Cosmic Stories Blog
This blog exists to explore conceptions and representations of science or science communication through the medium of fiction. A new blog entry is posted every two weeks. For updates follow me on Twitter @Tiylaya, mastodon, bluesky or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CosmicStoriesSF.
Hearts of Stone
Exploring the discussion of silicon and other mineral-based life in science fiction.
Venusian Futures
Looking at modern era insights into Venus in science and science fiction
Cytherean Dreams
Looking at early representations of Venus in science fiction
Planetary Protection
Looking at issues of biocontamination and planetary protection
The Echo of Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was one of the most influential writers of the early twentieth century. But why do his novels still resonate today?
Counterweight Worlds
Looking at the science fiction of hypothetical worlds on the Other Side of the Sun.
Exo-Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs! On a spaceship!
Space Elevators
Ever since Jack climbed the beanstock in search of treasures, and likely long before, humanity has dreamed of building an elevator to the stars.
We are the Martians
Did humanity originate elsewhere? Why does Mars appear so prominently as the origin of the human race in science fiction?
The Weather from the Sun
Exploring space weather - an important problem both in science fiction and in our contemporary world.
Desert Worlds
One of the common uses of science fiction is to imagine the habitability of worlds very different from our own. Some famous science fiction narratives consider a desert as their setting, but how is human habitability envisaged in these worlds and how plausible are they?
The Vermin of the Skies
The asteroid belt is a collection of small rocky worlds, ranging in size from pebbles to the dwarf planet Ceres at almost a thousand kilometres across. Located in orbit between Mars and Jupiter they have been an important site in the imagination of both SF writers and scientists alike.
High Frontiers
Human settlement of space has been a given since the earliest science fiction stories were written. The High Frontier was an influential popular science book published in 1976 by an American physicist Gerard K O’Neill. The High Frontier had an enormous impact, and cylindrical space habitats have since acquired the name O’Neill Cylinders, both in fact and in fiction.
Going Out with a Bang
Supernovae, the explosions that end the lives of certain stars, are amongst the brightest and most dramatic events in the Universe. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they’ve attracted their fair degree of attention from the writers of science fiction.
Dan Dare's Saturnia
Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future, in his journeys through the Solar System, has given us a fascinating snapshot of how our understanding of solar system habitability has changed. Here I take a look at Saturn's moon system and its very different representations in 1953 and 2017.
A FAB New Vision For Space
The vision of space portrayed in near-future science fiction often speaks to the hopes and fears of contemporary society. Children’s SF in particular can influence the scientific and technical innovators who might bring such visions to fruition. This week we take a look at the coherent vision of human space utilisation presented in the recent animated television series Thunderbirds are Go.
Interstellar Visitations
Interstellar comets are rare and unusual visitors - but while they're alien, are they result of intelligences beyond our Solar System? It is a premise that has formed part of the science fiction repertoire for many years.
Survival on Mars
Today we look at three stories, each of which imagines a single Earth astronaut stranded alone on the Martian surface, and considers what they tell us about changing conceptions of Martian habitability.
Planets for Sale!
Is it possible for individuals to own entire planets? Science fiction has explored this question more than once, in a range of different contexts.
All the Suns in the Sky
Exotic binary and multiple star systems, so very different from our own Solar System, have captured the imagination of many astronomers. But these strange environments also captured the imagination of the public and of science fiction writers too.
Kings of Space
A look at the Solar System of Captain W E Johns' classic juvenile science fiction series, starting with "Kings of Space" (1954)
This blog exists to explore conceptions and representations of science or science communication through the medium of fiction. This includes, but is not limited to, science fiction in literature, film and television, as well as other adventure fiction and their various paratexts. I decided to create this space as a forum in which to present my own views and activities in this area, which are - inevitably - presented from the point of view of an active research astrophysicist, rather than a literary theorist or specialist in communications or media. Nonetheless, I choose to make these thoughts public in case they provide entertainment or interest to others, and in the hope of stimulating conversations in the interface between the realities of our Universe and the ways in which we choose to represent and explore it in fiction. A new blog entry is posted every two weeks. For updates follow me on Twitter @Tiylaya, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CosmicStoriesSF.
Comments are very welcome, including those disagreeing with my views or conclusions, but should be phrased respectfully and will be moderated before posting.
The views and ideas expressed in this blog are my own and do not in any way represent the views of the University of Warwick.