Tuesday 12 May 2020

Against Sagittarius

We have a list of objects seen against the Milky Way, here. Now there is one seen against Sagittarius. The narrator finds the Old Phoenix Inn:

"Then I saw its fancifully carved beam ends in silhouette against Sagittarius."
-Poul Anderson, "Losers' Night" IN Anderson, All One Universe (New York, 1997), pp. 107-123 AT p. 107.

In Anderson's Psychotechnic History, human interstellar civilization moves towards Sagittarius, then beyond that to the Galactic center which, as I recently learned by googling, is called Sagittarius A-star.

Thus, the silhouetting of the Old Phoenix against Sagittarius is significant. This fantasy story evokes Anderson's science fictional interstellar future histories.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And that Teapot Constellation is new to me!

Ad astra! Sean