Sun scoop

Destiny approaches a blue supergiant to refuel, in the Stargate Universe episode "Blockade".

A Sun scoop or sunscoop is a refueling technique for starships seen in science fiction. While it is theoretically plausible, most science fiction is concerned with stars as places to be explored, rather than as refueling stops.

Method

It involves a literal scooping, in which a ship draws plasma directly from the outer surface of a star to use as fuel. Doing so would be extremely dangerous and only used in emergency situations.

In fiction

• Ray Bradbury's 1953 short story "The Golden Apples of the Sun".^[1]
• In the final novel of Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy, an alien race, inhabiting massive "cities" orbiting a red giant, uses ships equipped with electromagnetic ramscoops as an alternative to planetary mining.^[2]
• "42", a 2007 episode of Doctor Who
• Elite
• "Light", a first season episode of Stargate Universe^[3] and others, including Blockade.
• Rendezvous with Rama, an Arthur C. Clarke novella.

References

1. McDonald, John Q (12 June 2006). "John's Book Reviews: The Golden Apples of the Sun". Retrieved 2009-10-27. Finally, the title story, The Golden Apples of the Sun, shows us a fiery trip to the surface of the Sun to scoop up a bit of its luminous surface...
2. Hamilton, Peter F. (2000). The Naked God. pp. 787–788. ISBN 0-446-52567-7.
3. "Home > Stargate Universe - Season One Images > Screen Captures > Light (105)". GateWorld.net. Oct 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-27. Screenshot of Destiny extending scoops.