Questions tagged [stars]
For questions about luminous spheres of plasma held together by their own gravity, generally comprised primarily of hydrogen and helium.
484 questions
1
vote
1
answer
30
views
How can I figure out where the closest stars would be relative to the planets in our solar system at a specific time?
In my story, aliens come to our solar system from a nearby solar system (I.e. one of these).
I know when I’d like the aliens to arrive (I.e. I have the exact date on the Gregorian calendar); however, ...
- 2,492
1
vote
1
answer
535
views
Life on a planet in a binary star system that is orbiting a black hole, how would it work? [closed]
I’m working on a fantasy novel and trying to keep the underlying science internally consistent so obviously i have some questions since im not a science person.
How possible is it for a planet in an ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
287
views
What is the insolation of my planet
In order to determine other climate related factors about my planet I need to know the insolation. But I don't know how to calculate it. Given the known variables what is the insolation of my planet? ...
- 391
4
votes
1
answer
162
views
Can a planet's atmosphere be ionized by its star's magnetosphere?
Volcanism on Io releases sulfur dioxide into Io's atmosphere, which is then ionized by Jupiter's magnetic field, stripping it and creating auroreae. Can this process occur on a planet orbiting a star?
...
- 81
2
votes
3
answers
410
views
What would be the length of a year in a binary star system?
I am currently making a world in which a planet is in a binary star system, orbiting in a figure 8 around a blue giant and a yellow dwarf. The distance of a goldilocks zone of the blue giant is around ...
6
votes
1
answer
469
views
What would life be like in a young star system?
I have a setting where an nuclear powered space-fairing civilization (with FTL) has most of its mining done in still-forming star systems. The logic is that these systems are old enough for planets to ...
6
votes
2
answers
559
views
Is an orbit that looks like the (∞) symbol possible for a planet orbiting two binary stars?
I am still super early on into the world I'm creating at the moment. I would like to know if this planet (preferably habitable) could do something like this:
^ illustration I quickly drew up of a ...
- 63
5
votes
2
answers
233
views
How can I determine the properties of a star given its luminosity and temperature?
The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram shows the relationship between luminosity and colour-temperature of stars. If we select a particular temperature and luminosity class, then tables found in places like ...
- 81.3k
4
votes
1
answer
361
views
How far would the stellar wind of a Wolf-Rayet star contract a neighboring sunlike star's heliopause?
It seems as though the heliopause is the end of the solar wind due to interactions with the interstellar medium or other stars' stellar winds, and late-stage Wolf-Rayet stars seem to have especially ...
- 143
-2
votes
1
answer
255
views
How large will a Black hole need to be to achieve Type II civilization using Penrose process?
I'm developing a world where a Kardashev Type II civilization is extracting the energy they need from an accessible black hole rather than a star.
Question: What would be the minimum mass of a black ...
- 129
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Could Earth plants survive on a planet that orbits a K-Type Star? [closed]
If we were to terraform a planet that orbits a K-Type star, would Earth plants be able to properly absorb this star's light? Would we need to modify the plants so that they are better at absorbing the ...
- 375
-2
votes
1
answer
192
views
Is this system structure possible for a septuple star system: ((Aa,Ab)(Ba,Bb),((Ca,Cb)D)) [closed]
I'm starting a project in which I ask various LLMs to create a star system, asking each the same series of questions. One of them, which I've asked to go all out but stay within the realm of ...
- 1
11
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Unexpectedly short star lifespan
I have a very rough idea for a setting where humanity discovers that stars, in fact, burn out much quicker than we imagined, so a human colony is stuck orbiting one of the last remaining stars in ...
- 113
1
vote
3
answers
238
views
Is it possible to have pure burning lights of energy in a solar system that have no effect on gravity?
I am creating a very large solar system with many planets and a giant star at the center to hold it all together. However I still really wanted to have lights that look like stars scattered throughout ...
- 141
4
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How to make an iron star visually appealing
Related to this question
According to the accepted answer to the question above, the most likely aspect of an iron star is that of a smooth ellipsoid of cold solid metal, with polished surface, not ...
