Archives on Stars Wiki: Vega the blue white young star

Vega in fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about references to the star Vega in fiction. For other uses of the name Vega, see Vega (disambiguation).

Size comparison of Vega (on the left), swollen at the equator due to its rapid rate of rotation, to the Sun

The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in much science fiction. Vega (Alpha Lyrae) is a blue-white star in the constellation Lyra (the lyre, see High Sierra, below) that is frequently featured in works of science fiction. Like its bright cousins Sirius, Deneb, and Altair, it is classified as a star of spectral type A. Roughly two and a half times the size of the Sun, it is 40 times as luminous and, together with Arcturus and Sirius, one of the most radiant stars in our galactic neighborhood. Its luminosity joins with its relative proximity to the Earth—it is only 25 light-years away—to make it the fifth brightest star in the night sky (see French and English Tragedy by George Croly, below). Vega is rendered decidedly oblate by its rapid rate of rotation[note 1], and since it is pole-on to the Sun, it appears significantly larger to earthbound observers than it actually is. For this and a variety of other reasons Vega has been extensively studied by astronomers, leading it to be termed "arguably the next most important star in the sky after the Sun."[3]

Based on an observed excess emission of infrared radiation, Vega appears to have a circumstellar disk of dust. This dust is likely to be the result of massive collisions between objects in an orbiting debris belt, and it is analogous to the Kuiper belt in the Solar System.[4] Irregularities in the disk also suggest the presence of at least one planet, about the size of Jupiter, in an orbit large enough to allow the formation of smaller rocky planets closer to the star.[5] Regardless of its ultimate tally of planetary companions, the fact that it has an estimated age of just 455 million years[2] suggests that the Vega system is too young to have fostered the development of life or a complex biosphere on any of its worlds.

The name Wega (later Vega) comes from a loose transliteration of the Arabic word wāqi‘ meaning "falling" or "landing," via the phrase an-nasr al-wāqi‘, "the falling eagle."[6] The star figures prominently in the mythology of cultures as diverse as the Polynesian, ancient Greek, Roman, Chinese (see Qi Xi below), Persian, and Hindu.

General uses of Vega

Vega may be referred to in fictional works for its metaphorical (meta) or mythological (myth) associations, or else as a bright point of light in the sky of the Earth, but not as a location in space or the center of a planetary system.

The Celestial Ford asterism crosses the Milky Way, and every year on the 7th night of 7th moon it hosts the magpie bridge between Altair and Vega.

Vega is a white main-sequence star in the constellation Lyra. At 25 light years away, it is the 5th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.03. Vega is the primary component of a multiple-star system. The iron abundance of Vega is -0.56 (27.5% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 24.2 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 23,900 and 25,400 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It will come closest to the Sun 264,000 years from now when it will brighten to magnitude -1.37 from a distance of 13.2 light years. Vega has no confirmed planets known to date (July 2013), but does have a circumstellar debris disk.
Sky position: RA 18h 36.9m, Dec +38° 46.8'
Common designations: Vega, Alpha Lyrae, 3 Lyrae, HIP 91262, HD 172167, HR 7001, Gliese 721

There follow references to Vega as a location in space or the center of a planetary system, categorized by genre:

Literature

    Foundation (1951), first novel in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. Vega was the capital of the Vega Province in the Galactic Empire, one of the wealthiest provinces in the entire Galaxy. Until the revolt of the Anacreon Prefect, it traded with Terminus, capital of the Foundation. Salvor Hardin, the first mayor of Terminus City, considered the threat of being cut off from Vega to be one of the gravest perils faced by the nascent Foundation. One of the commodities Vega exported was tobacco, of notably high quality.

The Stars My Destination protagonist Gulliver Foyle jauntes to the Vega system, encircled by swarms of blazing comets.

    Cities in Flight, (1955–1962), series of novels by James Blish. The Vega system is home to a civilization Blish names the Vegan Tyranny, which is blocking mankind's expansion into the galaxy. To fulfill their manifest destiny, men must defeat the Tyranny. The series' reflection of recent (from the vantage of 1955) earthly events, and the fascistic nature of the Vegan Tyranny, exhibit Blish's pessimistic view of the cyclic nature of history, as influenced by his reading of Spengler's The Decline of the West.[12] Blish later recycled these ideas in his novelization of "Tomorrow is Yesterday" (1967), an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series.

