Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 1, 2016
The Man in the Moone is a book by the English Church of England bishop Francis Godwin (1562–1633). Initially considered to be one of his early works, it is now thought to date from the late 1620s. It was first published posthumously in 1638 under the pseudonym of Domingo Gonsales. The work made a contribution to the branch of astronomy influenced by Nicolaus Copernicus, the only astronomer mentioned by name. Gonsales is a Spaniard forced to flee the country after killing a man in a duel. Having made his fortune in the East Indies he decides to return to Spain, but falls ill on the voyage home and is set off on St Helena to recover. He resumes his journey, but his ship is attacked by a British fleet off the coast of Tenerife. He uses a flying machine he has devised to escape, but once safely landed he is approached by hostile natives and is forced to take off again. This time the birds powering his machine fly higher and higher, ultimately reaching the Moon. There Gonsales encounters the Lunars, a tall Christian people inhabiting what appears to be a utopian paradise. Some critics consider The Man in the Moone to be one of the first works of science fiction. (Full article...)