Questions tagged [stars]

For questions about luminous spheres of plasma held together by their own gravity, generally comprised primarily of hydrogen and helium.

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The rotation of the sun's core doubles in speed every 10 years. How many years before the situation turns apocalyptical?

So I'm asking this because I'm writing a fictional story where I need a doomsday scenario that means humanity must escape the earth. The timeframe that would fit the plot of the story would be in the ...
ElectronicToothpick's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
66 views

Necessary distance for an ammonia world from Toliman

I am designing a planet that orbits the star Toliman, (Alpha Centauri B), which orbits well beyond the conventional Goldilocks zone. This planet has a similar radius to earth (6240 km) but its mass is ...
user98816's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
177 views

A calendar/timekeeping system based only on the stars?

I'm playing with an otherwise earthlike world where I have handwaved away the visible sun and moon: anytime you look at a cloudless sky, you see stars, and only stars. How can the people of this world ...
RLoopy's user avatar
  • 1,000
0 votes
1 answer
88 views

F type and K type Star Binary

I'm designing a worldbuilding project and the first major hurdle I'm encountering is the star(s) I want to have. The primary star is an F9V - F8V star with a mass of 1.13 - 1.15 Solar Masses, a radius ...
Dono's user avatar
  • 205
3 votes
2 answers
74 views

How far apart ought my type-S binary stars be if each is to host a stable planetary system?

Consider a G-class star (0.9457 Msol) as the primary and a M-class dwarf star (0.4335 Msol) as the secondary. If I want a stable planetary system around each (particularly the G-class), then how many ...
Ylahris's user avatar
  • 487
3 votes
1 answer
179 views

Could a sky be green(day)->purple(dusk)->black(night) and still be breathable?

similar requirements but green. The reason this doesn’t answer my question is because I’d rather not have aeroplankton Similar story with this one and I want it permanently habitable. It takes place ...
Spaghetti_Writer's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
100 views

Positioning the second sun in a binary star system so that a tidally locked moon of a gas giant is not illuminated by it, but the gas giant is

Working off this question and its suggestion of binary star systems to increase the length of 'day' on a planet without increasing the length of 'night' I have a gas giant (1.2 Mass/Jupiter, 1 Radius/...
SaintDiabolus's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
79 views

How visible would stars be from a planet orbiting an M-class star?

I have a planet orbiting at 0.2067 AU around a M-class red dwarf of mass and luminosity 0.4037 Msol and 0.0286 Lsol, respectively. The planet has an atmosphere of 93% CO2 and 3 atm. What I wonder is, ...
Ylahris's user avatar
  • 487
5 votes
2 answers
227 views

Very large orbit binary/trinary star systems

In my universe, Ancient Aliens once visited Earth with consequences.1 At that time they left instructions2 that 5,000 years3 in the future something would happen.4 The instructions left behind a ...
JBH's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
124 views

How to find visibility of stars given a certain moon brightness

How would you be able to calculate what magnitude of stars would be visible given a certain brightness of the moon. As I know that the visibility of stars are based on their compared magnitude to a ...
DanceroftheStars's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
150 views

How to calculate the expected rotational speed of a star

I am working on fictional stars, and I want to have as many points about them as I can, and most things I found relatively easy, except for rotational speed. I am not sure exactly how to find at what ...
DanceroftheStars's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
83 views

Auroras of a planet around an active M7 red dwarf

A planet the size of earth around a pretty active M7 red dwarf (think of M to X level flares almost every day) has a decent magnetic field of 0.5-0.8 Gauss, orbiting at a distance of 0.0443AU, with a ...
Fox Studios's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
81 views

Could a planet orbiting a g type main sequence star have yellow on its surface? [duplicate]

I had saw somewhere that a habitable planet orbiting a g type star same as our own could have yellow plants so could it?
Jerry Robinson's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
424 views

Do Forbidden Lines in Stars Often Come in Groups

In previous questions, I asked about how a K2V star could develop an [O VII] forbidden line and how those x-rays would create "pseudo-aurorae". Now, I'd like to know if my star could ...
Neil Iyer's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
430 views

How close can a yellow hypergiant be to not affect a star system but also be important to the locals mythology

The Hypergiant The hypergiant is a yellow hypergiant (YHG) which is currently cooling down and becoming a red hypergiant. It is roughly something that has a spectral type of maybe G3 0-Ia, though the ...
Neil Iyer's user avatar
  • 945
3 votes
1 answer
253 views

Visibility of My "Psuedo-Aurorae"

I have been designing a habitable planet, its moon, and its star for a while now. Background My star is a K2V star with very strong solar wind and is about the age of the Sun. Every so often, when the ...
Neil Iyer's user avatar
  • 945
1 vote
1 answer
95 views

Binary red giant?