    The Stars My Destination (1956), classic science fiction novel (titled Tiger! Tiger! in the UK) written by Alfred Bester. After his apotheosis in the burning cathedral, the legendary Gully Foyle teleports stark naked to the vicinity of several stars, including Vega: "Vega in Lyra ... burning bluer than Rigel, planetless, but encircled by swarms of blazing comets whose gaseous trails scintillated across the blue-black firmament ..."[13] (see graphic) The interstellar "jaunting" sequence is typical of Bester's signature pyrotechnics, his quick successions of hard, bright images, and mingled images of decay and new life.[14]

    Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958), juvenile novel by Robert A. Heinlein. "Vega V" (its real name is unpronounceable by humans[note 2][15]) is the home planet of an interstellar "nanny" civilization assigned to covertly mentor humanity when the Three Galaxies Federation becomes aware of our existence. Protagonist Kip Russell has rehabilitated an old space suit that comes in quite handy when he gets involved in an interplanetary kidnapping scheme. He and fellow victim Peewee Reisfeld are abducted first to the Moon, and then to Pluto, where he is seriously injured in their escape. Peewee's companion, the Vegan "Mother Thing," takes Kip to Vega V to be healed, and later to a tribunal in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud (see graphic) where he represents the human race.

    This Immortal (1966). novel by Roger Zelazny. In this post-apocalyptic novel, Arts Commissioner Conrad Nomikos—who may or may not be immortal, and who may or may not be a god—assumes the irksome task of escorting a Vegan grandee around the ruins of Earth, which is a popular tourist destination for those among the blue-skinned aliens with a hankering for primal thrills. The masterfully manipulative "immortal" isn't the only one with secrets, however; the Vegan harbors dark secrets of his own, and Earth-liberation rebels are trying to kill him. "Conrad Nomikos ... resembles Herakles—whose labors the plot of he novel covertly replicates—but is certainly both the Hero of a Thousand Faces and the Trickster who mocks the high road of myth..."[21]

    Contact (1985), novel written by Carl Sagan with unacknowledged assistance from Ann Druyan[22] (see also the film Contact below). SETI researchers detect a message from an extraterrestrial intelligence—a transmitter array (compare graphic) in orbit around the star Vega. As signal hunter Ellie Arroway breathlessly proclaims to a colleague over the telephone: "Yes, Vega is smack in the middle of the field of view. And we’re getting what looks like prime number pulses…"[23] After an arduous decoding process, Ellie and her colleagues discover and implement the plans for a wormhole transport device that carries five explorers to the center of the galaxy. There they speak at length with supernal sentiences, but can bring back no proof of the contact—so that when they return home nobody believes their experiences.

    Hyperion (1989) and The Fall of Hyperion (1990), the first two novels in the Hyperion Cantos written by Dan Simmons. Martin Silenus, the Poet of the Hyperion tales, survives tortured formative years growing up in the ambit of the marginally effective Rifkin Atmospheric Protectorate on Heaven’s Gate, "a minor world circling the star Vega ... [a] poisonous world [with, however] a farcaster connection to Sol System ..."[24] Too late for poor Martin, Heaven's gate is terraformed by the Hegemony of Man into an Edenic garden planet, and kept that way in the face of considerable difficulty thanks to its rich mineral resources—until the collapse of the farcaster network and the fall of the Hegemony. In the apocalypse, "...the worst has happened ... The Ousters are invading the Web. Heaven’s Gate is being destroyed ...".[25] The once beautiful world is reverted by TechnoCore cybrids posing as Ousters into a smoldering slag heap.

    Diaspora (1997), novel by Greg Egan. The Diaspora in the novel consists of a collection of one thousand exact digital copies of the Carter-Zimmerman polis (city state), deployed toward stars in all directions in hopes of improving humankind's understanding of the physics behind an unpredicted gamma ray burst that wiped out most of Earth's inhabitants. Vega is one of the target stars, and a C-Z polis encounters alien life on one of its planets.

