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Moon In Science Fiction
The Moon has appeared in fiction as a setting since at least classical antiquity. Throughout most of literary history, a significant portion of works depicting lunar voyages has been satirical in nature. From the late 1800s onwards, science fiction has successively focused largely on the themes of life on the Moon, first Moon landings, and lunar colonization. Early depictions The Moon has been a setting in fiction since at least the works of the ancient Greek writers Antonius Diogenes and Lucian of Samosata; the former's ''Of the Wonderful Things Beyond Thule'' has been lost and the latter's ''True History'' from the second century CE is a satire of fanciful travellers' tales. It was not until Johannes Kepler's novel '' Somnium'' was posthumously released in 1634 that the subject of travelling to the Moon was given a serious treatment in fiction. Building on Kepler's thoughts, and similar speculations by Francis Bacon on flying to the Moon in his 1627 work '' Sylva sylvaru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Voyage Dans La Lune
''A Trip to the Moon'' (french: Le Voyage dans la Lune) is a 1902 French adventure short film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by a wide variety of sources, including Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' and its 1870 sequel ''Around the Moon'', the film follows a group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon-propelled capsule, explore the Moon's surface, escape from an underground group of Selenites (lunar inhabitants), and return to Earth with a captive Selenite. Its ensemble cast of French theatrical performers is led by Méliès himself as the main character Professor Barbenfouillis. The film features the overtly theatrical style for which Méliès became famous. Scholars have commented upon the film's extensive use of pataphysical and anti-imperialist satire, as well as on its wide influence on later filmmakers and its artistic significance within the French theatrical ''féerie'' tradition. Though the film disappeared into obscurity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somnium (novel)
''Somnium'' (Latin for "The Dream") — full title: ''Somnium, seu opus posthumum De astronomia lunari'' — is a novel written in Latin in 1608 by Johannes Kepler, and first published in 1634 by Kepler's son, Ludwig Kepler. In the narrative, an Icelandic boy and his witch mother learn of an island named Levania (our Moon) from a daemon. ''Somnium'' presents a detailed imaginative description of how the Earth might look when viewed from the Moon, and is considered the first serious scientific treatise on lunar astronomy. Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov have referred to it as one of the earliest works of science fiction. Plot summary The story begins with Kepler reading about a skillful magician named Libussa. He falls asleep while reading about her. He recounts a strange dream he had from reading that book. The dream begins with Kepler reading a book about Duracotus, an Icelandic boy who is 14 years old. Duracotus' mother, Fiolxhilde, makes a living selling bags of herbs and cloth wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraordinaires'', a series of bestselling adventure novels including ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (1864), ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870), and '' Around the World in Eighty Days'' (1872). His novels, always well documented, are generally set in the second half of the 19th century, taking into account the technological advances of the time. In addition to his novels, he wrote numerous plays, short stories, autobiographical accounts, poetry, songs and scientific, artistic and literary studies. His work has been adapted for film and television since the beginning of cinema, as well as for comic books, theater, opera, music and video games. Verne is considered to be an important author in France and most of Europe, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Adams Locke
The "Great Moon Hoax", also known as the "Great Moon Hoax of 1835", was a series of six articles published in '' The Sun'', a New York newspaper, beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and even civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, one of the best-known astronomers of that time. The story was advertised on August 21, 1835, as an upcoming feature allegedly reprinted from '' The Edinburgh Courant''. The first in a series of six was published four days later on August 25. Article The headline read: The articles described animals on the Moon, including bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tail-less beavers and bat-like winged humanoids ("''Vespertilio-homo''") who built temples. There were trees, oceans and beaches. These discoveries were supposedly made with "an immense telescope of an entirely new principle". "Vespertilio-homo" can be translated from Latin as man-bat, bat-man, or man-bats. A reprinte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Moon Hoax
The "Great Moon Hoax", also known as the "Great Moon Hoax of 1835", was a series of six articles published in ''The Sun (New York), The Sun'', a New York newspaper, beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and even civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, one of the best-known astronomers of that time. The story was advertised on August 21, 1835, as an upcoming feature allegedly reprinted from ''Edinburgh Courant, The Edinburgh Courant''. The first in a series of six was published four days later on August 25. Article The headline read: The articles described animals on the Moon, including bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tail-less beavers and bat-like winged humanoids ("''Vespertilio-homo''") who built temples. There were trees, oceans and beaches. These discoveries were supposedly made with "an immense telescope of an entirely new principle". "Vespertilio-homo" can be translated from Latin as man-ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Unparalleled Adventure Of One Hans Pfaall
