No, but you have to build a starbase with the trade upgrade in order to have your route go through them. Magnetic clouds are the only thing that totally stops a trade route.

Yes, I'm not entirely sure if it will jump solar systems or not though.

What do people mean by "stops a trade route"? - i find my trade ships flying through enemy planets to get to trade ports owned by my allies, or travelling through Gas worlds, dead asteroids, clouds, Star systems etc

For gas giants, put a starbase with trade port upgrades (lvl 2) and a hangar bay, makes sure that no stray AI colony frigs take those neutral extractors from you. 

Quoting Roqul,

reply 14

What do people mean by "stops a trade route"? - i find my trade ships flying through enemy planets to get to trade ports owned by my allies, or travelling through Gas worlds, dead asteroids, clouds, Star systems etc

For gas giants, put a starbase with trade port upgrades (lvl 2) and a hangar bay, makes sure that no stray AI colony frigs take those neutral extractors from you. 

Your reply is strange for me, do you really understand the logics of trade routes, the thing highlighted when you get your cursor over the credit income and see your planets from far above? Or maybe I misunderstood what you wanted to say? Then I'm sorry.. There is nothing to do with enemy or allied planets where you don't have a trade port, and the allied trade ports only count in the diplomatic bonus I don't really understand, the trade routes of both players or something like that.

Those mineral extractors you are talking about are called neutrals as they are in always neutral gravity well. They are very important as they are not effected by allegiance and cost no investment at all. They are significant boost to your economy especially early game . If you play vasari scouts with 60 AM can capture them and if you are TEC or Advent you need colony ship with 40 AM.

They are so important that in skilled games most of early battles are to secure them for your team. If you are vasari in skilled games it is not unheard of that you plant starbase in system with 3 of them just to keep control of them. Vasari early game are extremely dependant on them as they will decide if vasari that is battling advent will have to play defensively or be on offensive.       

It is same story as with gas giants. I might be wrong but I think that magnetic cloud disables all abilities so unless you are VR you cannot build star base inside it. If you are VR you can simply jump one in. 

There is another type of neutral gravity well (ion something) that disables strike craft launch although skirantra ability scramble bombers works in it so those are only strike craft that work in above mentioned type. 

Although I might have mixed them

Either artefacts or natural resources can be find on planet info card. Difference is that artefacts work on empire scale while resources work on planetary scale. What artefacts do can be seen on research screen....  

Difference is that artefacts work on empire scale while resources work on planetary scale. What artefacts do can be seen on research screen....  Both of them give boost to your empire in one or other way.

They can be moded to handicap planets or empire as well as many SINS mods have done.