Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 538 - 535: Astronomy Report

Chapter 538: Chapter 535: Astronomy Report

The third piece of news, the resources nearby are abundant, with stars and planets densely packed.

At a distance of one light year from two neutron stars, there is a Red Dwarf Star, and even more, at 1.2 light years, there is a Yellow Dwarf Star with planets that have liquid water resources. This area’s stars are clearly denser than those in the Solar System.

This is still quite good news, neutrally positive.

After accomplishing the grand objective, humans and the Tos Civilization will still need to prepare to escape the range affected by the collision of neutron stars.

At that time, it would be best for the two civilizations to separate and develop independently.

Since there are so many stars to choose from, everyone can freely pick, and there basically won’t be any major conflicts.

In fact, this was basically within the scientists’ expectations, the precursors to neutron stars are Blue Dwarf Stars, which, after depleting their lifespan, create a Supernova explosion that leads to the formation of neutron stars.

Since there are two neutron stars here, it indicates that two Supernova explosions had occurred.

Two Supernova explosions essentially wiped clean the life on planets within a 50 light year radius, so, setting off another collision of neutron stars shouldn’t cause any psychological burden.

Yes, this type of issue must be considered in advance, because if the neutron stars were to collide ahead of time by 100,000 years, causing the extinction of numerous nearby civilizations, some Level 5 Holy Mother Civilization might come looking for trouble!

On the other hand, the Supernova explosion also created a large amount of heavy elements, such as gold, silver, copper, iron, etc. Therefore, the heavy element ratio in nearby planetary systems will be much higher than that in conventional planetary systems...

The density of the planets is higher, meaning the content of metallic elements is higher, making them more suitable for the development of Planet Fortresses, this is certain.

Zhang Yuan took a light sigh, these expected occurrences weren’t really surprising, yet, a faint sense of excitement still arose in his heart.

Readily available metallic planets are the best choice for developing War Stars, equivalent to ready-made super iron lumps, unlike Earth, which still has structures like the crust, mantle, and core.

Of course, developing War Stars is not just about having ready-made materials, it also requires sufficient scientific strength and a significant accumulation of time.

Currently, on this rented Planet Fortress, densely packed large engineering equipment were purchased, which cost a substantial amount of points!

There’s also a fourth piece of news, the specific astronomical report within the "neutron star-neutron star" binary star system.

Neutron stars, measuring merely a dozen kilometers across, yes, just a dozen kilometers, are roughly the same size as the Radiant Galaxy.

What concept is this? When compared to Earth’s diameter of 12,000 kilometers, it’s merely a speck, and next to the Sun’s diameter of 1.4 million kilometers, it’s like sesame seeds next to a watermelon, barely visible!

But its power is hugely astonishing, with a mass greater than that of the Sun!

The smallest neutron stars are also 1.4 times the mass of the Sun! Concentration is the essence, if Earth were to be grazed by a neutron star, even without being grazed, a bit of gravitational pull could completely tear Earth apart.

Because of the high-speed rotation between each other, the barycenter of the two neutron stars is actually in some point of empty space in the middle of the connecting line. So from a simple physical model perspective, all the stellar bodies in the entire binary star system rotate around this central point in empty space, creating a stable system.

There are surprisingly many planets inside, terrestrial planets that are even larger than the Moon, totaling over 60!

And most of them are very young and lively, with many Jupiter-like planets located within 20 astronomical units.

These Jupiter-like planets are quite far from the binary star system, but their volume is very large, likely due to absorbing a large amount of hydrogen during the previous two Supernovae. They will become excellent nuclear fuel storages.

Zhang Yuan is particularly focused on those terrestrial planets that might be transformed into Planet Fortresses.

These terrestrial planets are relatively young, aged no more than 1 billion years, with frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, meaning that the core of some planets likely hadn’t entirely cooled, making various engineering projects exponentially more difficult.

The energy for the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes comes from the nuclear fission of radioactive materials at the core of the planet, and humans, no matter how advanced, couldn’t stop these heavy elements from undergoing spontaneous nuclear fission.

Upon seeing this data, one of the professors said worriedly, "No, these planets’ cores haven’t completely cooled, and they are filled with magma, making them unsuitable to serve as Planet Fortresses."

"...because under the tremendous thrust of the planet engine, regular tectonic plates simply can’t withstand this force, and soon the entire continent would shatter, causing damage to the planet engine."

The planet’s crust, compared to the entire planet, is as fragile as the thin membrane on the surface of an egg, barely able to support the mass of the whole planet.

The design of the planet engine must reach tens or even hundreds of kilometers deep into the mantle layer to barely manage stability.

This means that we must select those metallic planets where the core has completely cooled off.

However, from such a distant astronomical observation, it is impossible to clearly determine which planets have thoroughly cooled inside and which ones are still active; field inspections will still be necessary when the time comes.

There won’t be much time available for field inspections, at most only a month.

"The War Star we are standing on will only continue to be leased for one more month, and once the lease is up, it will return, leaving no room for regret. Time is of the essence,"

Zhang Yuan’s forehead broke out in fine sweat, as this may be the most critical choice in thousands of years for humanity. Choosing the wrong path would mean tremendous suffering, not just for their generation but likely for the next ten to twenty generations.

After reviewing these objective conditions, scientists from both civilizations began to devise strategies, utilizing this astronomical data to calculate the volume, density, mass, and magnetic fields of these planets.

Of course, the higher the density, the better, but such planets shouldn’t be too massive. A large mass makes propulsion problematic; it’s ideal not to exceed one-third of the Moon’s mass.

Even selecting a completely frozen Big Ice Ball could be an option; this eerie place lacks a proper Constant Star. The light from the two neutron stars is so weak that the planets here generally stay below minus 250 degrees Celsius!

Choosing a completely frozen Big Ice Ball for developing a Planet Fortress might also be a good option. After all, it’s only meant for one-time use, and people don’t care about its long-term usability.

Through careful selection, they identified six planets with over an 80% chance of meeting the criteria.

Field inspections will still be necessary when the time comes.

Following this, both parties announced their maximum productivity, pledging to expand populations in the future and allocate at least a certain amount of productivity for the construction of planet engines.

Yes, expanding the population is indeed necessary for any plan, and it will be necessary to compress development in all fields, whether in science, industry, or social mobilization. The years of preparation weren’t for nothing.

Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, listening to scientists on the stage introducing various backup plans.

"...To propel a planet with a mass comparable to 20% of the Moon’s, at least 30,000 planet engines need to be constructed. According to the current productivity of both civilizations, theoretically, it would take 1200-1500 years to complete... which equates to manufacturing 30 planet engines each year."

Theoretically, it’s that rapid—after all, the machinery covering the war planet isn’t just for show; the main issue is execution.

In reality, this is a very brute-force method, with people merely installing planet engines on the planet. Weapon functionality, ecological functionality, and various other features are unnecessary—the planet will just be able to move, hardly qualifying as a true "War Star," but undoubtedly this reduces a significant amount of time.

It will eventually be scrapped, and there’s no need to make it overly sophisticated.

Meanwhile, people’s basic needs, clothing, food, housing, and transport, will still be managed within the spaceship.