 March 22, 2012 - 1:55am | Inspired by the Brown Dwarf setting in SFman 16 or 17, I had the idea that a similar destructive setting with a Pulsar might be quite interesting. If my knowledge on them is still correct, the electromagnetic radiation beam of a pulsar could wipe off an entire population from a planet's face. I will leave the details to the astrology section. Of course we, again, face the "problem" that it is almost impossible that such a beam strikes a planet due to the vastness of space, just as with Brown Giant and the Yazyrian planet, but well, what else are fantasy settings for ... The sweep of a pulsar emission could offer some interesting seeds for adventures: A whole planet, wiped of all (higher) living beings yet leaving the infrastructure fully intact while electronic devices might have failed, even maybe with a (secret?) "time counter" until the Pulsar sweep hits the planet again to put the characters under pressure; the sudden silencing of aforesaid planet, which is positioned at the rim of the known universe, for unknown reasons, lets the UPF send the characters there, maybe suspecting Sathar aggression, but not a "from the blue sky" Pulsar strike ... Just some thoughts, but I can feel that there might be more to it. What do you think? Last game played: Somewhere in the 80th (Vrusk by heart) -- fond of Jugger, a "post-apocalyptic" sport |
 March 22, 2012 - 6:30am | If memory serves a pulsar is a type of neutron star (anything I say is subject to correction by our resident astronomer) and just the supernova event that creates said astronomical object let alone generating a pulsar is very much the civilization ender for systems within, IIRC, 30 light years. Pulsar activity is just sauce for the gravy on top of that. One question that comes to mind is could a ship, knowing the location of the pulsar relative to the system its in use the planet or star as shelter hiding in its shadow from the pulsar's beam? If so then the setting could be set up such that visiting ships have x amount of time to do what they need to do then take shelter. However, I seem to remember something about pulsars rotating at a seriously high rpm so this might require the system being visited to be at extreme range of the pulsar's beam effect but perhaps we need Terl Obar to sound off on this? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 22, 2012 - 6:43am | I should probably write up the effects of a neutron star on nearby planets. It's pretty much all bad which is why I have issues with the 4 or 5 printed on the Frontier map. The beam from a pulsar/neutron star sweeps by a planet dozens to hundreds of times a second (the rotation periods are measured in fractions of a second). It turns out that the radio beam is much narrower than the gamma-ray beam (a recent discovery from Fermi, the NASA mission I work on) so that makes survival near a neutron star even less likely since the high enery gamma-rays are emitted over a much larger area. Anyway, those are the thoughts from the astronomy (not astrology) department of the top of his head. BTW, I'm glad you liked my Brown Dwarf article. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
March 22, 2012 - 11:53am | Did auto correct make astronomy into astrology? BTW, what is the minimum safe distance in LY from a pulsar? Am i correct in assuming that after the violence of a neutron's star's birth that as long as its not a plusar you could visit systems near by to it after the fact? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 22, 2012 - 8:28pm | Actually, as far as we know all neutron stars are pulsars, or at least should be to start. There would be directions from which you could approach without being in the beam, however. Altthough it's looking more and more like that area is fairly small. Fermi has detected a lot of pulsars that haven't been seen in radio, where they are ususally detected, which indicates that the gamma-ray beam is much broader than the radio one. But yes, after the initial violence of the supernova, the neutron start system is in fact visitable. I don't know what the minimum safe distance is, I'll have to work on that one. It would proabably depend on if you're in the path of the radiation beams or not. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 March 22, 2012 - 9:05pm | Tetrarch evidence on Laco suggest a Dyson sphere exists in a system near a pulsar. The characters must jump from system to system keeping stars between the ship and the pulsar. Once they arrive they have 88 hours to determine a safe spot while investigating the sphere. |
 March 22, 2012 - 9:07pm | Visitable? It sounds like due to the pulsar beams it is not safe enough to visit within a distance that could be considered actually visiting the star. Is there another type of star that the authors could have confused neutron stars with based on 80's common populous knowledge? Something solid, dense, and NEUTRAL? I once thought of neutron stars and neutral burned out cinders. Remember I'm and electrical engineer and making the connection to protons, neutrons, and electrons would be an easy match in my brain. -iggy |
March 23, 2012 - 1:05am | the thoughts from the astronomy (not astrology)
Oh blast, it must have been quite late when I managed to mix THAT up. Sorry, that was quite an embarassing error ... As for the beam: I remember from an old factbook (of an _astronomy_ professor this time ...) that he wrote, if earth would be hit by a Pulsar beam that would be the end (even if Earth is far away enough to be safe from the supernova effects) . Could the range of the beam be long enough to affect far-away planets? For a setting, the affected planet would have to move out of the beam focus after being "brushed", or the Pulsar would have to be affected itself, so Characters could get on the planet. Last game played: Somewhere in the 80th (Vrusk by heart) -- fond of Jugger, a "post-apocalyptic" sport |
March 23, 2012 - 3:00am | Perhaps- the planet's system is situated such that the supernova event hit it same as everything else in X# of light years but that the beam effect does not hit it, I'm assuming that means the system and planet in question are aligned with one of the poles of the pulsar. Also I've not certain that the supernova event is an absolute civilization ender. Perhaps it wipes out a whole generation of every species on the planet but just enought survive to continue to reproduce.. Certainly there are many species that are now extinct but equally there are enough still living to make the place interesting. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 24, 2012 - 9:23am | What effect would these bursts have on a habitable planet who's advanced (at least modern) population was subterranean? I was listening to some high school kids I know prattle on about some new reality TV show about the resurgence of people building bunkers. This thread makes me curious about a world that realized it was doomed and not everybody would be able to escape on colony ships, so the remnants (at least the ones who had the means) band together and create a sustainable subterranean colony to ride the storm out, as it were. Sort of a Noah's Ark concept. Is it plausible? If so, what sort of time span would this entail? Or is this idea a waste of time because the star would be no longer to sustain life on the planet after the event? I really should have paid more attention in science class. |
March 24, 2012 - 11:32am | The Dyson sphere I mentioned could act as a shield. Or perhaps a space station was built to study and shielded from the effects for research. The idea Is to get characters close, right? |
 March 24, 2012 - 11:37pm | @ Inigo; For sci-fi purposes I could see a somewhat advanced culture building underground and the planet should still have some geothermal activity for sometime. They could use that to power the city/cities underground. I don't know either if the planet would shield them in reality, but it would make a good story. PC's could find a way somehow to get to the planet and find that the culture died off because the plan failed to keep them going for 1000's of years or maybe find a new race thriving underground. |
