''The Martian Star-Gazers'' is a humorous parody article first published in the American magazine ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'' in February 1962. Written by

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 ...

, it appeared under the pseudonym "Ernst Mason". The article is written from the point of view of an anthropologist studying the extinct culture of Mars. Among the artifacts discovered by explorers from Earth were many items that resembled umbrellas. The writer explains that this was due to the Martian interpretation of the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...

and related constellations of their southern sky, which was visible from the places where their civilization arose. They came to believe that one constellation near their South Celestial pole was a malevolent being they called "Old Grabby" and that the visible portion of the galaxy represented his hands and arms. The Magellanic Clouds looked like eyes and were known as "The Peepers". The bright stars Canopus and

Achernar Achernar is the brightest star in the constellation of Eridanus, and the ninth-brightest in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Eridani, which is Latinized from α Eridani and abbreviated Alpha Eri or α Eri. The name A ...

represented horns on Old Grabby's head. The

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

represented a manacle on one wrist, and the other hand was trying to reach across and break the manacle. When this happened, they believed, Old Grabby would descend and destroy them. The superstition became so strong that Martians carried umbrellas to shield themselves from the sky. In time, their civilization moved north to a point where Old Grabby was no longer visible, and they ceased to carry the umbrellas. However, they could not help but notice the resemblance of the constellation Cassiopeia to the mouth of Old Grabby. Martians had a cleft jaw which gave their mouths a characteristic "W" shape which they naturally transferred to their mythical beings. Not far away was the Martian North pole star,

Delta Cephei Delta Cephei (δ Cep, δ Cephei) is the Bayer designation for a quadruple star system located approximately 887 light-years away in the northern constellation of Cepheus, the King. At this distance, the visual magnitude of the star is ...

, which is a variable star. Its changing brightness was likened to the breathing of a Sleeper. Nebulae such as the

Orion Nebula The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the nig ...

were likened to wounds suffered in some battle. However, centuries before human explorers arrived, the supernova known as

Tycho's Star SN 1572 ('' Tycho's Supernova'', ''Tycho's Nova''), or B Cassiopeiae (B Cas), was a supernova of Type Ia in the constellation Cassiopeia, one of eight supernovae visible to the naked eye in historical records. It appeared in early November 1572 ...

occurred just above Cassiopeia, looking to Martians like an opened eye. From their point of view, the Sleeper was awake, Old Grabby or a relative had found them, and they were doomed. Effectively, their entire culture committed suicide.

References

External links

* Science fiction short stories Short stories by Frederik Pohl 1962 short stories Short stories set on Mars Fiction about supernovae {{1960s-sf-story-stub