Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

s outside of the Solar System have been featured as settings in works of fiction since at least the 1600s, though this did not become commonplace until the

pulp era Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

of science fiction. Stars themselves are rarely a point of focus in fiction, their most common role being an indirect one as hosts of

planetary system A planetary system is a set of gravitationally In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interacti ...

s. In stories where stars nevertheless do get specific attention, they play a variety of roles. Their appearance as points of light in the sky is significant in several stories where there are too many, too few, or an unexpected arrangement of them; in fantasy, they often serve as

omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

s. Stars also appear as sources of power, be it the heat and light of their emanating radiation or

superpowers A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural st ...

. Certain stages of

stellar evolution Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is cons ...

have received particular attention:

supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...

e, neutron stars, and

black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...

s. Stars being depicted as sentient beings—whether portrayed as

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

entities,

personified Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their ...

in human form, or simply

anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

as having intelligence—is a recurring theme. Real stars occasionally make appearances in science fiction, especially the nearest: the

Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centaur ...

system, often portrayed as the destination of the first interstellar voyage. Tau Ceti, a relatively-nearby star regarded as a plausible candidate for harbouring

habitable planets Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments hospitable to life. Life may be generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously or be transferred to it from a ...

, is also popular.

Early depictions

Among the earliest depictions of stars as locations that can be visited is Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle's 1686 work ''Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes'' ('' Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds''). The centuries that followed saw further such portrayals in Emanuel Swedenborg's 1758 work '' De Telluribus in Mundo Nostro Solari'' (''Concerning the Earths in Our Solar System''),

C. I. Defontenay Charlemagne Ischir Defontenay, writing as C.I. Defontenay (1819–1856), was a French science fiction writer. His ''Star, ou Psi Cassiopea'' of 1854 is seen by some as an example of proto-space opera. Others see Defontenay as a predecessor of Ola ...

's 1854 novel ''

Star ou Psi de Cassiopée A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ...

'' (''Star: Psi Cassiopeia''), and Camille Flammarion's 1887 novel '' Lumen'', but they remained rare throughout this time period. The early 1900s saw a few further interstellar voyages with

Robert William Cole Robert William Cole (6 April 1869 - 12 November 1937) was born in Heston, Middlesex and studied law at Balliol, Oxford, intending to become a barrister, but instead worked as a professional photographer and author. Some of his works are early sc ...

's 1900 novel '' The Struggle for Empire: A Story of the Year 2236'', 's 1904 novel '' Around a Distant Star'', and 's 1905 novel ''

Life in a Thousand Worlds Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...

'' before the concept became popular in the

of science fiction.

As objects in the sky

Stars, and their positions in the night sky as seen from Earth, have long been regarded as holding a particular significance to humans.

Constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

s have been integrated into various mythologies, and the pseudoscience of astrology posits that the positions of the stars can be used to predict the future. Astrology very rarely features in science fiction (other than as a subject of satire), Piers Anthony's 1969 novel '' Macroscope'' being one of the few exceptions. Observations of stars as literal objects, points of light in the sky, nevertheless play important roles in several stories. In

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's 1941 short story " Nightfall", the first sight of a star-filled night sky, from a planet that is otherwise in daylight from at least one of its many suns for millennia at a time, drives people to madness. The opposite occurrence, of the stars disappearing from view, appears in

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

's 1953 short story "

The Nine Billion Names of God "The Nine Billion Names of God" is a 1953 science fiction short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. The story was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories ...

" and heralds the end of the universe. Poul Anderson's 1967 short story " Starfog" is set on a planet in a

star cluster Star clusters are large groups of stars. Two main types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of ten thousand to millions of old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters are more loosely clust ...

so dense that the night sky is entirely filled with stars, while his 1966 novel ''

World Without Stars In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

'' ( ''The Ancient Gods'') is set on a world so remote the night sky is virtually devoid of stars. Unfamiliar arrangements of stars in the sky are sometimes used to establish that the action does not take place on Earth. In fantasy, stars mainly serve as

s—though many such "stars" are in fact planets.

