Stars in fiction: Difference between revisions

[[Star]]s outside of the [[Solar System]] have been featured as [[Setting (narrative)|settings]] in works of fiction since at least the 1600s, though this did not become commonplace until the [[pulp era]] 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]]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]]s. Stars also appear as sources of power, be it the heat and light of their emanating radiation or [[Superpower (ability)|superpowers]]. Certain stages of [[stellar evolution]] have received particular attention: [[supernova]]e, [[neutron star]]s, and [[black hole]]s. Stars being depicted as sentient beings—whether portrayed as [[supernatural]] entities, [[Personification|personified]] in human form, or simply [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]]—is as having intelligence—is a recurring theme. Real stars occasionally make appearances in science fiction, especially [[List of nearest stars|the nearest]]: the [[Alpha Centauri]] system, often portrayed as the destination of the first [[Interstellar travel|interstellar voyage]]. [[Tau Ceti]], a relatively-nearby star regarded as a plausible candidate for harbouring [[habitable planets]], is also popular.