Astronomy, Eclipse, Science Fiction, SETI

Two of My Science-Fiction Stories Published in May

June 1, 2025

Posted by Andrew Fraknoi

A Change of Pace from Astronomy News

As you may know, I have been writing science-fiction stories based on good astronomy as my retirement project. After a good number of rejections from the finest sci-fi magazines the world over, I am now finding some success. My ninth and tenth stories were published, by coincidence, in the same month, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to be among the first to read them.

This very short story, called “Eclipsed,” is inspired by speculation about just how rare an exactly total eclipse might be in our Galaxy, a topic astronomers and the public wondered about during the recent eclipses of the Sun. You can read it:
http://bit.ly/eclipsedsfstory

This one, entitled “The Lurker,” is about the possibility that advanced civilizations among the stars might send automated probes to our solar system (and others); probes that wait – lurking quietly – to detect some sign of intelligent life. I tried to imagine how some hapless explorers in the future might accidentally trigger one of these probes. You can read this one at: http://bit.ly/thelurker

If you’d like to see the entire list of ten science-fiction stories I have published so far (including one on time-travel using black holes, and one called “I Swallowed a Martian,” you can go to: http://bit.ly/sfbyfraknoi

June 1, 2025