It took twenty days for the Aquila to fly over a distance of four light years, and the location of the Aquila was probably carved out more than 10,000 years ago based on the speed of the blue star.

Four light years away from the cloud cave, although the density of cloud qi in the cave was much lower than the surrounding area, it was already several times higher than when he first entered, and it also had some impact on the superluminal flight speed of the battleship, but on the premise of not losing his way, Ye Fei did not plan to return like this.

At the very least, you should fly to the depths of the cloud cave that may endanger the safety of the warship and then return to the sea, so as to avoid being criticized by some people after returning - as the saying goes, if you are not afraid of no good things, you are afraid that there will be no good people, but where there are human beings, there will be strife, and no organization is monolithic, especially a behemoth like the military, there is always a small group of people who are not welcomed.

A few days later, it has been almost a month since the Aquila entered the cloud cave, and it is supposed that the cloud density ahead should be getting higher and higher, but the results shown by the detection are exactly the opposite!

Not only is the situation in the cloud cave wrong, but the cloud gas density around the cloud cave is also low. At the speed of the Aquila, it is still far from the boundary of the nebula, and this is not possible, and the only explanation is that there is probably a hole in the nebula ahead!

This sudden discovery made everyone excited, but it also aroused Ye Fei's vigilance, although the data detected by the optical system showed that there was no abnormality ahead, but the role of the optical system in the cloud cave was also limited, Ye Fei cautiously ordered the distance of each advance to be reduced by half, directly changed to 0.5 light years.

This distance is also the upper limit of the effective observation of the optical system, and no matter how far away the image is, the image will become blurry due to the obstruction of clouds.

The more you move forward. The lower the cloud density in front of you, the less the Aquila flew five light-years away, the optics observed a blurry image of the planet in the infrared wavelength.

Under normal circumstances, a planet blocked by clouds is impossible to be detected by the optical system, but the surface temperature of this planet is hundreds of degrees, to say the least, and it emits a large amount of thermal radiation at all times, which exposes its whereabouts and is discovered by the Aquila.

However, the image found by the optical system was too blurry to determine the distance of the planet through observation, and what was even more unexpected was that it didn't take long for the unknown star to disappear unnoticed. No matter how much you look, you can't find its location.

If it weren't for the optical system's image recordings, it would have been proven that such a planet had indeed been discovered. I'm afraid that everyone, including Ye Fei, will wonder if the atmosphere has been so depressing recently that there are hallucinations in the brain.

Because of this, the crew of the Aquila was divided into two factions, one group supported to move on. Be as clear as possible about what's ahead; The other school of thought is to turn back on the spot. Avoid unnecessary losses.

Both views have their own considerations. After careful and repeated consideration, Ye Fei decided to move on, but no longer measured the time to break away from the speed of light by distance. Instead, return to normal space once every hour of sailing to avoid accidents to the greatest extent.

After another half a month, the optical system finally captured the image of the planet again, this time the image was much larger than the previous one, and according to the time between these two discoveries, Che Qi calculated the distance that the battleship flew over, and indirectly calculated that the current approximate distance between the planet and the Aquila was only about 0.6 light years.

This discovery made everyone excited, although the vast majority of the people on the ship were veterans of the expeditionary force, most of them had seen more than a dozen galaxies with their own eyes, and few had seen three or five stars, but this time was different from the past, who wouldn't want to see the stars inside the nebula?

The three major aerospace foreign countries plus the European fleet, I don't know how many soldiers have walked out of the solar system, but those who have entered the nebula are just a thousand people on the ship.

But the closer the Aquila was to the star, the more careful Ye Fei became, and the optical system couldn't see the situation ahead clearly, and he definitely didn't set off.

However, the distance between the battleship and the star was too close, so close that after flying for a few days, he found that the clouds in front of him had faded to almost nothing, but the radiation level and the intensity of various light waves were closer to the stars, and the nearby clouds had changed from gray to reddish bright under the stimulation of various lights and radiation, and Ye Fei was almost certain that there must be a star in front of him.

However, the optical system then found that there was not a huge nebula "cavity" ahead, as previously suspected, but a starry sky on the other side of the nebula!

In other words, Aquila flew only five light-years before it penetrated the Orion Nebula.

This discovery surprised everyone, but what was even more surprising was still to come, when Che Qi moved the optical system, he accidentally found that only a small part of the starry sky could be observed, and the rest of the direction was still a thick nebula!

This discovery is equivalent to saying that the front is just a cloud hole with a much larger diameter, rather than actually penetrating the nebula.

It seems that everything is off course, and despite fears of an unforeseen threat ahead, it has reached the vicinity of the star, and there is no reason to return at this critical moment.

The battleship continued to move forward, slowly flying out of the nebula, and when the density of the clouds could no longer block the stars in front of it, the Aquila immediately stopped moving.

It was observed that the current position of the battleship is at least more than 100 astronomical units away from the star, which is more than three times the distance between Neptune and the sun, and the position of about 30 astronomical units on the periphery of the galaxy is a two-layer asteroid belt like a ring, and the thick asteroid belt is like a thick brim.