I'm currently building a habitable tatooine-like binary system with the following stars: Mass: 1.09 / 0.85 M⊙ Luminosity: 1.41 / 0.52 L⊙ Radius: 1.07 / 0.88 R⊙ Temperature: 6,087 / 5,230 K Spectral ...
Sussus Amogus's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
133 views

Is there a way to make a K-star have an unusually strong stellar wind

I have been making a planet and its star for some time now. Background In a previous question, I asked how a star could develop an O VII forbidden line and I generally realized that the star needed to ...
Neil Iyer's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
143 views

How could a K star develop an [O VII] Forbidden Line at 22.1 Å

The Goal I have been designing a planet for quite a while now, and I would like the star to have an [O VII] forbidden line in its atmosphere. There doesn't need to be too much, but I need enough for ...
Neil Iyer's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
591 views

Would an increase in star density affect the "Goldilocks Zone"?

Let's say that there's a solar system that matches the description of Sol exactly, save for the fact that it's 20,000 light years closer/farther to the galactic center. Would the zone of one ...
Jarren_Takar's user avatar
10 votes
5 answers
597 views

Would a star's spectroscopy be stable enough on approach to use it as a navigational reference from a great distance?

NOTE: The offered "duplicate" question IS NOT WHAT I AM ASKING. Alternative methods of navigation ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE as answers. I am specifically asking whether or not a ship traveling in ...
JBH's user avatar
  • 122k
0 votes
1 answer
164 views

Looking for a Specific Planet

I know my title isn't the most specific, but the planet I am looking for is. I have been looking through many exoplanets and I can't seem to find what I am looking for, the closest I have found is ...
Amoeba's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
200 views

Using Neutron Stars to Generate Electricity

Quick question In my world building project I have a civilization that lives on a planet that orbits a Neutron star. Neutron stars have an extremely powerful magnetic field so I was wondering if it ...
Venik Hue's user avatar
  • 1,222
5 votes
4 answers
1k views

Suitability of White Dwarf stars for supporting a Matrioshka Brain?

Note: I'm working on a far future sci-fi setting for a novel series which aims to blend elements of both "soft" and "hard" science fiction concepts. I'm aiming for the series to be ...
Nemactual's user avatar
  • 195
3 votes
5 answers
244 views

What are some pseudo-scientific ways to explain the qualities of a yellow dwarf hyperstar?

Basically, in my stories, there’s a habitable, Earth-like planet called Ozarvis 32. It is the 32nd planet from the star of the Ozarvis Stellar System, which has 68 planets, 12 of which are in the ...
Godzilla Louise's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
144 views

How do I make an Earth-like habitable planet tidally locked to a red supergiant (class L or M)?

Assuming tidally locked planets have the potential to be inhabitable: Is there any way for a planet of Earth-like size to become tidally locked to a red supergiant of class L or M?
Mensch79's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
181 views

Habitable zone of this red giant

I have a Red Giant star of about ~4.15 solar masses (a number I generated from what I found to be the average size of red giants). My question for right now would be "What would be the habitable ...
user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
2k views

Frozen Star- Red dwarf goes supernova, just because I froze it?

So as I mentioned in my previous question in the series, the parent red dwarf star of a one-planet system, Eridanus, has frozen over due to an unknown reason. By a "frozen red dwarf star", I ...
Alastor's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
167 views

A brown dwarf world

I’m thinking about making a detailed world on Luhman 16 B (not around the star, right on it). This brown dwarf's mass is 28.6 times that of Jupiter and has a radius 104% that of Jupiter. It has a ...
Fredrik Hansing's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
149 views

Is a p-type binary system with two suns and two moons possible? [closed]

I want to have a fantasy setting with two suns and two moons. Ideally, the stars would be 5 million km apart, orbit each other every 10 days, and pass in front of each other every 5 days, creating an ...
marimosa's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
326 views

Would colonists living on a planet orbiting an F-class star need underground shelters to protect against radiation?

In my fictional universe, people have colonized a planet that orbits an F-class star. I know these stars give more intense radiation and solar flares than G-class stars. This leads me to think bunkers ...
Ylahris's user avatar
  • 487
1 vote
1 answer
40 views

Distances needed to make this system stable

Let's take the Trappist-1 system, and specifically, I'm thinking about the star itself and Trappist 1e because it's the most habitable of the seven planets: Trappist 1 star is approximately 8.98% of ...
DMacc1917's user avatar
  • 946
2 votes
1 answer
190 views

For a period of time, could life be possible in a black dwarf star?

