Thule
Thule is a black hole, notable as being the largest one connected to the Starweb. First reached in the Second Interstellar Period, it is currently the site of ongoing exotic physics research efforts.
Examination of Thule is hampered by the high delta-v necessary to place objects in close circular orbits, requiring spacecraft equipped with advanced fusion drives, and of course by its event horizon. Some intrepid scientists have attempted to circumvent this by launching a wormhole into it and then observing through the other end kept at a research station, but these efforts are hampered by its tidal stresses—despite massing at over twelve hundred suns, a human-sized object crossing the event horizon would be subjected to about 1300 gravities of tidal force, increasing as it approaches the singularity inside.
Experiments have also been carried out to extract energy from Thule's rotation via the Penrose process, an intriguing concept since it offers a way to generate large amounts of energy from black holes which will endure until long after every star has burned out.
Description
An intermediate-mass black hole of approximately 1253 Solar masses, Thule is nonetheless a very compact object—its event horizon is only about as big across as a small habitable planet. Its rotation distorts its shape away from a perfect sphere, into a noticable ovoid when viewed at a distance. To the unaided eye, it appears as nothing more than a dark spot in space, around which one can see stars in the background bend and distort from gravitational lensing. Thule's largest companion is a rocky dwarf planet some three thousand kilometers across, pockmarked with craters and featuring little geological activity. Located in a highly-eccentric, highly-inclined orbit, it is likely this is a former rogue body which the black hole captured from interstellar space. Numerous comets and other small objects surround it in various orbits as well, and two stargates have been placed at antipodes of a two-AU orbit.Scientific History
Because it emits no light save for a negligible amount of Hawking radiation, Thule was detected by gravitational astronomy, a process compounded by the fact it has no large companion (such as a star) for it to affect. The first wormhole to it was opened in the Second Interstellar Period by the American Federation, and its system was briefly considered a military site. This gave rise to persistent conspiracy theories that some condemned criminals were offered the choice of being ejected into the black hole to perform scientific observations in lieu of execution, though no evidence has ever surfaced to support this.Examination of Thule is hampered by the high delta-v necessary to place objects in close circular orbits, requiring spacecraft equipped with advanced fusion drives, and of course by its event horizon. Some intrepid scientists have attempted to circumvent this by launching a wormhole into it and then observing through the other end kept at a research station, but these efforts are hampered by its tidal stresses—despite massing at over twelve hundred suns, a human-sized object crossing the event horizon would be subjected to about 1300 gravities of tidal force, increasing as it approaches the singularity inside.
Experiments have also been carried out to extract energy from Thule's rotation via the Penrose process, an intriguing concept since it offers a way to generate large amounts of energy from black holes which will endure until long after every star has burned out.
Type
Black Hole
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