When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Astronomical References
- Alpha Centauri (32.2, first reference)—The closest star to the earth's solar system.
- Callisto (19.1)—A moon of Jupiter.
- Canopus (32.2)—Second brightest star in the night sky, as viewed from earth.
- Clavius (7.54, first reference)—One of the moon's largest craters.
- Coal Sack, or Coalsack Dark Nebula (32.2)—An interstellar cloud that obscures the light from a portion of the heavens. It is visible from earth.
- Dion (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.
- Enceladus (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.
- Europa (18.12, first reference)—One of Jupiter's largest moons.
- Ganymed (19.1)—A moon of Jupiter
- Hyperion (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.
- Io (19.1)—A moon of Jupiter.
- Japetus (30.19)—Also Iapetus; the third largest moon of Saturn.
- Jupiter (15.3, first reference)—The largest planet in the solar system.
- Mare Imbrium (12.1)—A large plain on the moon, formed by volcanic eruptions.
- Mars (7.1)—A planet in the solar system.
- Mercury (15.19)—A planet in the solar system.
- Milky Way (32.2, first reference)—The galaxy that contains our solar system.
- Mimas (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.
- Phoebe (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.
- Rhea (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.
- Sagittarius (32.2)—A constellation.
- Sirius (32.2)—Brightest star in the night sky as seen from earth.
- Tethys (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.
- Titan (32.4, first reference)—A moon of Saturn.
- Tycho (11.11, first reference)—A moon crater.
- Van Allen Belts (18.7)—Layers of charged particles held in place by the Earth's magnetic field.
Literary, Artistic, and Philosophical References
- Johann Sebastian Bach (33.7)
- Ludwig Van Beethoven (33.7)
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Martian Chronicles (31.14)—Project BARSOOMin 2001 is a reference to the name for Mars in the Burroughs novel (Barsoom.)
- Eden (27.2)
- Vincent Van Gogh, Bridge at Arles (44.6)
- Homer, The Odyssey (17.23, first reference)—The Greek poem is also referenced in the title. See "What's Up With the Title."
- Henrik Ibsen (33.5)
- Herman Melville, Moby Dick (25.33)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (33.8)
- Pandora's box (12.38)—In Greek myth, a box which contained all the ills of the world.
- Blaise Pascal (14.1)—A French mathematician and Christian philosopher.
- William Shakespeare (33.5)
- George Bernard Shaw (33.5)
- Jean Sibelius (33.7)
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (33.7)
- Giuseppe Verdi, Requiem Mass, (33. 6)
- Leonardo da Vinci (7.39, 7.41)
- H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds (31.15)
- Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World (44.6)
Historical References
- George Anson (17.23)—A British Admiral in the 1700s.
- Bali (9.43)—An Indonesian island.
- Bell Systems (44.16)—The group of companies which provided telephone service to the United States from 1877 to 1984, before it was broken up by the government.
- Niels Bohr (32.11)—A Danish physicist in the early 1900s.
- Giovanni Deomenico Cassini (30.20)—An Italian astronomer in the 1600s.
- William Caxton (9.40)—Early printer.
- James Cook (17.23)—British explorer in the 1700s.
- Cold War (10.10)
- Albert Einstein (32.10)—Twentieth century American mathematician and physicist.
- ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) (16.9)—The first electronic general purpose computer.
- Johannes Gutenberg (9.40)—Early printer.
- Kennedy Airport (7.41)
- Ferdinand Magellan (17.23)—Portuguese explorer in the 1500s.
- Manila Galleon (17.23)— Spanish trading ships in the early modern period.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (7.41)
- Pillars of Hercules (17.23)—Ancient Greek name for the rocks at the entrance to the Strait of Gibralter.
- Pleistocene Era (1.6)
- Pytheas (17.23)—Ancient Greek geographer and explorer.
- Sargasso Sea (42.22)—A sea in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. A lack of wind currents meant that in the past ships had great difficulty navigating out of it, resulting in legends of aimlessly drifting and abandoned ships.
- Special Theory of Relativity (32.10, first reference)—The theory that nothing can travel faster than light; discovered by Albert Einstein.
- Alan Turing ( 16.14)—Early twentieth century British mathematician and computer science pioneer.
- Turing Test (16.14)—A test developed by Alan Turing to determine whether an artificial intelligence is sentient.
- Troy (30.23)—Site of an Ancient Greek war.
- John Wheeler (32.11)—An American physicist of the 1900s who invented the terms "black hole" and "wormhole."
- Grand Central Station (41.24)—A train station in New York City.
Pop Culture References
- "Happy Birthday" (21.1)