Sirius in fiction
- The name "Sirius" is also often applied to people, animals, or things not directly connected with the star. For other uses, see Sirius (disambiguation).
The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in much science fiction. Sirius, a double star system with the binary designation Sirius AB, is the brightest stellar object in the night sky. Its component stars are Sirius A (the primary—twice as massive and 25 times more luminous than the Sun[1]) and Sirius B (the secondary—a faint white dwarf).
Sirius AB is the alpha star of the constellation Canis Major (the great dog, sometimes styled as Orion's hunting dog[2]), whence its cognomen "the dog star". The most commonly used proper name of this star comes through the Latin Sirius, from the Greek Σείριος (Seirios, glowing or scorcher). The ancient Greeks observed that the appearance of Sirius heralded the hot and dry dog days of summer, and feared that it caused plants to wilt, men to weaken, and women to become aroused.[3] The star was also an important harbinger of winter to Maori and Polynesian cultures, and central to the animist beliefs of the Dogon people of Mali. To this day it is frequently mentioned in science fiction and related popular culture.[4]
General uses
Fictional works that do not refer to Sirius as a location in space or the center of a planetary system include:
- The Iliad (c. eighth cent BCE), epic poem attributed to Homer. Homer describes the final approach of the Greeks' shining warrior, Achilles, toward Troy by comparing him to the dazzling star Sirius.[2] (sky, myth)
- Absalom and Achitophel (1681), satirical poem by John Dryden.[5]
- Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), novel by Thomas Hardy. Sirius makes several appearances in this book as a companion of other prominent stars, then as the follower of the Pleiades l.[6] (sky)
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), novel by Thomas Hardy. Tess sits with her new husband Angel before the embers of a fire, and her jewelry sparkles in its crimson glare.[7]
- Dogsbody (1975), juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones. The star Sirius (the dog star) is an intelligent being falsely accused by his peers of murdering another star.[8]
- The Silmarillion (1977), compendium of mythopoetic works by J. R. R. Tolkien, including the creation myth limning the origins of the Elvish race: Sirius is called Helluin by the Elves.[9]
- Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas (1994), novel by Tom Robbins. The plot refers to the Sirius mysteries and the mythology surrounding the Dogon people of Mali in west Africa.[10][11]
Literature
- True History (c. second cent CE), travel tale by the Greek-speaking Syrian author Lucian of Samosata.[12] The novel mentions alien Sirian acorn-dogs ("dog-faced men fighting on winged acorns"), who help him carry the day.[13]
- "Micromégas" (1752), short story by Voltaire. The tale recounts the visit to Earth of a giant from a world circling the star Sirius.[14]
- Seed of Light (1959), novel by Edmund Cooper. The tale concerns the voyage of a generation starship to the Sirius system.[15]
- The Sirian Experiments (1980), third novel in the Canopus in Argos series by literature Nobelist Doris Lessing. The Sirian Empire, centred in the Sirius star system, has advanced technology that makes its citizens effectively immortal and sophisticated machines that do almost everything for them.[16]
Film and television
- V (1983–1985), miniseries and regular television series created by Kenneth Johnson. Carnivorous reptilian humanoids from Sirius IV invade the Earth.[17]
See also
References
- ^ Liebert, James; Young, Patrick A.; Arnett, David; Holberg, Jay B.; Williams, Kurtis A. (2005). "The Age and Progenitor Mass of Sirius B". The Astrophysical Journal. 630 (1): L69 – L72. arXiv:astro-ph/0507523. Bibcode:2005ApJ...630L..69L. doi:10.1086/462419. S2CID 8792889.
- ^ a b Homer (1962). Iliad. Vol. 22:25. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 435–436. ISBN 0-226-46940-9.
- ^ Holberg, J B (2007). Sirius: Brightest Diamond in the Night Sky. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-387-48941-4.
- ^ The editors of Analog and Asimov's Science Fiction (1993). Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-312-08926-9.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Dryden, John (1681). "Absalom And Achitophel". Read Book Online. pp. [etext: search on quotation]. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ^ Hardy, Thomas (2000). Far from the Madding Crowd. London: Penguin Classics. pp. 9, 12. ISBN 978-0-14-143965-5.
- ^ Hardy, Thomas (2009). Tess of the d'Urbervilles. London: Arcturus. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-84837-322-8.
- ^ Jones, Diana Wynne (1975). Dogsbody. New York: Greenwillow Books. p. 5. ISBN 0-06-441038-2.
- ^ Tolkien, J R R (1977). The Silmarillion. ed. Christopher Tolkien. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-547-95198-0.
- ^ Hoyser, Catherine E; Lorena Laura Stookey (1997). Tom Robbins: A Critical Companion. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 9, 150. ISBN 0-313-29418-6. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
Tom Robbins: A Critical Companion.
- ^ Temple, Robert (1998). The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago. passim. Merrimac, MA: Destiny Books. ISBN 0-89281-750-X.
- ^ Fredericks, S C (1976). "Lucian's "True History" as SF". Science Fiction Studies. 3 (1): 49–60. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ^ Reardon, B P (2008). Collected Ancient Greek Novels. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. pp. 619–622. ISBN 978-0-520-25655-2.
- ^ Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "Voltaire". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. pp. 1287–1288. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
- ^ Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "Cooper, Edmund". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. p. 263. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
- ^ Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "Lessing, Doris". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. p. 714. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
- ^ Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "V". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. p. 1263. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
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