Deneb in fiction

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

The Star Deneb

Main article: Deneb
Deneb is thought to have a diameter of about 110 times that of the Sun; if placed at the center of our Solar System, Deneb would extend halfway out to the orbit of the Earth. It is one of the largest white stars known.

Deneb (Alpha Cygni), a luminous blue-white supergiant of spectral type A2Ia[1] in the constellation Cygnus, shines prominently in the night sky—despite its lying at the inordinate distance of some 1550 light-years[2]—and it is frequently employed as a remote location, faraway destination, or alien home sun in works of fiction (see "Dead Ahead" by Jack Vance and The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey, below). Deneb's absolute magnitude is approximately −7.0, one of the greatest intrinsic brightnesses of any known star, which gives it an estimated luminosity nearly 60,000 times that of our Sun (see "Uncommon Sense" by Hal Clement, below). It appears to have a diameter of about 110 times that of the Sun[note 1] (see graphic), but a mass only 20 times as great[1]—bespeaking a tenuous average density approximately 10−5 times that of our own star.[note 2]

The classification of Deneb as a blue-white supergiant, its mass (~20 solar masses, \begin{smallmatrix}M_\odot\end{smallmatrix}), and its surface temperature (~8400 K) mean that the star will enjoy but a short lifespan and probably go supernova within a few million years. Its stellar wind causes it to lose mass at a rate of 8×10−7 \begin{smallmatrix}M_\odot\end{smallmatrix}/yr, a hundred thousand times the flow rate from the Sun.

Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus and the nineteenth brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 1.25. It is a vertex of the Summer Triangle, the other two vertices being the bright stars Altair and Vega (see High Sierra, below).[3]

The name Deneb is from the Arabic (ذنب الدجاجة dhanab ad-dajājah), which translates literally as tail of the hen.[4][note 3] In Chinese, "天津" (Tiān Jīn), meaning Celestial Ford, refers to an asterism consisting of Deneb and eight other stars in Cygnus (see graphic, below). In a legendary Chinese love story, Deneb marks the location of the magpie bridge across the Milky Way,[5] which allows two lovers represented by the stars Altair and Vega—the other two vertices of the Summer Triangle—to be reunited on one special night of the year in late summer[6] (See Qi Xi, below).

General uses of Deneb

Deneb anchors the Celestial Ford asterism crossing the Milky Way, and every year on the 7th night of 7th moon it hosts the magpie bridge.

Deneb 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:

 

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

Literature

Map of the Denebian Aar, from the 1943 Captain Future story "Star of Dread."

In the listing below, the majority of literary references to Deneb occurred in the score of years after 1943, the star's banner year as a cynosure when its spectrum was selected as one of the stable anchor points by which all other stars' spectra would be classified.[10] There followed a hiatus of 30 years, until a cluster of works representing renewed interest in the star appeared around the year 1990.

Universe as a Riemannian sphere, showing a closed geodesic, the "dead straight" trajectory of the explorers in "Dead Ahead."
Map of the Honorverse, with the Solarian League (red), the Star Kingdom of Manticore (green), and the People's Republic of Haven (cyan). Credit: Michał Świerczek

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.

Other film and television

Deneb is the constellation Cygnus' alpha star.

Comics

Games

See also

Deneb 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

  1. In a sort of cosmic coincidence, this is the same as the ratio of the Sun's diameter to the Earth's: The sequence of radii \begin{smallmatrix}R_\oplus\end{smallmatrix}, \begin{smallmatrix}R_\odot\end{smallmatrix}, \begin{smallmatrix}R_\star\end{smallmatrix}Deneb is geometric.
  2. The relative average density is (relative mass)/(relative volume) ≈ 20/1103 ≈ 0.000015.
  3. Arab astronomers gave parallel names to at least seven different stars, most notably Deneb Kaitos, the brightest star in the constellation Cetus, the whale; Deneb Algedi, the brightest star in Capricornus, the goat; and Denebola, the second brightest star in Leo, the lion. All these stars are referring to the tail of the animals that their respective constellations represent.
    Deneb in star names as the tail of constellations
    Deneb, the tail of the swan. 
    Deneb Kaitos, the tail of the whale. 
    Deneb Algedi, the tail of the sea-goat. 
    Denebola, the tail of the lion. 
  4. Given the spaceboat Aquila's name, it is somewhat surprising that the writers did not choose to make the Yrrillian planet of origin Altair (Alpha Aquilae) rather than Deneb (Alpha Cygni).

