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⚒ NINTH NIGHT GAMES — SCIENCE CORNER

☀ STELLAR GRAVITY

HOW THE SUN SHAPES YOUR BATTLE

NEWTON'S LAW OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION
Every mass attracts every other mass. The force is:

  F = G × (M × m) / r²

Where G is the gravitational constant, M is the star's mass, m is your ship's mass, and r is the distance between them.

THE INVERSE-SQUARE LAW
Notice the r² in the denominator. If you get twice as close to the star, gravity pulls four times harder. This is why ships near the star accelerate so rapidly — and why skilled pilots use slingshot maneuvers to gain speed!

ORBITAL MECHANICS IN THE GAME
The star exerts real gravitational force on both ships and torpedoes. A torpedo fired at the star will curve away. Skilled pilots use slingshot trajectories — swinging close to gain speed then breaking orbit to attack. NASA uses these same physics for deep-space probes!

ESCAPE VELOCITY
To break free of gravity permanently a ship would need to reach v = √(2GM/r). In Star Duel ships wrap around the screen edge, but in real space you'd need to sustain that speed to escape the star's grip forever.