Tag: outer space

Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

As a general rule, Heinlein novels are either really controversial (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), really meta (The Number of the Beast), really fun (Citizen of the Galaxy), or some combination of all three (Starship Troopers). Farmer in the Sky is one of the really fun ones. This novel was written before the Apollo… Continue reading Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein

Y is for Yesteryear

They say that the golden age of science fiction is about twelve years old.  That’s definitely true for me. My first exposure to the genre was Star Wars: A New Hope.  I saw it when I was seven, right around the height of my dinosaur phase.  Everything about the movie completely blew me away, from… Continue reading Y is for Yesteryear

V is for Vast

If you don’t know anything else about the universe, you should know this: it’s big.  Really, really, REALLY big. How big, you ask?  Well, for starters, take a look at Earth in the picture above.  Can you see it?  It’s the pale blue dot in the beam of starlight on the right side of the… Continue reading V is for Vast

S is for Space Station

Planets are not the only setting for science fiction stories–space stations are common as well.  From the Death Star (“that’s no moon…”) to Downbelow Station, the Venus Equilateral to ISPV 7 to the Battle School in Ender’s Game, space stations are a major staple of any space-centered science fiction. The reasons for this should be fairly… Continue reading S is for Space Station

P is for Planets

Gliese 581 by ~arisechicken117 on deviantART One of the best things about a good science fiction story is that it can take you to another world–literally!  Well, not in the sense of actually physically taking you there, but if you want to experience the thrills of an alien world from the safety of your favorite… Continue reading P is for Planets

O is for Orbit

One of the key things that makes space different from Earth is that nothing is ever stationary.  Anything close to our planet that isn’t moving at a good clip (measured in miles/kilometers per second) is liable to plummet like a brick.  Gravity is still in effect, even though you’re in free fall and thus don’t… Continue reading O is for Orbit

I is for Interstellar

Right after I went through my Dinosaur phase, I saw Star Wars IV: A New Hope for the first time.  Instantly, all that childlike excitement and exuberance was transferred from paleontology to astronomy.  We had a series of about twenty astronomy books in my elementary school’s LRC (Asimov’s astronomy series, I believe–the ones with the… Continue reading I is for Interstellar

G is for Gravity

Possibly one of the most defining aspects of space is the sensation of free fall.  Of course, gravity exists in space, the same as it does everywhere else in the universe (probably), but in space we feel its effects differently because we aren’t close enough to a body of sufficient mass to feel a strong… Continue reading G is for Gravity

Trope Tuesday: Planetville (aka Adventure Planets)

Adventure towns…IN SPAAACE!!! Seriously, that’s the best way to describe it.  In Westerns and TV serials, the heroes travel from town to town, with a new adventure in each place.  Well, in science fiction, we don’t hop towns, we hop planets.  Why?  Because we can. Unfortunately, since planets and towns are actually pretty different kinds… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Planetville (aka Adventure Planets)