page_title: Stars and planetary systems in fiction
section_title: Barnard's Star
hierarchical_section_title: Stars and planetary systems in fiction / List of planetary systems in fiction / Barnard's Star
caption_attribution_description: English: Artist's conception of a the red dwarf star CHRX 73 A and its companion object CHRX 73 B. The companion object is around 12 Jupiter masses, and may either be a planet, a failed star or a brown dwarf
context_page_description: The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in many works of the science fiction genre.
context_section_description: Barnard's Star is a red dwarf of apparent magnitude 9 and is thus too dim to be seen with the unaided eye. However, at approximately 6 light-years away it is the second-closest stellar system to the Sun; only the Alpha Centauri system is known to be closer. Thus, even though it is suspected to be a flare star, it has attracted the attention of science fiction authors, filmmakers, and game developers.
  The Legion of Space (1934), magazine series and later (1947) a fix-up written by Jack Williamson. Barnard's Star is host to a gigantic planet that is populated by ferocious animals, and that is home to the single city of the ancient and dreadful race of the Medusae.
  The Black Corridor (1969), novel by Michael Moorcock. The planet Munich 15040 orbiting Barnard's Star is the destination for a band of refugees fleeing social breakdown on the Earth.
  Blindpassasjer (1978), Norwegian television series by Jon Bing and Tor Åge Bringsværd. Barnard's Star is orbited by Rossum, a planet inhabited by robots that, inexplicably, have the semblance of pre-industrial European agricultural laborers.
  Spacecraft 2000–2100 AD (1978), a Terran Trade Authority book by Stewart Cowley. A planet in the Barnard's Star system is haunted by a peculiar apparition that takes the form of a mysterious spacecraft.
  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978–1993), novels and other media by Douglas Adams. Barnard's Star is a way station for interstellar travelers.
  The Alien Encounters (1979), film written and directed by James T. Flocker. It is an American B movie which follows the story of an investigator who is sent to locate an alien probe which has landed on Earth. Aliens from Barnard's Star have created a machine known as a betaron which has remarkable rejuvenating effects.
  Galactica Discovers Earth (1980), triple episode and novelization by Michael Resnick from the television series Galactica 1980. Dr. Zee conjectures that the Cylons are located at Barnard's Star, awaiting the Galacticans' arrival at the Earth, before making their final strike.
  Downbelow Station (1981) and other Alliance-Union universe works, novels by C. J. Cherryh. Barnard's Star is the site of Alpha Station, the first station out from the Earth on the "Great Circle" chain of space stations that terminates at Pell Station in the Tau Ceti system.
  Rocheworld (1985), novel by Robert L. Forward. Barnard's star is orbited by the double planet Rocheworld, comprising Roche (rock) and Eau (water). The first human settlers travel to Barnard's Star using a laser-pumped light sail, on a journey lasting 40 years.
  Hyperion (1989–1997), novels by Dan Simmons. Barnard's Star is the sun of the agricultural planet Barnard's World, where it hangs above the leafy streets "like a great, tethered, red balloon". It is the homeworld of Rachel and Sol Weintraub.
  The Garden of Rama (1991), novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. There is a way station at Barnard's Star for the arrival and departure of massive cylindrical world ships.
  Timemaster (1992), novel by Robert L. Forward. A billionaire makes a six-year journey to the Barnard's Star system to open a wormhole in 2049.
  Marooned on Eden (1993), novel by Robert L. Forward with Margaret Dodson Forward. The starship Prometheus takes a crew on a 40-year mission to Zuni, an inhabitable moon orbiting the planet Gargantua of Barnard's Star.
  Frontier: Elite II (1993) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995), computer games written by David Braben et al. Barnard's Star is an important Federation industrial system, close to Earth and the other Core Systems, and possessing thriving mining and refining industries. In the games, it is a good place for beginners to start their trading activities—there are no pirates in the system, and profits are lucrative. The star has the same fictional planetary system in Elite Dangerous, where it has an extraction economy.
  Terminal Velocity (1995), video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by 3D Realms. The game has three episodes, the first of which is distributed as shareware. Each episode features three different wor
caption: An artist's conception of a planet in orbit around a red dwarf star
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