Film and television

    "The Cage" (1965; aired 1988), rejected pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Gene Roddenberry and directed by Robert Butler, as part of the film, television, and print franchise originated by Gene Roddenberry. The USS Enterprise is traveling to Vega Colony to arrange care for casualties of the hostilities on Rigel VII, when it receives a distress transmission broadcast by a scientific expedition that has vanished on Talos IV. A landing party beams down; the Talosians capture Captain Christopher Pike and plan to breed him with Vina, an expedition survivor, to create a race of slaves. Cooler heads prevail.

    "Mirror, Mirror" (1967), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Marc Daniels. This episode has a transporter mishap swapping Captain Kirk and his companions with their evil counterparts in a parallel universe. In the so-called Mirror Universe, the ISS Enterprise is a ship of the Terran Empire, a dominion as evil as the United Federation of Planets is benevolent. A horrified Kirk learns that his doppelgänger is guilty of multiple atrocities, including the massacre of 5000 human colonists on the planet Vega IX.

    "One Moment of Humanity" (1976), episode of the television series Space: 1999 written by Tony Barwick and directed by Charles Crichton. When the Moon intrudes into the sphere of influence of the planet Vega, a deputation of Vegans, beautiful to behold, arrives at Moonbase Alpha to remonstrate, and ends by kidnapping two Alphans to the Vega system—abetted by telepathic ensnarement and Positronic Transfer. It turns out that the Vegans are androids, Vega is an artificial paradise planet and a prison, and the Alphans are able to liberate a human population that has been enslaved by the robots (compare following item in this article).

    Spaceballs (1987), sendup of Star Wars and other science fiction film classics[26] written by Mel Brooks et al and directed by Mel Brooks. The planet Spaceball having become uninhabitable due to an environmental catastrophe, President Skroob first attacks the peaceful planet Druidia in his own system by attempting to kidnap its princess, Vespa (compare UFO Robo Grendizer above). "Solo" operator Captain Lone Starr responds to the offer of a reward and rescues her but his plan is thwarted when he runs out of fuel and crash-lands on the nearby desert Moon of Vega. They find their way to a cave occupied by the wise old Yogurt (played by Brooks), who introduces Lone Starr to the power of "The Schwartz". The film proceeds in this vein.

    Babylon 5 (1993–1998), television series created by J. Michael Straczynski. The Vega Colony is an outpost world of the Earth Alliance in the Vega star system, which hosts at least six other planets. Vega Colony appears frequently in the series as a space voyage destination and as the location of a medical center; the ice mines on Vega VII were raided for their explosives by the mad bomber Robert Carlson.

    Contact (1997), film written by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, and directed by Robert Zemeckis. (see also the novel Contact above). SETI researchers detect a message from an extraterrestrial intelligence—a transmitter array orbiting Vega (compare graphic). After an arduous decoding process, they first discover, then finance (Panel member: If you were to meet these Vegans, and were permitted only one question to ask of them, what would it be?[27]) and finally implement the plans for a wormhole transport device that carries a single explorer (Ellie, played by Jodie Foster) to the center of the galaxy. There she speaks at length with a supernal sentience who manifests itself as her departed father, but she can bring back no proof of the contact—so that when she returns home few people believe her experiences actually happened.

See also

Vega is referred to as a location in space or the center of a planetary system unusually often in fiction. For a list containing many stars and planetary systems that have a less extensive list of references, see Stars and planetary systems in fiction.

Notes and references

Notes

    Vega rotates with a period of about 12.5 hours,[1] which is 87.6% of the speed that would cause the star to start breaking up from centrifugal effects.[2]

Archives on Stars Wiki: Betelgeuse the orange red giant star

Betelgeuse in fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in much science fiction.

The star Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) is a bright red star in the constellation Orion frequently featured in works of science fiction. A red supergiant, Betelgeuse is one of the largest and most luminous stars known. If it were at the center of our Solar System its surface would extend past the asteroid belt, possibly to the orbit of Jupiter or even beyond, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Classified as an M-type main sequence star, and located around 640 light-years from Earth, Betelgeuse shares with the much closer but smaller star Altair (and with R Doradus) the distinction that its image has been resolved by astronomers (see graphic[1]).

