Black Holes

Black holes are one of the most famous types of stellar object. Most galaxies, including the Milky Way, contain a supermassive black hole at their core, about which the entire galaxy orbits. A black hole is a region of space-time which has such a high gravitational pull that even light cannot escape it; they can be formed by the collapse of supermassive stars at the end of their lives, and can continue to grow by eating matter and energy that strays too close. Of course, just like a star, if you don’t get too close you can quite happily orbit a black hole without being pulled in.

A black hole is usually surrounded by an accretion disk of material spiralling in towards the event horizon. This disk can heat up to incredible temperatures, and consequently provide enough heat and light that the black hole may actually function as a sun.

If a ship should find itself within the event horizon of a black hole, it takes 1d6 superstructure damage per round as gravitational forces stretch and pull at it. However, it can escape by moving at greater than lightspeed; this requires a LOG check (bolstered by either the piloting or physics skills).

Size FTL Check

Regular 1 Strenuous [25]

Large 5 Severe [29]

Massive 10 Herculean [33]

Black holes also cause time dilation based on a vessel’s distance from the event horizon. While the details of this depend on its mass, rate of spin, and many other factors, for a regular black hole a distance of 1AU is considered safe.

Planets can orbit black holes at safe distances. If they are within 1AU, they will also experience time dilation. 

Double the distances for a large black hole, and multiply by 5 for a massive black hole. Orbits can be assumed to be safe at a distance of 1 AU from an event horizon, meaning that you can have planets orbiting safely but within the time dilation zone of a larger black hole.

Distance (AU)* Dilation

1 none

0.75 x2

0.5 x10

0.25 x25

0 infinite