Nightfall/Trivia
- Magnum Opus Dissonance: The original short story is often considered one of the best (if not the best) science fiction story of all time. Asimov himself thought that some of his other stories (such as "The Last Question") were superior, and was a bit dismayed at the implication that his writing talent peaked at the ripe old age of twenty-one.
- Science Marches On: It's likely that a planet near so many stars would have a highly unstable orbit and be uninhabitable. But then, that's what they said about a planet with just one star...
- In addition, careful reading of the story makes it clear that the planet has several continents, far enough apart to be in different hemispheres of the planet. Therefore, during the period where there is only one visible sun, the inhabitants of the continents facing away from that sun would experience night (and darkness) without the need for an apocalyptic eclipse. This is never addressed in the story...
- The suns set just like Earth's does — they just shine on an out-of-sight portion of the planet. Even when one sun is eclipsed, the other five would shine on, providing light to all of the planet that was outside of the eclipse area. The problem described isn't addressed because it doesn't exist.
- Obviously, they would be seeing all the five suns which are not visible in the eclipse area.
- In addition, careful reading of the story makes it clear that the planet has several continents, far enough apart to be in different hemispheres of the planet. Therefore, during the period where there is only one visible sun, the inhabitants of the continents facing away from that sun would experience night (and darkness) without the need for an apocalyptic eclipse. This is never addressed in the story...