Interstellar Phenomena

In addition to galactic-scale phenomena such as the spiral arms & the core, many dangers and scientific opportunities appear in the vast empty spaces among the stars. In general, such phenomena occur most commonly in regions of denser star populations, but exploratory vessels have found enough exceptions to this rule to fill a library computer complex. The universe remains a wondrous place, and the "laws of astrophysics" 20th-century humanity postulated without ever leaving their planet proved mutable indeed.

This section describes these phenomena, as far as Starfleet understands them, and gives some indications about their distribution and frequency. Their effects on passing (or investigating) ships are included here. If not, see chapter 13 ("Hazards") of the Decipher book, Star Trek Roleplaying Game, v2: Narrator's Guide (NG).

Black Hole

As they age, stars that mass more than 20 times Sol can collapse past the neutron star stage and become a black hole (also known as a 'singularity' or 'black star'). Black holes generate gravity one hundred billion times that of Earth - so strong that even light cannot escape them. The radiation, dust and gas attracted by a black hole forms an accretion disk around the hole, and as they fall into the hole, powerful gravity waves and X-rays radiate out from the hole. These emissions can endanger nearby objects, including starships and even entire worlds.

Moving into a black hole's gravity field causes immense gravimetric shear damage (see NG, p. 231) and presents a risk of time dilation, or time compression. Flying at the wrong tangent into the black hole's gravity field can result in relativistic one-way trip up to a billion years into the future - or if the black hole is spinning, into the past. Starfleet archaeologists occasionally detect frighteningly ancient relics spinning in orbits around black holes, preserved by this time-dilation effect. Some mathematical theories predict that the precise center of a black hole is a 'white hole' into another universe; this other universe may be the home dimension of the life-form encountered by USS Enterprise (1701-D) in 2369 that uses quantum singularities as nests for its young. The Romulans power some of their ships, including the feared D'deridex-class warbird, with minute black holes known as artificial quantum singularities; thanks to the elaborate and multiple redundant safety interlocks built into these drives, very few have accidentally created true black holes, even when the ships were destroyed by energy sources like phasers.

Cosmic String

Resembling a black hole that is one proton in diameter in width but many light-years long, cosmic strings (also called superstrings) pose significant dangers to starships. Although they emit energy on characteristic subspace frequencies, cosmic strings can catch space vessels within their gravitational pull before a ship detects them. Once trapped, a ship may find itself unable to break free before actual contact with the string slices it apart.

The exact nature and formation of cosmic strings remains a mystery. Some scientists speculate that ancient civilizations used them as construction tools to build Dyson spheres and re-arrange solar systems, or as weapons (since a string could easily cut through ships, planets and even stars). Others believe that cosmic strings constitute the majority of the galaxy's dark matter.