Stellar engine
Videos
Stellar engines are a class of hypothetical megastructures which use the resources of a star to generate available work. For instance, they can use the energy of the star to produce mechanical, electr
Diagram of a class-C stellar engine (to scale) built around a Sun-like star. It consists of a partial Dyson swarm composed of 5 Dyson rings of solar collectors (the class-B component), and a large statite Shkadov thruster (the class-A component). Perspective is from below the system's ecliptic at a distance of ~2.8 AU. The system's direction of acceleration is on a vector from the center of the star through the center of the Shkadov thruster, which is hovering over the star's north pole (with regards to the ecliptic), at a distance of 1
Planetary system
Videos
A planetary system consists of a set of non-stellar bodies which are gravitationally bound to and in orbit of a star or star system. Generally speaking, such systems will include planets, and may incl
An artist's concept of a planetary system
Heliocentric model of the Solar System in Copernicus' manuscript
Illustration of the dynamics of a proplyd
Protoplanetary discs observed with the Very Large Telescope.