andromeda galaxy, travelling close to the speed of light. They slumbered in suspended ...
7
votes
1answer
349 views
A self-eclipsing orbital ring
A common, matter-efficient science-fiction habitat is a hollow cylinder or ring in space that is spun to simulate the pull of gravity on its interior surface. These habitats have been imagined as ...
10
votes
3answers
417 views
How can the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram be used in star building?
As you can probably guess from the title, I have some questions about the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, especially how to use it to make plausible stars.
Some questions:
Can stars exist in the black ...
