Atmospheric beast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atmospheric beasts (a.k.a. sky beasts or sky critters) are organisms which could hypothetically exist off of the surface of Earth or other planets with an atmosphere. These could fly (or float) without wings as they weigh less than air.
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[edit] In science fiction
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle anticipated these ideas in his short story "The Horror of the Heights", where an airman discovers a previously unknown ecosystem of life forms in Earth's atmosphere.
"Goldfish Bowl" is a 1942 short story by Robert A. Heinlein dealing with the theme.
A sentient variation of the atmospheric beast, the Slylandro, is portrayed in the Star Control series of computer games.
Another example of this type of life-form is found in Iain M. Banks’ The Algebraist. They are also featured in several science-fiction works of Arthur C. Clarke, which include his short story, "A Meeting with Medusa" and the novel 2010: Odyssey Two, as well as in the James Tiptree, Jr novel Up the Walls of the World. In Kenneth Oppel's Airborn, there is a previously undiscovered species of flying mammals named "cloud cats", who live their entire lives completely in the air.
The Pokemon Rayquaza was probably based on this concept.
[edit] In astrobiological speculation
Carl Sagan has said that this kind of animal could live in the atmosphere of a gas giant, such as Jupiter. Illustrations of atmospheric beasts have frequently appeared in books and exhibiting speculation as to the exotic forms extraterrestrial life might take. Descriptions of this sort often portray these beings as living balloons, filled with lighter than air gasses.
A hypothetical, extraterrestrial atmospheric beast is featured on the cover of Extraterrestrials: A Field Guide for Earthlings.
[edit] In UFO and cryptid lore
Ufologists and Cryptozoologists have theorized about the existence of biological UFOs, citing photos and observations of sightings that resemble living beings more than machined craft[citation needed]. The controversial substance called "star jelly" is alleged by some to be composed of the bodies of dead atmospheric beasts. Atmospheric beasts are speculated by some as interdimensional beings, able to pop in and out of existence in a manner similar to ghosts, while they are thought by others to be fully natural biological organisms that are related genetically to terrestrial life and are built like jellyfish of the air, or that they may be alien life forms that are native to outer space itself rather than to any particular planet (extra-atmospheric). Atmospheric beasts are almost never considered to be the same sort of creature as rods, mainly because of the obvious differences in description: atmospheric beasts are hardly ever considered to be invisible to the naked eye, and atmospheric beasts are generally described as far larger than the biggest rods[citation needed]. Since atmospheric beasts are not described as being only visible in film, it would be nearly impossible to explain them as camera artifacts; Atmospheric beasts also have a longer history, while rods are a recent fad[citation needed].
[edit] References
- Trevor J. Constable. The Cosmic Pulse of Life: The Revolutionary Biological Power Behind UFOs Santa Ana, California: Merlin Press, 1976.
- Ivan Terence Sanderson. Uninvited Visitors New York: Cowles Education, 1967.
