Personally, I find Brown Dwarfs to be absolutely fascinating. An object that isn’t quite a planet and isn’t quite a star, but something in between.
What would one even look like? Would it look like a gas giant that’s glowing red, along with swirls of gas in its atmosphere like Jupiter? Or would it resemble a star and have a fiery surface like the sun? I prefer to imagine them as glowing gas giants but I don’t know how realistic that is.
Gas giants in general are fascinating to me as well, I really hope we send a probe into one of the gas giants with a camera before I die. I’d absolutely love to see what it looks like inside a gas giants atmosphere before the probe gets crushed by the increasing pressure as it descends.
Lucky for most, it’s a local inhabited system. Unlucky for you, it doesn’t sound like you’re local.
Sounds like you may have been out for a few years. A lot has changed. I did drop it about 6 months ago, but the major things are: exploration pays now! But pretty much only if you have the Odyssey expansion for on-foot gameplay to search tirelessly for bacteria. Thargoids now have a powerplay-like mechanic and are actively attacking inhabited systems. They’re avoidable though.
As for getting back to the bubble, you may be able to find a carrier passing by to hitch a ride. Did you play recently enough to have seen fleet carriers? Another player directs it and can transport your ship while you’re offline. Just remember to deboard on time!
I don’t have a carrier, but can help get you on your way if needed. I love the lore of the game and can enjoy the mechanics, but I have a real life to tend to so I get it.