After skipping the asteroid belt, there are two planets in the galaxy that are close to the terrestrial planets in size, but whether they are terrestrial planets or not still need to be further explored, the closest one of these two planets is also twenty-two astronomical units away from the star, such a long distance, it is impossible to receive enough light and heat from the star, unless it evolves low-temperature organisms like the blue star, it is difficult to produce life - since the discovery of the blue light fish, human beings no longer want to link the harsh environment with whether life is generated, It would only be said that the environment there is not suitable for humanoid or terrestrial (Earth-like) life.

Due to the distance between Aquila and the star. The star of this galaxy seemed to be just a very small point of light, and Ye Fei immediately asked Che Qi to start a comprehensive observation of the star in front of him.

The large screen on the bridge of the Aquila zoomed in several times in succession, putting the distant star in front of everyone's eyes, but everyone was stunned by what they saw.

There is not a star on the screen, but a giant planet that emits a bright white light and an extremely inconspicuous small spot of light, and it is difficult to say whether it can be found if the optical system is not sensitive enough.

Cha Qi immediately put in crazy calculations.

"What is this?" Ye Fei was shocked, and the whole person was stunned by the moment in front of him, because he saw that after the optical system found an abnormality, it automatically marked the path of light on the screen. A faint light left the little bright spot behind. It took a nearly ninety degree turn before finally leaving!

What's even more incredible is that, according to preliminary calculations, the huge white bright star is orbiting around the small bright spot in an extremely close orbit!

If you look at it from a distance, whoever sees it will mistake the larger, brightly white star for a star. A small spot of light is a companion star or simply a satellite.

And optical systems don't just detect visible light. Non-visible light on the image. A stream of matter made up of clouds was swirling towards the small bright spot.

"Head, head!" With the help of the ship's computer, Che Qi's calculations are surprisingly fast. But it was absolutely impossible to make a mistake in the result that made Che Qi stunned, "That little bright spot, the radius is only fourteen kilometers!" ”

"What's going on?" Ye Fei's mind was completely confused, and he couldn't figure out what was going on.

Jiang Xue said hesitantly: "I think this may be ...... Maybe a neutron star. ”

The earth shattered, and everyone who heard this sentence was stunned.

Ye Fei was only stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses: "No, how can a neutron star shine?" No wonder he always felt that the luminosity in the vicinity was insufficient, he originally thought it was a relatively small red dwarf star, but he didn't expect it to be a neutron star.

He had already accepted Jiang Xue's answer in his heart, but although the brightness of that small spot of light was low, the luminosity was stronger than that of the nearby bright white giant planet, and it could not be the reflected light, so he had some doubts.

Jiang Xue explained: "The temperature on the surface of the sun is only less than 6,000 degrees, but the surface temperature of neutron stars is hundreds of thousands of degrees, how can there be no light at all? And you see, this neutron star has been adsorbing nearby nebulae, that is, after it entered the nebula, its mass has been constantly increasing, and the increased mass will also have a certain effect. ”

According to the current research theory, a thousand years after the formation of neutron stars, the cooling will be dominated by light radiation, that is, it will continue to emit light and lose heat, and for about 10,000 years, the surface test of neutron stars has been maintained at six figures.

Jiang Xue didn't know much about this knowledge, but intuitively felt that some changes would occur after the neutron star absorbed the foreign mass, and it should be one of the normal phenomena to lose some energy through luminescence!

After all, neutron stars are not black holes that eat meat and don't spit out bones.

"And!" Jiang Xue thought for a while and then pointed to the magnetic detection system and added, "This is also one of the bases for judgment!" ”

In addition to the optical system, the magnetic detection system has also been in working condition, don't look at the distance, but the magnetic detection system has shown an extreme reaction, and the magnetic level in the direction of the star has exploded, and it is completely impossible to figure out how high the magnetic intensity is there.

"So, this neutron star flew all the way here after drilling into the nebula with its three planets and the asteroid belt?" Ye Fei never thought that he would encounter a neutron star one day, and his understanding of neutron stars was extremely poor, but this did not affect his reasonable judgment within the scope of what he already knew.

"I think it should be." Jiang Xue smiled bitterly, "I think I should apply to the headquarters to send a real astronomer to the ship, I'm a half-ass, and my level is really poor." ”

"I'll talk about this later, it's too late to apply now." Ye Fei waved his hand, "Tsk, this guy flew all the way over, how much cloud qi did he have to absorb?" ”

"Definitely quite a few." Scissors suddenly took over the conversation, "I remember Jiang Xue mentioned to me that the larger the mass of a neutron star, the smaller the radius, and when this neutron star first entered the nebula, the radius was likely to be as large as twenty kilometers. Now there are only fourteen kilometers left......"

The implication is that the quality of absorption is absolutely indispensable, but he can't figure out how much.

