Aldebaran in fiction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) is a large bright orange star in the constellation Taurus that sometimes appears in science fiction:
[edit] Literature
- Aldebaran is one of several stars mentioned in the Cthulhu Mythos, as somehow relating to the god Hastur.
- In Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, mankind's first contact with the alien race, later called Taurans, technically occurs near Aldebaran. As the main character explains, ""Aldebaranian" is a little hard to handle, they named the enemy "Tauran"."
- Frederik Pohl's Narabedla Inc. is partially set on a planet circling Aldebaran. The title being the name of an Earth Corporation run by human agents of the Aldebaran aliens. Narabedla is Aldebaran spelled backward.
- In Douglas Adams' The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Aldebaran is mentioned once. In 576 thousand million years, right after the Universe has ended, the guests at Milliways (the eponymous restaurant) will be served sweets and delicious Aldebaranian liqueur. In the original radio broadcast, Roy Hudd, playing the restaurant's maître d', Max Quordlepleen, mispronounced the name as "Adelbaran".
- In the novels of E. E. Smith's Lensman Series Aldebaran's second planet is portrayed as having no native intelligent life, and, being otherwise very Earth-like, attracting large scale human settlement. This yields a vibrant world with a notably hedonistic culture.
- In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Aldebaran is mentioned in reference to the glow of Tess's jewelry as she sits opposite her new husband Angel.
- Aldebaran is the home system of the sea turtle-like aliens in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven.
[edit] Comics
- In Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya (manga and anime series), Aldebaran is the name of the Taurus Gold Saint who guards the Taurus temple at Athena's Sanctuary where the twelve houses of the Zodiac lay ground. Aldebaran is Brazilian and is the tallest and one of the strongest and wisest warriors in the sanctuary.
- Léo's comics series Aldébaran is set on the Earth-like planet "Aldebaran-4" (or simply "Aldebaran"), circling the star of the same name. The planet is colonised by humans.
- In the Bucky O'Hare series of comic books and the accompanying TV series, Aldebaran is the name of a planet in a parallel universe, and the home to several anthropomorphic cats who wield magical powers.
[edit] Television
- In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Relics Captain Jean-Luc Picard tells Montgomery Scott that the green-colored alcoholic beverage he is drinking is "Aldebaran Whisky".
Astronomical locations in fiction
Solar System
Mercury • Venus • Earth (Moon) • Mars (moons) • Jupiter (moons) • Saturn (Titan · other moons) • Uranus • Neptune
Ceres • Asteroids • Pluto • Outer planets • Comets
Other systems
Aldebaran • Alpha Centauri • Altair • Betelgeuse • Deneb • Epsilon Eridani • Procyon • Rigel • Sirius • Tau Ceti • Vega • Galaxies