In another false-color image obtained by infrared interferometry[2] two large, bright star spots spanning ~10 milliarcseconds are visible on the surface of Betelgeuse, possibly representing enormous convective cells rising from below the supergiant's surface.[3] Because of these, Betelgeuse appears to change shape periodically, with a complex, asymmetric envelope that is the product of a colossal ongoing loss of mass, as huge plumes of gas are continuously expelled from its surface (see "Tony and the Beetles" by Philip K. Dick, below). There is some evidence for the existence of close stellar companions of Betelgeuse, orbiting it within its gaseous envelope (see From a Changeling Star by Jeffrey Carver and the television series Space Battleship Yamato, below).

Astronomers believe that this tremendous star is only 10 million years old, but has evolved rapidly because of its great mass. Currently in a late stage of stellar evolution, it is expected to erupt in a Type II supernova, possibly within the next million years (see From a Changeling Star by Jeffrey Carver, "Transit of Betelgeuse" by Robert R. Chase and Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer, below).

Betelgeuse is the eighth brightest star in the night sky and second brightest star in the constellation of Orion, outshining its neighbour Rigel (Beta Orionis) only rarely. Distinctly reddish-tinted, it is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude oscillates between 0.2 and 1.2, the widest range of any first magnitude star. It marks the upper right vertex of the Winter Triangle and center of the Winter Hexagon.[4][5]

There is considerable controversy about the Arabic language origin of the name Betelgeuse, with some dozens of possible derivations and spellings proposed and used across history. A theory that is gaining wide acceptance is that of Paul Kunitzsch, Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Munich, who has proposed that the full name of the "ruddy star"[6] Betelgeuse is a corruption of the Arabic (yad al-jauzā' ) meaning the hand of the al-jauzā, where al-jauzā is the Central One, or Orion.[7] Since, prior to the scientific revolution, the study of astronomy was intimately connected with mythology and astrology, the ruddy star—like the red planet Mars—was for millennia closely associated with the archetypes of iron and war, and by extension the motifs of death and rebirth.[6] In South African mythology, Betelgeuse was a deadly lion stalking three zebras represented by the stars in Orion's belt in the age-old drama of predation and nourishment.[8] Betelgeuse has also appeared variously in the folklore of cultures including ancient Persia, India, China, and Japan.

General uses of Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. At 488 light years away, it is the 10th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.45. Betelgeuse is a component of a multiple-star system. The iron abundance of Betelgeuse is +0.09 (123.0% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 30.4 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 24,400 and 28,500 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 3.5 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude -0.34 from a distance of 339 light years.
Sky position: RA 5h 55.2m, Dec +7° 24.6'
Common designations: Betelgeuse, Alpha Orionis, 58 Orionis, HIP 27989, HD 39801

Betelgeuse may be referred to in fictional works for its metaphorical (meta) or mythological (myth) associations, or else as a bright point of light in the sky of the Earth, but not as a location in space or the center of a planetary system:

    Beetlejuice (1988), film written by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren and Larry Wilson, and directed by Tim Burton. Barbara and Adam Maitland visit their lovely New England country home; the trouble is, they seem to be dead (there was some sort of accident on the way). When the house is sold—as part of the estate settlement—to an obnoxious animate family, the Maitlands hire Betelgeuse, an undead "bio-exorcist" who gets rid of living apparitions rather than dead ones. Although his proper name Betelgeuse, from the star in Orion, is used throughout the film's screenplay (sample: BETELGEUSE: You want to get somebody out of your house. I want to get somebody out of your house.[14]), it only appears visually (on his epitaph) at the end of the film—making it surprising how many moviegoers immediately understood the astronomical pun in the film's title.[15] (sky)

There follow references to Betelgeuse as a location in space or the center of a planetary system, categorized by genre:

