''Fifth Planet'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel written by astrophysicist Sir

Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other sci ...

and his son

Geoffrey Hoyle Geoffrey Hoyle (born 12 January 1941) is an English science fiction writer, best known for the works which he co-wrote with his father, the astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle. About half of Fred Hoyle's science fiction works were co-written with his son. ...

Plot summary

Another star is due to pass close to the sun, close enough for conventional spacecraft to reach it. The first planets observed are four gas giants, but then an inner "Fifth Planet" is found. Signs of chlorophyll are detected, suggesting that it supports life. Rival Soviet and US expeditions are launched to visit it. (The world balance as it existed in 1963 is assumed to be still in place.) The theme of the novel is embodied in a conversation between two of the US spacecraft's crew as they begin exploring the new planet, which appears to have a benign and predominantly grassy environment. One of them feels uneasy in this landscape and suggests a similarity of their position to fish in a pond on earth "swimming around thinking fishy thoughts". The crew member comments "Well, what if we're like those bloody fish, swimming about our own little pond, and not knowing something else is very near us." Soon after these remarks are made, an alien influence starts to manifest itself. One element of the plot is that the Soviet expedition includes the first woman in space. This fictional milestone was eclipsed by reality soon after publication, when

Valentina Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova ( rus, Валентина Владимировна Терешкова, links=no, p=vɐlʲɪnʲˈtʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə tʲɪrʲɪʂˈkovə, a=Valentina Tereshkova.ogg; born 6 March 1937) is an engine ...

became the first woman in space on

Vostok 6 Vostok 6 (russian: Восток-6, ''Orient 6'' or ''East 6'') was the first human spaceflight to carry a woman, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, into space. Mission The spacecraft was launched on 16 June 1963. While Vostok 5 had been delayed by ...

in June 1963.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , editor1-first=Peter , editor1-last=Nicholls , editor1-link=Peter Nicholls (writer) , editor2-first=John , editor2-last=Clute , editor2-link=John Clute , title=

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

, publisher=

Orbit Books Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It is a division of Lagardère Publishing. History It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company. In 1992, its parent ...

, location=London , isbn=978-1-85723-124-3 , year=1993 , chapter=Fred Hoyle 1963 British novels 1963 science fiction novels Novels by Fred Hoyle Space exploration novels Heinemann (publisher) books