The Far Planets - The Far Planets In Science Fiction

The far planets have not been as popular as the Moon and Mars in science fiction stories. One of the first mentions of Jupiter occurs in an 1894 story called A Journey in Other Worlds. In this story Jupiter is similar to a prehistoric Earth. Skeleton Men of Jupiter was an unfinished story written by the American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950), who is best known as the creator of Tarzan. It appeared in print during the 1940s. The story referred to a Jupiter-like world called "Sasoom," inhabited by creatures that looked like human skeletons. In Arthur C. Clarke's 1968 novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the exploration of the solar system reaches Saturn, while in the Stanley Kubrick film of the same name, much of the story takes place near Jupiter.

Advances in telescopes and astronomy made it clear that Jupiter and the other far planets were gaseous worlds without solid surfaces. This made them much less appealing as home worlds for aliens. During the 1990s scientists learned that larger moons in the outer solar system may have thick atmospheres and some organic chemicals in their composition. This increases the chances that life could exist there. These moons became popular home worlds for sea-faring creatures in science fiction stories.