Literature

    "Shell Game" (1954), short story by Philip K. Dick. A group of paranoid mental patients long stranded on Betelgeuse II discover the remains of their shipwrecked hospital vessel "...sunk in the half-liquid ooze that made up the surface of Betelgeuse II. Nocturnal phosphorescence danced and flitted over the bog..."[18] They comb through the hulk, seeking evidence to resolve a matter of contention: Are they all the victims of a conspiracy instigated by the alien, shell-clad Beetles, or by Terrans—or is there no conspiracy at all? The story explores the difficulty of distinguishing delusion from actuality, and later served as a partial inspiration for the psychiatric asylum world in the novel Clans of the Alphane Moon. The story also represents an early example of Dick's paranoia about the manipulation of consensual reality and his obsessive revisiting of the conflict between objective reality and a world of appearances imposed upon characters by various means and processes.[19]

    Planet of the Apes (1963), novel by Pierre Boulle. Professor Antelle, a scientific genius of Earth, has invented a spaceship that can travel at nearly the speed of light. He and his companions voyage to the star Betelgeuse, said to be "about three hundred light years distant from our planet," and "emit[ting] red and orange lights";[23] at the end of their spacefaring they awaken from cryosleep to discover themselves near an earthlike planet that they name Soror (Sister). The crew lands, is overcome by a tribe of primitive humans, and then captured by intelligent gorillas and chimpanzees, who enslave them and treat them as dumb beasts. At the novel's climax, they make a startling discovery about the history of Soror. They escape and return to the Earth, where they make an even more startling discovery.[note 1]

    Dune (1965) and other novels in the Dune universe by Frank Herbert. Bela Tegeuse is the common name of Kuentsing V, third stopping place of the Zensunni (Fremen) forced migration. This name is a probable corruption of Betelgeuse.[26]

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978- ), novels and other media by Douglas Adams. Ford Prefect, roving researcher for that "wholly remarkable book," The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, hails from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse as does his semi-cousin Zaphod Beeblebrox, with whom he shares three mothers. References to residents and places on the planets orbiting Betelgeuse (for example Zaphod's favourite mother, Mrs. Alice Beeblebrox, who is a resident of 108 Astral Crescent Zoovroozlechester Betelgeuse V) are made throughout most versions of the Hitchhiker's Guide saga.[27]

    The Robots of Dawn (1983), novel by Isaac Asimov. Detective Elijah Baley, fresh from his detecting successes in The Caves of Steel, is summoned to the Spacer world Aurora (Dawn) to investigate a case of "roboticide": The mind of R. Jander Panell, a humaniform robot similar to R. Daneel Olivaw, has been destroyed with a robot block ("mental freeze-out").[28] On his approach to Aurora he tries out an astrosimulator which projects a view of space directly onto his visual cortex; wishing to get a view of his nearby destination, he uses the star Betelgeuse as a reference point.[28]

    Calculating God (2000), novel written by Robert J. Sawyer. The alien visitor Hollus comes here to study accumulated human knowledge, with the intention of gathering evidence about the existence of God. At the end of the novel, the star Betelgeuse becomes a supernova in the sky of Earth, threatening all life within hundreds of light-years, and now humanity (see graphic). Hollus explains that the actual cataclysm was purposely ignited centuries ago by the physically moribund civilization of Groombridge 1618 III in order to sterilize the stellar neighborhood, an act performed to protect from the meddling of nearby races the otherwise vulnerable virtual reality machinery that would house and immortalize the dying species' personalities.[32]

    Space Battleship Yamato (1974–75), Japanese anime series written by Leiji Matsumoto and Yoshinobu Nishizaki, and directed by Leiji Matsumoto. The surface of the Earth is rendered uninhabitable by a radioactive meteor attack launched by aliens from the planet Gamilas in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Informed of the availability of a global decontamination device from a different, friendlier LMC planet, humans secretly build a huge intergalactic retrieval ship incorporating the hulk of the WWII superdreadnaught Yamato. In the 12th of 26 episodes, the starship Yamato is lured into a trap near Betelgeuse and escapes by passing out of ken through the star's corona.

    Blade Runner (1982), film. Betelgeuse (α Ori) and Bellatrix (γ Ori) are the two shoulders of the hunter figure in the constellation Orion (see graphic). In his much-quoted Tears in rain soliloquy, which has been described as "perhaps the most moving death soliloquy in cinematic history,"[33] the dying replicant Roy Batty declares, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. [pause] Time to die." See also Gamma Orionis (Bellatrix).