Properties

For the most part, stars in fiction vary only in size and colour. Exceptions to this are rare and appear comparatively lately in the history of science fiction. A toroidal star is depicted in

Donald Malcolm Donald Malcolm (1930–2013) was a Scottish author of science fiction and fact who was active as a writer from the mid-1950s until the mid-1970s. Some of his nonfiction was written under the pen name Roy Malcolm. Career Malcolm's work was publi ...

's 1964 short story " Beyond the Reach of Storms", while stars in the shape of two interlinked toruses appear in Terry Pratchett's 1976 novel '' The Dark Side of the Sun'' as the result of large-scale engineering by a cryptic race of advanced

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

Planets

The main function stars serve in fiction is as hosts of

s. Unusual stellar properties are sometimes explored through the effect they have on the orbiting planets, though this is comparatively rare. In Hal Clement's 1946 short story " Cold Front", a planet's meteorological conditions are determined not just by the properties of its own atmosphere, but also variations in the star's atmosphere. In Vernor Vinge's 1999 novel ''

A Deepness in the Sky ''A Deepness in the Sky'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge. Published in 1999, the novel is a loose prequel (set twenty thousand years earlier) to his earlier novel ''A Fire Upon the Deep'' (1992). The title is coined by ...

'', a variable star leaves the inhabitants of one of its planets in lengthy periods of

hibernation Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...

during its phases of decreased output. The effect existing in a

multiple star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speaki ...

might have on planets, on the other hand, has received significant attention in fiction.

Power sources

Another role stars play in fiction is as sources of power. One concept for maximizing this potential is enclosing the entire star in a Dyson sphere, thus making it possible to harness all of its energy output rather than just the fraction emitted in a particular direction. Such objects were first formally proposed by Freeman Dyson in 1960 and have since been depicted in works of fiction such as Bob Shaw's 1975 novel ''

Orbitsville ''Orbitsville'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Bob Shaw, published in book form in 1975. It is about the discovery of a Dyson sphere-like artefact surrounding a star. The novel had previously appeared in three installments in ''G ...

''. Variations on the concept also appear, for instance a half-sphere of the same kind as in Larry Niven and Gregory Benford's 2012 novel ''

Bowl of Heaven A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

'', where the open half allows the star to be used for propulsion through space via a so-called Shkadov thruster. Other works envision the creation of artificial stars to provide energy. In

's 1951 novel '' The Sands of Mars'', the Martian moon Phobos is turned into a star in an effort to terraform Mars, while Clarke's 1982 novel '' 2010: Odyssey Two'' conversely depicts the planet Jupiter being turned into a star for the benefit of its moon

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

. In comic books, the source of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

is the light from a yellow star like the Sun.

Stellar evolution

Advances in astronomy in the 1900s led to the development of theories of

. This provided an explanation for the appearance of new stars in the sky, which had been observed for centuries. These "

nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

e" or "

e" are caused by stars exploding, a concept that appeared in fiction throughout the century. The new understanding of stellar lifecycles also predicted entirely new types of objects: collapsed stars known as neutron stars and

s, which became popular in science fiction during the second half of the century.

Supernovae

Supernovae are extremely powerful explosions that some types of stars undergo at the end of their lifecycles. The notion that the Sun might explode in this manner serves as the basis for numerous disaster stories, though it is now recognized that this cannot actually happen as the necessary stellar conditions are not met. Earth is nevertheless threatened by the radiation from more distant supernovae in several works; for instance,

Roger MacBride Allen Roger MacBride Allen (born September 26, 1957) is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up outside of Washington, D.C., graduating from Walt Whitman High School. He graduated from Boston University ...

and

Eric Kotani was a Japanese-born American astrophysicist who also wrote science fiction under the pseudonym Eric Kotani. He edited '' Requiem: New Collected Works by Robert A. Heinlein and Tributes to the Grand Master'' (1992), and contributed to '' New Des ...

's 1991 novel ''

Supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...

'' revolves around the calamitous impact of a supernova in the Sirius system on Earth, while Charles Sheffield's 1998 novel '' Aftermath'' portrays a supernova in the

system disrupting modern electronics on Earth through its electromagnetic pulse. Besides humans, alien civilizations are also subject to the dangers of supernovae in some stories. In

's 1955 short story "

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

", an alien species is found to have gone extinct some two millennia ago when their star exploded, creating the biblical Star of Bethlehem. In Poul Anderson's 1967 short story "

Day of Burning A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two ...

