The Sun has appeared in fiction since classical antiquity, but for a
long time it rarely received attention. Many of the early depictions
viewed the Sun as essentially Earth-like and potentially habitable—a
once-common belief about celestial objects in general known as the
plurality of worlds—and depicted various kinds of solar inhabitants.
As more became known about the Sun through advances in astronomy, in
particular its temperature, fewer solar lifeforms were depicted.
Instead, many stories focused on the death of the Sun, either by going
out or going nova, and the ensuing havoc on Earth. Less disastrously,
solar flares and eclipses have also been depicted. The Sun has been
portrayed as a source of power—both in the form of solar power and
superpower abilities. It poses a danger to spacecraft that approach it,
which occurs in several stories. Overall, the Sun remains relatively
uncommon as a point of focus in science fiction, particularly in
comparison to depictions of Mars and Venus.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_in_fiction>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1963:
An attempt by Greek Cypriot police to search certain Turkish
Cypriot women in Nicosia escalated into island-wide violence, leading to
538 deaths and the displacement of nearly 27,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Christmas_%281963%29>
1968:
Apollo 8 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a
trajectory to the Moon; its crew became the first humans to visit
another celestial body.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8>
1988:
A bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103 detonated over Lockerbie,
Scotland, killing 270 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103>
2018:
Operatives of the British Special Boat Service boarded the
container ship Grande Tema in the Thames Estuary to detain four
stowaways who had threatened the crew.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Tema_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
threadbare:
1. Of cloth, clothing, furnishings, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent
that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show; shabby,
worn-out.
2. (figurative)
3. In poor condition; damaged, shabby; also, poorly equipped or provided
for, inadequate, meagre, scanty.
4. Of an argument, excuse, etc.: used so often that it is no longer
effective or interesting; banal, clichéd, trite.
5. (archaic or obsolete) Of a person: wearing clothes of threadbare
(sense 1) material; hence, impoverished, poor.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/threadbare>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of
President under Section Three; because he is disqualified, it would be a
wrongful act under the Election Code for the Secretary to list him as a
candidate on the presidential primary ballot. We do not reach these
conclusions lightly. We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the
questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to
apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public
reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.
--Supreme Court of Oregon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Oregon>