See also

Betelgeuse is referred to as a location in space or the center of a planetary system unusually often in fiction. For a list containing many stars and planetary systems that have a less extensive list of references, see Stars and planetary systems in fiction.

Notes and references

Notes

    In the 1968 film version (having the same name as the novel, Planet of the Apes), Commander George Taylor (Charlton Heston) states, "We're some 320 light years from Earth on an unnamed planet in orbit around a star in the constellation of Orion."[24] In the novel Planet of the Apes that star is Betelgeuse. The distance declared by Heston in the film accords well with the value stated for Betelgeuse early in the novel—"about three hundred light years distant from our planet" (notwithstanding that the current best value for the distance to Betelgeuse is at least 500 ly from the Earth[25]). It is also true that no other major star in Orion is anywhere near 320 light years away. In spite of this narrowing of the field of candidates, circumstantial evidence weighs against the film's destination sun being identified as Betelgeuse: rather than looming crimson in the sky as a red supergiant, it appears indistinguishable from the Sun of our own planet—where in fact the film was made.

In Boulle's novel, the spacefarers do not "awaken from cryosleep"—indeed, they do not utilize cryosleep at all, but remain awake during the nearly two years of ship-time spent on the journey. It is in the 1968 film version that so-called cryosleep is used by the American astronauts; the astronaut Taylor (portrayed by Charlton Heston) refers to "the long sleep" of nearly a year of ship-time during which his crew spends the majority of their voyage towards the unnamed star that is their destination.

Archives on Stars Wiki: Altair a white subgiant star nearby

Altair in fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in much science fiction.

Star

Altair (Alpha Aquilae) is a luminous white star in the constellation Aquila (the Eagle) frequently featured in works of science fiction. Classified as a A-type main sequence star, and located 16.7 light-years from Earth, Altair is one of the few stars for which a resolved image of measurable nonzero extent has been obtained[1] (see graphic[2]). It rotates so rapidly, with a period of just 9 hours – compared to 25 days for the Sun – that it is significantly oblate, having an equatorial diameter more than 20 percent greater than its polar diameter. It is a peculiar fact that among the authors of the fictional works in this article, not excluding Hal Clement (who imagined dramatic equatorial bulges for many of his planets), only Jerry Oltion (1999) has employed or even acknowledged the striking physical peculiarities of this star (see "Biosphere", below).

There is no evidence that the system is home to any extrasolar planets.

Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. With an apparent visual magnitude of 0.77, it is one of the closest stars visible to the unaided eye[3] (most of the nearest stars are red dwarfs too dim to see without a telescope). It forms a part of two well-known triplet asterisms: With β and γ Aquilae it forms the straight line of stars sometimes referred to as the Family of Aquila or the Shaft of Aquila;[4] more prominently, it is the southernmost vertex of the Summer Triangle, the other two vertices being the bright stars Deneb and Vega (see High Sierra, below).[5]

The name Altair is from the Arabic (an-nasr aṭ-ṭā’ir), which translates literally as the flying eagle, from its belonging to the constellation. The star is named and plays a part in a variety of ancient myths worldwide, especially in the Western- and South-Pacific regions of the globe. In particular, in Chinese myth it is called the Cowherd Star after the story of the cowherd Niú Láng and his two children (β and γ Aquilae), who are separated from their mother Zhī Nŭ (the star Vega) by the Milky Way. They are only permitted to meet once a year, when the Milky Way is crossed by a bridge of magpies.[6][7]

General uses of Altair

Altair may be referred to in fictional works for its metaphorical (meta) or mythological (myth) associations, or else as a bright point of light in the sky of Earth, but not as a location in space or the center of a hypothetical planetary system:

Altair is a white main-sequence star in the constellation Aquila. At 16.7 light years away, it is the 12nd brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.76. Altair is the primary component of a multiple-star system and an intrinsic variable star that varies between magntitudes 0.82 and 0.87 over a period of 7.94 days. The iron abundance of Altair is -0.24 (57.5% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 31.1 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 23,100 and 27,400 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It will come closest to the Sun 138,000 years from now when it will brighten to magnitude -0.67 from a distance of 8.6 light years.
Sky position: RA 19h 50.8m, Dec +8° 52.2'
Common designations: Altair, Alpha Aquilae, 53 Aquilae, HIP 97649, HD 187642, HR 7557, Gliese 768

