Pluto in fiction

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This article is about the dwarf planet. For the god Pluto in fiction, see Pluto (mythology) § In Western art and literature.

Wonder Stories Quarterly, Spring 1931, featuring Stanton A. Coblentz's Into Plutonian Depths

extrasolar planet, the remnants of a destroyed planet, or entirely artificial. Its moon Charon
has also appeared in a handful of works.

Pluto

pulp era of science fiction was increased by its then-recent discovery,[7] and Westfahl writes that its similarity to Earth in terms of size and composition contributed to a relatively common portrayal as an abode of life.[1]

Early depictions

Even before Pluto's discovery, a planet beyond the orbit of Neptune appeared in Donald W. Horner's 1912 novel Their Winged Destiny.[8] The earliest story featuring Pluto was likely the satirical 1931 novel Into Plutonian Depths by Stanton A. Coblentz, which depicts an advanced Plutonian civilization.[1][6][9] Another candidate for the first story is H. P. Lovecraft's 1931 short story "The Whisperer in Darkness".[10] Other early depictions of Pluto are found in the 1935 short story "The Red Peri" by Stanley G. Weinbaum, where it houses a base for space pirates;[1][6][8] the 1936 short story "En Route to Pluto" by Wallace West, which portrays the first expedition there;[6][7][11] and the 1936 novel The Cometeers in Jack Williamson's Legion of Space series.[2]

Life on Pluto

Gossamer".[15]

A photomontage of the eight planets and the MoonNeptune in fictionUranus in fictionSaturn in fictionJupiter in fictionMars in fictionEarth in science fictionMoon in science fictionVenus in fictionMercury in fiction
Pluto occasionally appears as the starting or finishing point of tours of the Solar System. Clicking on a planet leads to the article about its depiction in fiction.

Portrayals of human life on Pluto are less common, though Pluto is

Wait It Out" by Larry Niven.[6]

Origin

Various origins for Pluto have been proposed in fiction. Among these are a former moon of Neptune and a remnant of a destroyed planet.[10] In the 1934 short story "The Rape of the Solar System" by Leslie F. Stone, it is a remnant of the former fifth planet Bodia, the destruction of which also created the asteroid belt.[8][17] In The Secret of the Ninth Planet, Pluto originally came from a different solar system,[6][16] and in the 1973 short story "Construction Shack" by Clifford D. Simak, it is found to be artificial.[2][6]

Later depictions

The 1984 novel Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson features an artefact resembling Stonehenge bearing Sanskrit text being discovered on Pluto, and revolves around the investigation into its origin.[1][2][6] Pluto is the site of cryonic storage in Charles Sheffield's 1997 novel Tomorrow and Tomorrow,[7][18] and sees a mysterious increase in temperature in Gregory Benford's 2005 novel The Sunborn.[7][19] Pluto was reclassified from planet to dwarf planet in 2006, a subject which was later explored in the 2011 novel Young Tales of the Old Cosmos by Rhys Hughes.[6] It also makes appearances in the television series Doctor Who and various comic books.[10]

Charon

Pluto's moon

world ship carrying prehistoric lifeforms from Earth.[7][20] In the 2003 short story "The Trellis" by Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper, Charon is attached to Pluto by massive strands of plant matter.[7][21] In the video game series Mass Effect, Charon is a relay station for interstellar travel.[10]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4408-6617-3
    . since these worlds have reasonably been viewed as cold and inhospitable, they have generally been underutilized as settings for science fiction stories. [...] Since Pluto, discovered in 1930, was immediately recognized as a small earth-like world, it was more frequently depicted as a home to intelligent life
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-313-32951-7
    . Pluto and its moon Charon have featured in more science fiction tales than might be expected. [...] Jupiter and the outer planets remain unexplored territory.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-684-84958-4
    . As with the other outer planets, relatively few descriptions of Pluto have been brought back by multiversal explorers.
    Its status as the outermost planet has, however, conferred a certain mystique upon it which has led to its alternativersal variants being more widely reported—and more exotically differentiated—than those of Neptune or Uranus.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87338-604-3
    .
  5. ISBN 978-1-4766-8659-2
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Langford, David; Stableford, Brian (2021). "Outer Planets". In Clute, John; Langford, David; Sleight, Graham (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (4th ed.). Retrieved 2023-06-13. For several decades Pluto came in for a certain amount of special attention as the apparent Ultima Thule of the solar system [...] Pluto, during the period when its orbit seemed to mark the outermost limit of the solar system, was popular for just that reason.
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-415-97460-8
    . In spite of its presumed inhospitability, Pluto figured more prominently in pulp science fiction than Neptune because its status as a newly discovered planet increased interest in it.
  8. ^
    OCLC 2984418
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-87338-604-3
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-3-642-55343-1
    .
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87338-604-3
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-87338-604-3
    .
  13. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  14. OCLC 40460120
    .
  15. ^ Fraknoi, Andrew (January 2024). "Science Fiction Stories with Good Astronomy & Physics: A Topical Index" (PDF). Astronomical Society of the Pacific (7.3 ed.). p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-02-10. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  16. ^
    Ansible. Archived
    from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-02-23. Lots of authors since 1930 used Pluto as starting or finishing point of a grand tour of all the planets
  17. ISBN 978-0-87338-604-3
    .
  18. ^ "Review: Tomorrow and Tomorrow". Kirkus Reviews. 1996-11-01. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  19. ^ "Review: The Sunborn". Kirkus Reviews. 2005-01-15. Archived from the original on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  20. ^ Clute, John (2022). "Gauger, Rick". In Clute, John; Langford, David; Sleight, Graham (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (4th ed.). Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  21. ^ "Book Review: Cracking the Sky by Brenda Cooper". The Skiffy and Fanty Show. 2015-07-30. Archived from the original on 2023-06-18. Retrieved 2023-06-18.

External links

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