Ye Fei was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and subconsciously asked, "What is the minimum radius of a neutron star?" ”

Scissors subconsciously replied: "About ten kilometers, what's wrong?" ”

Ye Fei looked at the screen in a daze and said: "I know that when the mass of a star is small, it becomes a white dwarf, when it is medium, it becomes a neutron star, and if it is particularly large, it is directly a black hole, but if this neutron star keeps absorbing clouds, it will absorb until its mass reduces the radius to less than ten kilometers...... Will it turn into a black hole? ”

Everyone was stunned by this sentence at the same time, and Jiang Xue replied dryly: "Yes." There is a possibility. But it also depends on how long the neutron star can fly in the nebula, and it should be possible to calculate whether it can absorb enough mass in the remaining time...... This has to be done by professional people. ”

"I understand that." Ye Fei pressed the uneasiness in his heart, "Che Qi." Is it possible to calculate the direction and speed of a neutron star's flight? ”

"No problem!" Cha Qi immediately replied.

Scissors asked hesitantly, "Boss." What do you think of? ”

Ye Fei glanced at the scissors and said in a deep voice: "I want to determine the direction of the neutron star's flight." Judging from the direction of the cloud hole it drilled out, the general direction should not be far from the solar system. ”

"Wouldn't it? How can it be so coincidental? Scissors subconsciously retorted.

"No book is made without coincidence!" Ye Fei said, "Even if you don't pass through the solar system. Passing around the solar system is not much better. Now that they are all busy exploring the universe, what if one day this neutron star flies near which colony star? ”

At the same time, the image of stars and planets collapsing together and turning into powerless fragments involved in a black hole appeared in everyone's minds at the same time, and a chill seeped into everyone's backs.

"This ...... Boss, are you worried a little too far? Scissors almost laughed, "No matter how fast this thing is, at most it is more than 1,000 kilometers per second, and 300 times faster is the speed of light, the earth is more than 1,500 light years away from here, and when it flies to the solar system, it will take more than 400,000 years!" The recorded history of human civilization is only 5,000 or hundreds of years, and more than 400,000 years later, human beings have not occupied the entire galaxy. ”

Ye Fei also felt that he was a little worried, but he still said: "Let's take a look, this thing can't threaten the earth, it can always threaten the nearby galaxies, right?" Have a number in mind, and you can have a reference when you explore nearby galaxies in the future. ”

Scissors smiled: "It's true." ”

Jiang Xue wasted no time in glancing at the scissors, and reprimanded in a low voice: "As long as you can bear it, the neutron star can't fly over, and you don't want to think about it, maybe it hasn't flown out of the nebula yet, and the nearby habitable planets will let us occupy it." ”

It is difficult to say whether neutron stars will be able to fly out of the nebula in 10,000 years, but at the current rate of human development, even if it is a thousand years later, the galaxy near the Orion Nebula will definitely be full of human beings.

The scissors winked at her and didn't speak, how could Jiang Xue, who had a good heart, not understand what he meant, and suddenly blushed.

No longer entangled in this topic, an idea suddenly popped up in Ye Fei's mind: "It's weird, you see, that giant planet is too close to the neutron star, right?" It's close enough to become an oven. ”

"It reminds me of that hot Jupiter back then." Ruan Peng said.

"That's right, this one is hot Jupiter too! Hot Jupiter next to the neutron star, hehe. Scissors chuckled, and I don't know what it was that hit his laughter again.

"What the boss means is that neutron stars are the remains left behind after the explosion of supernovae, and no matter how close the planets and stars were before, they will be pushed away by the tremendous force of the explosion, and it is impossible to leave a giant planet as close as a neutron star." Jiang Xue said.

"That's what it means!" Ye Fei gave him an approving look.

Scissors thought for a while and said, "Chief, you say, is it possible that this planet was re-condensed by the loose material after the supernova explosion?" ”

"What are you kidding, I know that when the Dao star is condensed, the heavy matter is most susceptible to gravity, so no matter what kind of galaxy, there is a high probability that it is an internal formation of terrestrial planets, and the planets formed at medium and long distances are generally gas planets. Tell me, how can you condense a giant planet near a neutron star? I don't know if Lu Dao is learning, Jiang Xuebai is married, right? ”

"This, there are no absolutes, no one has seen neutron stars with their own eyes before, they are all inferred, how can it be so accurate?" Scissors said to the point, "Look, in addition to those clouds flowing into the neutron star, some of them are attracted by giant planets halfway, could it be formed by cloud gas?" ”

"It's not very likely." Jiang Xue thought about it carefully, and finally said her judgment, "I think that this giant planet is likely to be robbed by it." ”

"What? Can the planet still be grabbed? "Scissors' eyes are straight, and they almost don't make a cross-eye.

"Why not? If a neutron star encounters a normal galaxy, what is the strong gravitational pull to grab a planet? Jiang Xue replied as a matter of course, "Also, the wandering planet should have been formed by the influence of external gravity and broke away from its original orbit, have you forgotten the blue star?" ”

"Are you saying that the blue star is likely to fly out of the center when the neutron star grabbed this giant planet, and it was not caught by the neutron star's gravity?" Ye Fei had a picture of a neutron star breaking into a calm galaxy in his mind, snatching a giant planet away on a rampage, and having to fly away from the parent star with a blue star. (To be continued......)

PS: There is no specific information on whether neutrons can emit light, but judging from the temperature, the luminosity should not be low, but the volume is small, not as obvious as stars.

I don't know if you have any other views, welcome to post to discuss.