There follow references to Altair as a location in space or the center of a planetary system, categorized by genre:

Literature

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978- ), novels and other media by Douglas Adams. The denomination of currency commonly used throughout the galaxy is the Altairian dollar, native (of course) to the Altair system. We first hear about this kind of money early in the original book when we learn that Ford Prefect, roving researcher for that "wholly remarkable book," The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, knows how to see the Marvels of the Universe for "less than thirty Altairian dollars a day."[11]

    The Winds of Altair (1983), novel written by Ben Bova. Earth is an old planet, and her teeming masses are running out of resources ... and time. It is up to men like Jeff Holman to discover a haven for Earth’s suffering millions. Altair VI is one such world, and Holman is determined to terraform this alien planet into one where the human race can survive—but there's a hitch: It is already home to a sentient race who are just as smart as we are. Jeff "can’t help feeling that what we are doing is wrong. It’s murder. Genocide ..." and he faces a soul-wrenching decision.[12] Still, the long-term outlook can hardly be in doubt. "In his nonfiction and fiction alike, Ben Bova makes it clear that survival for the [human] race lies elsewhere than on this planet [Earth] alone..."[13]

    The Tommyknockers (1987), novel by Stephen King. Altair IV is a desolate, nearly airless world serving as a sort of cosmic storeroom for objects from all over the galaxy (compare Altair IV in Film and television: The Forbidden Planet below). In the novel, inhabitants of a small New England town discover an alien spacecraft, and in he days the follow are themselves transformed into super-intelligent but ethically challenged aliens. Bizarre crimes are committed, such as the "kidnapping" of young David Brown, whose jealous older brother Hilly teleports him to Altair IV where he languishes alongside a trove of interstellar junk.

    The Rowan (1990), novel by Anne McCaffrey. The Rowan tells the life story of Angharad Gwyn, a Prime Talent (the highest classification of telepath), from the moment the child's family and community were destroyed to the time when she becomes a Prime. Gwyn—The Rowan of the title—was the only survivor of a landslide that destroyed the Rowan Mining Camp on the planet Altair. Buried under detritus and sludge for days, the child sent cries for help and, thanks to the power of her young mind, was heard by every receptive telepath on the planet.

    Sunstorm (2005), novel written by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. A giant planet that will plunge into the Sun "with the mass of fifteen Jupiters" has been launched toward the Solar System by the Firstborn intelligences of the Altair system.[15] The Altarians, believing mankind to be a disorderly and profligate race, are determined to stop humanity from wastefully "infecting" the galaxy.[16] At immense cost, the planetary missile has been launched on a collision course with the Solar System, with the intention of triggering a huge solar flare (see animation) that will sterilize the surface of the Earth, and possibly destroy humankind's ultimate refuge on Mars as well. Although illuminated by a spark of hope at the very end, this generally pessimistic tale marks a striking contrast to Clarke's usual liberal, optimistic view of the probable benefits of technology to the future of the human race.[17]

    The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing (2009), Star Trek: Enterprise relaunch novel written by Michael A. Martin as part of the film, television, and print franchise originated by Gene Roddenberry. The planet Altair VI has been attacked by the Romulans twice. The first attack was blocked by the warships Columbia, Heinlein, and Kon-Tiki, and the second was defeated by a task force led by the starship Endeavour.

Film and television

Star Trek

The items in this subsection all refer to works in the film, television, and print franchise originated by Gene Roddenberry.

    "Amok Time" (1967), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Theodore Sturgeon. Suffering through his first infliction of pon farr, the Vulcan biological mating urge, Spock must return to Vulcan to marry his betrothed or he will perish. Solicitous of his first officer, Captain James Kirk diverts the USS Enterprise from its original destination, Altair VI, so that he can deliver Spock to his home planet. Complications ensue.

