Altair in fiction

This page contains references to the star Altair. For other fictional uses not directly related to the star, see Altair (disambiguation).

Altair (Alpha Aquilae) is a bright white star in the constellation Aquila that features in science fiction:

Literature

• In The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the common currency is the Altairian Dollar.
• In the novel Sunstorm, a gas giant fifteen times the mass of Jupiter was launched by the Firstborn alien race from the Altair star system on a collision course with Earth's Sun in order to trigger a devastating solar flare that would completely sterilize the Earth.
• Altair is the home of Ahrian in Leigh Brackett's The Woman from Altair.
• Altair VI is a planet in The Winds of Altair by Ben Bova, a science fiction novel about the colonization and terraforming of this planet, which is home to a race as intelligent as man.
• Angharad Gwyn is born and rescued from the planet Altair in The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey.
• In Stephen King's novel The Tommyknockers, Altair IV is a desolate, nearly airless world where objects from all over the galaxy are stored. The name is most likely a reference to Forbidden Planet below.
• Edmund Cooper's A Far Sunset (Ace Books, 1967) has the starship Gloria Mundi meeting the Bayani race on Altair V in 2028
• The Third Planet from Altair was a "Choose your own adventure" children's book.

Film, television, and drama

• Altair is the homeworld of Harlan, an artificial lifeform in Stargate SG-1.
• The planet Altair IV is the main setting of the film Forbidden Planet.
• Altair IV is the location of a prestigious hospital in the Star Trek: Deep Space 9 episode "Prophet Motive", and a planet recovering from war with neighbouring Altair VI.
• In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Amok Time". Altair water is a commercially available beverage from the Altair system; in the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, McCoy drinks Altair water.
• Altair V is the planet of origin for Rafael Argus in the '70s Buck Rogers episode "Plot to Kill A City"
• Altair III is mentioned in the play Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure.
• In the Futurama episode "The Cyber House Rules", Adlai and Leela walk past an Altairean Bouquet Tree. Altair may simply be the name of the planetary system, and not the planet.

Games

• In the game Galactic Civilizations there is a race known as the Altarians.
• Altair is the homeworld of the Ancients, an extinct civilization annihilated by the Shivans eight thousand years ago, in the space-combat simulation game, FreeSpace 2.
• Altair is the homeworld of the Alkari, one of the alien races in the Master of Orion computer game series.
• The Third Planet from Altair (Choose Your Own Adventure #7, by Edward Packard (author) and Paul Granger (illustrator)) describes in multiple scenarios an expedition to the planet of the namesake to investigate the source of transmitted signals received by Earth.
• In the Frontier: Elite II and Frontier: First Encounters games, Altair has a habitable world and a profitable tourism industry. It is also a Federation member.
• In the game Assassin's Creed, the player assumes the role of a man named Altair from the Hashshashin sect.