"The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" (1835) is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in the June 1835 issue of the monthly magazine ''Southern Literary Messenger'' as "Hans Phaall -- A Tale", intended by Poe to be a hoax. The story is regarded as one of the early examples of the modern science fiction genre. The story traces the journey of a voyage to the moon. Poe planned to continue the hoax in further installments, but was pre-empted by the Great Moon Hoax which started in the August 25, 1835 issue of the ''New York Sun'' daily newspaper. Poe later wrote that the satirical tone of the story made it easy for readers to see through the supposed hoax. Plot summary The story opens with the delivery to a crowd gathered in Rotterdam of a manuscript detailing the journey of a man named Hans Pfaall. The manuscript, which comprises the majority of the story, sets out in detail how Pfaall contrived to reach the Moon by benefit of a revolutionary new balloon and a devic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. Poe is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe was born in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when his mother died the following year, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Consolidator
''The Consolidator; or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the Moon'' is a fictional adventure by Daniel Defoe published in 1705. It is a satirical novel that mixes fantasy with political and social satire. Plot summary The narrator travels to the Moon through the means of the titular "consolidator" – a chariot with two feathered winged creatures. Analysis The novel is a political satire of the British political and society of Defoe's era. For example, each of the chariot's winged steeds represents a houses of parliament. The chariot has also been described as one of the earliest spaceships (or airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...s) in known fiction. This, in addition to its portrayal of the Moon and the concept of space flight, resulted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translations. He has been seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English novel, and helped to popularise the form in Britain with others such as Aphra Behn and Samuel Richardson. Defoe wrote many political tracts, was often in trouble with the authorities, and spent a period in prison. Intellectuals and political leaders paid attention to his fresh ideas and sometimes consulted him. Defoe was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than three hundred works—books, pamphlets, and journals — on diverse topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology, and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of business journalism and economic journalism. Early life Daniel Foe (his original name) was probabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comical History Of The States And Empires Of The Moon
''The Other World: Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon'' (french: L’Autre monde ou les états et empires de la Lune) was the first of three satirical novels written by Cyrano de Bergerac. It was published posthumously in 1657 and, along with its companion work '' The States and Empires of the Sun'', is considered one of the earliest published science fiction stories. Arthur C. Clarke credited the book with the first description of rocket-powered spaceflight, and with the invention of the ramjet. Plot summary The book is narrated in the first person by a character also named Cyrano. Cyrano attempts to reach the Moon to prove there is a civilization that sees the Earth as its own moon. He launches himself into the sky from Paris by strapping bottles of dew to his body, but lands back on Earth. Believing he had traveled straight up and down, he is confused by local soldiers who tell him he is not in France; they escort him to the provincial governor who informs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyrano De Bergerac
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th century. Today, he is best known as the inspiration for Edmond Rostand's most noted drama, ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' (1897), which, although it includes elements of his life, also contains invention and myth. Since the 1970s, there has been a resurgence in the study of Cyrano, demonstrated in the abundance of theses, essays, articles and biographies published in France and elsewhere. Life Sources Cyrano's short life is poorly documented. Certain significant chapters of his life are known only from the Preface to the ''Histoire Comique par Monsieur de Cyrano Bergerac, Contenant les Estats & Empires de la Lune'' (''Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon'') published in 1657, nearly two years after his death. Without Henri Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man In The Moone
''The Man in the Moone'' is a book by the English Divine (noun), divine and Church of England bishop Francis Godwin (1562–1633), describing a "voyage of utopian discovery". Long considered to be one of his early works, it is now generally thought to have been written in the late 1620s. It was first published posthumously in 1638 under the pseudonym of Domingo Gonsales. The work is notable for its role in what was called the "new astronomy", the branch of astronomy influenced especially by Nicolaus Copernicus. Although Copernicus is the only astronomer mentioned by name, the book also draws on the theories of Johannes Kepler and William Gilbert (astronomer), William Gilbert. Godwin's astronomical theories were greatly influenced by Galileo Galilei's ''Sidereus Nuncius'' (1610), but unlike Galileo, Godwin proposes that the dark spots on the Moon are seas, one of many parallels with Kepler's ''Somnium (novel), Somnium sive opus posthumum de astronomia lunari'' of 1634. The story ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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