I was thinking about whether it might be possible for life to eventually form in a black dwarf star that has cooled to a point where liquid water forms on its surface. The main questions I have are: ...
Harry Partridge's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
435 views

Creating a second earth: the problem with stars

(Continues along the premise of this question: Creating a second earth: How to make a continent?) So, thanks to their helpful team of ask forum buddies, 😉 the terraformers designing New Earth have ...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
0 votes
1 answer
124 views

Is it possible for a star to orbit a planet? [duplicate]

At first the answer seems simple, no, but the more I think about it the more it seems this might be possible. For the sake of the question don’t think about the probability of this actually happening, ...
HomegrownPotatoes's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
242 views

What would the stars look like near the centre of a galaxy?

In this sci-if scenario, angry aliens “evict” Earth and the sun from the galaxy using their clarkean wormhole technology, and sol ends up in a new region of space. Sol is now located near the core of ...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
-3 votes
2 answers
104 views

what cosmic event could teleport a solar system? [closed]

In a project I am mulling over, humanity now inhabits the dense core region of a globular cluster. They did not colonise this cluster; some cosmic event actually teleported the sun, moon and earth (...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
3 votes
2 answers
257 views

Could an object exist at the barycentre of two stars

Returning to the powerful clarkean civilisation in this question What compounds could be used to dye a gas giant the colour of a rainbow? These same artistically inclined omnipotent beings have ...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
2 votes
4 answers
232 views

What configuration should the worlds of a long lasting galactic empire take in the galaxy?

I have come across many galaxy maps showing the dominion/borders of one empire or another in different works of fiction. The first that comes to mind is WH40k for which the galaxy map of the different ...
Abanob Ebrahim's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
961 views

How do I determine the habitable zone of a binary star system?

Suppose two stars orbit each other and the planets orbit around the two stars' barycenter. I'm thinking of having at least one as a main sequence G or K class. For the sake of argument, let the other ...
Ylahris's user avatar
  • 487
12 votes
6 answers
2k views

Under what conditions could a gold planet form?

So, I am imagining a draconic alien species which, (don’t laugh) inhabit a planetary system that is particularly rich in heavy elements such as platinum, silver, and yes, gold. (I said don’t laugh!) ...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
5 votes
4 answers
1k views

Could sapient life evolve in 2 billion years?

I am imagining a race of beings called Loshp, who evolved on a planet orbiting an F-type star. These stars live for only 4 billion years tops before evolving into a red giant, and half that time was ...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
7 votes
6 answers
2k views

How can I figure out measurements/distances and hyperspace jump time in my universe that is simple enough for readers to understand?

I'm using an alternate version of the Milky Way as my setting. I need to know how far it is from one planet/area to another, and know how long it takes to jump via hyperspace -- Yes, I realize ...
MajorTom's user avatar
  • 1,466
3 votes
3 answers
355 views

Could merging brown dwarfs create a star? [closed]

So, let’s face it, brown dwarfs are dull. They’re too big for gas giants to want anything to do with them, and too weeny to undergo fusion and become a proper sun. However, if this is a matter of mass,...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
3 votes
2 answers
305 views

If a gas giant became a star, what type would it be?

The concept of gas giant stellification has always interested me. I would however like to know: if a gas giant, (let’s say Neptune) was stellified by increasing its mass to trigger a temporary fusion ...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
1 vote
4 answers
84 views

Stellar Radiation Detons- Cosmic Weapon

In this setting, Humans have done multiple advances in technology and are nearly on the verge of being a Type III civilisation, They have nearly colonized the Milky Way and have tapped energy from ...
Alastor's user avatar
  • 3,402
2 votes
4 answers
115 views

How can I prevent solar flares?

Quite simply, people are trying to terraform extrasolar planets, starting with Proxima Centauri B. Assuming it is not tidally locked, is it possible to protect the planet from solar flares or to alter ...
user98816's user avatar
  • 8,573
4 votes
3 answers
316 views

An Earthlike World Placed Around a Blue White Dwarf

A star that is bright, gives off blue light, and can have a world that mimics conditions on Earth is tricky. I'm hoping I can get one around a blue-colored white dwarf star. What does the arrangement ...
DWKraus's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
140 views

Could dark matter be used to change a star's position in the main sequence?

Helioforming is the ignition of gas giants of various sizes, or black dwarves, to create protostellar or even stellar celestial bodies. This can be achieved in two ways: compression or mass increase, ...
JuimyTheHyena's user avatar
27 votes
4 answers
6k views

Would extracting hydrogen from the sun lessen its lifespan?

Relating to my earlier question Is it a good idea to harvest the sun to terraform Venus? Suppose that we continue to “mine” the sun for hydrogen to be used as rocket fuel. If we continued to do so, ...
user98816's user avatar
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