" ( "Supernova"), humans try to evacuate a planet inhabited by a pre-spacefaring society threatened by a supernova.

Neutron stars

Stars that have undergone supernova events can leave behind extremely dense

remnants Remnant or remnants may refer to: Religion * Remnant (Bible), a recurring theme in the Bible * Remnant (Seventh-day Adventist belief), the remnant theme in the Seventh-day Adventist Church * ''The Remnant'' (newspaper), a traditional Catholic ne ...

known as neutron stars. These objects are characterized by very strong

gravitational field In physics, a gravitational field is a model used to explain the influences that a massive body extends into the space around itself, producing a force on another massive body. Thus, a gravitational field is used to explain gravitational phenome ...

s yet comparatively small sizes on the order of a few kilometers or miles, resulting in extreme tidal forces in their proximity. In Larry Niven's 1966 short story " Neutron Star", a spacefarer is thus imperiled when the spacecraft approaches such a star too closely and the difference in gravitational pull between the near and far end threatens to rip it apart. In Gregory Benford's 1978 novel '' The Stars in Shroud'', a neutron star is used for gravity assist maneuvers. Neutron stars are depicted as harbouring life on the surface and interior, respectively, in Robert L. Forward's 1980 novel ''

Dragon's Egg ''Dragon's Egg'' is a 1980 hard science fiction novel by American writer Robert L. Forward. In the story, Dragon's Egg is a neutron star with a surface gravity 67 billion times that of Earth, and inhabited by cheela, intelligent creatures ...

'' and Stephen Baxter's 1993 novel ''

Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...

''. Neutron star mergers release enormous amounts of radiation that could cause

extinction event An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp change in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. I ...

s at interstellar distances; such an event devastates Earth in Greg Egan's 1997 novel ''

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

'', and the anticipation thereof is portrayed in Baxter's 2000 novel '' Manifold: Space'' and the 2005–2006 television series ''

Threshold Threshold may refer to: Architecture * Threshold (door), the sill of a door Media * ''Threshold'' (1981 film) * ''Threshold'' (TV series), an American science fiction drama series produced during 2005-2006 * "Threshold" (''Stargate SG-1''), ...

''.

Black holes

A dying star with mass sufficiently greater than needed to produce a neutron star becomes an even more dense object: a black hole. These objects are defined by having gravity so strong that nothing—including light—can escape from them. The principal mechanism of black hole formation is the

gravitational collapse Gravitational collapse is the contraction of an astronomical object due to the influence of its own gravity, which tends to draw matter inward toward the center of gravity. Gravitational collapse is a fundamental mechanism for structure formatio ...

of a massive star, but this is not the only theoretically possible mechanism. Black holes that form as a result of other processes need not be stellar-mass, but can range from microscopic to supermassive. One role black holes play in fiction is as hazards to spacefarers—in modern science fiction, largely to the exclusion of regular stars serving that function. Another common motif is the use of black holes to traverse vast distances through space quickly, often by serving as the entrance to a wormhole; examples include Joe Haldeman's 1974 fix-up novel ''

The Forever War ''The Forever War'' (1974) is a military science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story about human soldiers fighting an interstellar war against an alien civilization known as the Taurans. It won the Nebu ...

'' and

Joan D. Vinge Joan D. Vinge (; born April 2, 1948 as Joan Carol Dennison) is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award–winning novel ''The Snow Queen'' and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and ...

's 1980 novel '' The Snow Queen''. More exotically, the point of emergence is occasionally portrayed as another point in time—thus enabling time travel—or even an entirely different universe.

Sentient

Stars as sentient beings, in one form or another, is a recurring theme.

Anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

, thinking stars appear in Olaf Stapledon's 1937 novel ''

Star Maker ''Star Maker'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Olaf Stapledon, published in 1937. The book describes a history of life in the universe, dwarfing in scale Stapledon's previous book, ''Last and First Men'' (1930), a history of the hu ...