    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), film written by Jack B. Sowards and directed by Nicholas Meyer. The film opens with a space battle between the USS Enterprise and a Klingon ship that turns out to be a holodeck simulation: the Kobayashi Maru test for cadets pursuing the command track at Starfleet Academy. This simulation confronts the subject with a moral and strategic dilemma. Should he rescue the disabled civilian vessel Kobayashi Maru if it means violating a peace treaty with the Klingons and the risk of war, or should he observe the spatial proscriptions of the treaty and abandon the ship to certain extinction? As the scenario unfolds, the damaged spacecraft reports that they are "nineteen periods out of Altair VI," the closest starport to the disaster and a possible haven if the Kobayashi Maru can be succored.

    "Encounter at Farpoint" (1987), two-hour pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Gene Roddenberry and directed by Corey Allen. Captain Picard and the crew of the newly built USS Enterprise-D examine the mysterious Farpoint Station, which the enigmatic Bandi are offering to the Federation—all while he labors under the judgmental gaze of a powerful alien entity that calls itself Q. At Farpoint, Picard wants to fire on a mysterious hostile craft, but is warned off by Q, so he sends an away team instead. In an "establishing" conversation for the new series we learn that Captain Robert DeSoto of the USS Hood was once ordered not to beam down to the surface of the planet Altair III with an away team because the excursion was considered too dangerous, and inappropriate for a commanding officer.

    "Prophet Motive" (1995), episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and directed by René Auberjonois. In the episode, Zek, a Grand Nagus of the venal and acquisitive Ferengi, has a change of heart and turns to a spirit of kindness and giving—a development so out of character that it alarms the medical staff, including Julian Bashir, the chief medical officer of Deep Space Nine. A sub-plot has Bashir nominated for the prestigious Carrington Award for medicine, which he ends up not winning. In the episode's back-story, Doctor Henri Roget of the Central Hospital of Altair IV was a recipient of the same award in 2371.

    Forbidden Planet (1956), film written by Cyril Hume and directed by Fred M. Wilcox, loosely based on William Shakespeare's romance The Tempest. Early in the 23rd century, the United Planets cruiser C57-D is sent to the planet Altair IV to discover the fate of a colony expedition lost there 20 years before. The spaceship receives a radio transmission from Dr. Edward Morbius of the original expedition (Prospero) who warns them away, advising that he cannot guarantee their safety and that he needs no further assistance. The starship's captain, Commander John J. Adams (Alonso and Ferdinand—see graphic), insists that Morbius provide landing coordinates; Morbius reluctantly complies and the C57-D lands on the "forbidden planet." Adventure—and scenes with Robbie the Robot (Ariel) and the id monster (Caliban)—ensue. The plot, mixing the tawdry and the potent, is very sophisticated for the time ... The visual treatment was unsurpassed until 2001: A Space Odyssey, made 12 years later. Despite its flaws, the film remains one of the few masterpieces of science fiction cinema.[19]

    "The Plot to Kill a City" (1979), episodes 106 and 107 in the television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century written by Alan Brennert and directed by Dick Lowry. After capturing Raphael Argus, a notorious assassin who began his career on Altair V, Buck learns that the killer is to attend a conclave of terrorists. Buck assumes his identity, discovers a plot to destroy New Chicago, is himself discovered, and manages to get back to Earth to foil the conspiracy.

    Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure (1989), stage and audio play written by Terrance Dicks, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The story involves an alliance between the Daleks and the Cybermen who have joined forces to kidnap the American Envoy and ruin a peace conference on Earth. Doctor Who and his companions fail to foil the plot, but follow the trail of the kidnappers to Altair III, and then the Bar Galactica and points beyond.

    "Tin Man" (1998), episode #19 of Stargate SG-1 written by Jeff F. King and directed by Jimmy Kaufman. 11,000 years ago, the inhabitants of the planet Altair (P3X-989) were forced underground by deadly radiation, and eventually transferred their minds into exact android duplicates to survive. By the time SG-1 visits their planet, only one Altarian remains: Harlan, who creates android replicas of the Earth team to aid him. When this is discovered, the androids must remain on Altair, and the real SG-1 returns home.

See also

Altair is referred to as a location in space or the center of a planetary system unusually often in fiction. For a list containing many stars and planetary systems that have a less extensive list of references, see Stars and planetary systems in fiction.