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Stellar core fragment

A Stellar core fragment

A stellar core fragment is a highly massive remnant of a collapsed star, thrown out into space during the process of a star's collapse. The density of a fragment can exceed 10 million metric tons per square centimeter, making it sufficiently massive to cause enormous gravitational disturbances that can have disastrous consequences. Under the proper conditions, a fragment can withstand a collision with a starship.

In 2364, the USS Tsiolkovsky was observing the collapse of a red giant into a white dwarf when the gravitational influence of the star caused a case of polywater intoxication to outbreak aboard the vessel. The USS Enterprise, responding to the Tsiolkovsky's condition, was nearly destroyed by a stellar core fragment thrown off by the collapsing star. The fragment was delayed when the Enterprise tractored the Tsiolkovsky in it's path, allowing the Enterprise to escape. (TNG: "The Naked Now")

The colony of Moab IV was menaced by a stellar core fragment in 2368 when one passed through the planet's system and its gravitational wake threatened to produce earthquakes larger than the colony's biosphere was designed to withstand. (TNG: "The Masterpiece Society")

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