'' and

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

and Jack Williamson's '' Starchild Trilogy'' consisting of the 1964 novel '' The Reefs of Space'', the 1965 novel '' Starchild'', and the 1969 novel '' Rogue Star''. The conception of stars as divine or otherwise

entities is a common element, appearing for instance in Gregory Benford and

Gordon Eklund Gordon Eklund (born July 24, 1945 in Seattle, Washington) is an American science fiction author whose works include the "Lord Tedric" series and two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s '' Star Trek'' TV series. He has written under ...

's 1977 novel '' If the Stars are Gods''.

Personified Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their ...

stars in human form appear in

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

's 1952 novel '' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' and

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle DStJ (; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including ''A Wrinkle in Time'' and its sequels: ''A Wind in the Door'', ''A Swiftly Tilting Plan ...

's 1962 novel '' A Wrinkle in Time'', while Diana Wynne Jones's 1975 children's novel ''

Dogsbody A dogsbody, dog's body, or less commonly dog robber is someone who does menial or drudge work.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2010''s.v.''/ref> Originally, in the British Royal Navy, a dogsbody was a semi-sarcastic colloquialism for a ...

'' depicts the sentient star Sirius confined to the body of a dog. In James White's 1997 novel '' Final Diagnosis'', a virus infects stars and turns them sentient. A small number of stories feature the related concept of lifeforms existing inside stars, as in Hal Clement's 1942 short story "

Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a con ...

Real stars

Real stars make occasional appearances in science fiction, sometimes with

s. A 2024 article in the '' Journal of Science Communication'' analysed a sample of 142 fictional

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

s, nearly a third of which were described as orbiting real stars, and found "an absence of influence of whether or not the planet setting is in a real star system on other worldbuilding characteristics". The

system is the closest star system to Earth—with

Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri is a small, low-mass star located away from the Sun in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Its Latin name means the 'nearest tarof Centaurus'. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes and is the nearest-kno ...

being the closest of the system's stars—which has given it a special position in science fiction literature. Several stories of the first interstellar journeys have featured it as the intended destination. Among the earliest examples are the 1931 short story " Across the Void" by Leslie F. Stone and the 1935 short story "

" by Murray Leinster. The spacecraft in the latter reaches its destination in less than a decade but has the capacity to function as a

generation starship A generation ship, or generation starship, is a hypothetical type of interstellar ark starship that travels at sub-light speed. Since such a ship might require hundreds to thousands of years to reach nearby stars, the original occupants of a gen ...

if needed; the use of an actual generation starship headed for the system was later depicted in the 1944 novel '' Far Centaurus'' by A. E. van Vogt, and the 1997 novel ''

'' by William Barton and

Michael Capobianco Michael Victor Capobianco (born November 12, 1950) is an American science fiction writer. Capobianco wrote four novels jointly with William Barton. The books were published during the 1990s. The books address themes such as the Cold War, space ...

portrays such a mission being endangered by terrorists. Conversely, Liu Cixin's 2006 novel '' The Three-Body Problem'' depicts aliens from Alpha Centauri coming to Earth. The Tau Ceti system is also a common setting in science fiction.

James Nicoll James Davis Nicoll (born March 18, 1961) is a Canadian freelance game and speculative fiction reviewer, former security guard and role-playing game store owner, and also works as a first reader for the Science Fiction Book Club. As a Usene ...

, writing for '' Tor.com'', attributes this to a confluence of factors that make it the nearest star (at a distance of approximately 12

light-year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

s) that could plausibly harbour

habitable planet Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments hospitable to life. Life may be generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously or be transferred to it from a ...

s, including having a favourable brightness and being a solitary rather than multiple star. In 2015, interviewed several authors about why they used Tau Ceti for their stories; in addition to the star's relative proximity to Earth,

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

(who wrote '' The Dispossessed'', 1974) and Larry Niven ('' The Legacy of Heorot'', 1987, with Jerry Pournelle and

Steven Barnes Steven Barnes (born March 1, 1952) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer. He has written novels, short fiction, screen plays for television, scripts for comic books, animation, newspaper copy, and magazine articles. Career ...

) cited the star's similarity to the Sun, while Kim Stanley Robinson ('' Aurora'', 2015) pointed to the recent discovery of several exoplanets around Tau Ceti.