Tangentially related: There's a Vernor Vinge novel called "A Deepness in the Sky" in which a star called OnOff cycles over a multi-year period between normal br

Tangentially related: There's a Vernor Vinge novel called "A Deepness in the Sky" in which a star called OnOff cycles over a multi-year period between normal brightness and emitting no energy at all. Much of the novel has to do with the adaptations of species on the star's planets.