References

  1. 1 2 "Deneb". The Dome of the Sky. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  2. Apellániz, J Maíz; Alfaro, E J; Sota, A (2008). "Accurate distances to nearby massive stars with the new reduction of the Hipparcos raw data". arXiv:0804.2553 [astro-ph].
  3. "Summer Triangle". The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  4. Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning. Mineola, NY: Dover Books. p. 195. ISBN 0-486-21079-0.
  5. "Starmap: Summer Triangle spanning the Milky Way". The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  6. Brown, Ju; Brown, John (2006). China, Japan, Korea Culture and Customs: Culture and Customs. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 1-4196-4893-4.
  7. Yuan, Haiwang; Williams, Michael Ann (2006). Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 105–107. ISBN 1-59158-294-6.
  8. Lem, Stanisław (1989). Eden. trans Marc E Heine. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. p. 46. ISBN 0-15-127580-7.
  9. "Cygnus X-1 Lyrics". LyricsFreak. Stanza 2. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  10. Garrison, R F (December 1993), "Anchor Points for the MK System of Spectral Classification", Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 25: 1319, Bibcode:1993AAS...183.1710G, retrieved 2012-02-14
  11. Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "Hamilton, Edmond M". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. p. 538. ISBN 0-312-13486-X. Hamilton spent much of the early 1940s creating the juvenile Captain Future series complete with a future history of various human species originating in the Deneb system, a collection at the same time better written and less lively than his groundbreaking trademark space operas.
  12. Benford, Gregory (2000). Nebula Awards Showcase 2000. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 150. ISBN 0-15-600705-3.
  13. Soyka, David. "Nebula Awards Showcase 2000". SF Site. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  14. Vance, Jack (2005). "Dead Ahead" 3. Multiple editors. Oakland, California: The Vance Integral Edition. p. 34. ISBN 0-9712375-1-4.
  15. Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "Asimov, Isaac". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. pp. 55–60. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
  16. Strugatsky, Arkady and Boris. "Introduction...". Roadside Picnic. New York: Macmillan. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  17. Simmons, Dan (1989). Hyperion. New York: Bantam Books. p. 179. ISBN 0-553-28368-5.
  18. Simmons, Dan (1989). Hyperion. New York: Bantam Books. p. 200. ISBN 0-553-28368-5.
  19. Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "Simmons, Dan". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. p. 1111. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
  20. McCaffrey, Anne (1990). The Rowan. New York: Ace. p. 151. ISBN 0-441-73576-2.
  21. Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "McCaffrey, Anne". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. p. 747. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
  22. Weber, David (1995). #5. Flag in Exile. Riverdale, NY: Baen Publishing Enterprises. p. 123. ISBN 0-671-31980-9.
  23. Weber, David (1998). #8. Echoes of Honor. Riverdale, NY: Baen Publishing Enterprises. pp. 4; 195; 211; 543; 554; 557; 672. ISBN 0-671-57833-2.
  24. Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). "Blake’s Seven". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin’s Griffin. p. 133. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
  25. King, Larry. "Planets of the Earth Alliance". Science Fiction Timeline Site • Babylon Five History Page. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  26. Spelling, Ian (1996-11-21). "'Babylon 5' Plans Explosive 4th Season". Chicago Tribune (reprinted from The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  27. Gruenwald, Mark; Sanderson, Peter (1987). The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition 15. New York: Marvel Comics.
  28. "The Chronicles of Exile: Section 10". Vendetta Online. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
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