2001: A Space Odyssey Allusions & Cultural References

Astronomical References

• Alpha Centauri (32.2, first reference)—The closest star to the earth's solar system.

• Callisto (19.1)—A moon of Jupiter.

• Canopus (32.2)—Second brightest star in the night sky, as viewed from earth.

• Clavius (7.54, first reference)—One of the moon's largest craters.

• Coal Sack, or Coalsack Dark Nebula (32.2)—An interstellar cloud that obscures the light from a portion of the heavens. It is visible from earth.

• Dion (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.

• Enceladus (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.

• Europa (18.12, first reference)—One of Jupiter's largest moons.

• Ganymed (19.1)—A moon of Jupiter

• Hyperion (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.

• Io (19.1)—A moon of Jupiter.

• Japetus (30.19)—Also Iapetus; the third largest moon of Saturn.

• Jupiter (15.3, first reference)—The largest planet in the solar system.

• Mare Imbrium (12.1)—A large plain on the moon, formed by volcanic eruptions.

• Mars (7.1)—A planet in the solar system.

• Mercury (15.19)—A planet in the solar system.

• Milky Way (32.2, first reference)—The galaxy that contains our solar system.

• Mimas (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.

• Phoebe (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.

• Rhea (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.

• Sagittarius (32.2)—A constellation.

• Sirius (32.2)—Brightest star in the night sky as seen from earth.

• Tethys (34.1)—A moon of Saturn.

• Titan (32.4, first reference)—A moon of Saturn.

• Tycho (11.11, first reference)—A moon crater.

• Van Allen Belts (18.7)—Layers of charged particles held in place by the Earth's magnetic field.

Literary, Artistic, and Philosophical References

• Johann Sebastian Bach (33.7)

• Ludwig Van Beethoven (33.7)

• Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Martian Chronicles (31.14)—Project BARSOOMin 2001 is a reference to the name for Mars in the Burroughs novel (Barsoom.)

• Eden (27.2)

• Vincent Van Gogh, Bridge at Arles (44.6)

• Homer, The Odyssey (17.23, first reference)—The Greek poem is also referenced in the title. See "What's Up With the Title."

• Henrik Ibsen (33.5)

• Herman Melville, Moby Dick (25.33)

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (33.8)

• Pandora's box (12.38)—In Greek myth, a box which contained all the ills of the world.

• Blaise Pascal (14.1)—A French mathematician and Christian philosopher.

• William Shakespeare (33.5)

• George Bernard Shaw (33.5)

• Jean Sibelius (33.7)

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (33.7)

• Giuseppe Verdi, Requiem Mass, (33. 6)

• Leonardo da Vinci (7.39, 7.41)

• H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds (31.15)

• Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World (44.6)

Historical References

• George Anson (17.23)—A British Admiral in the 1700s.

• Bali (9.43)—An Indonesian island.

• Bell Systems (44.16)—The group of companies which provided telephone service to the United States from 1877 to 1984, before it was broken up by the government.

• Niels Bohr (32.11)—A Danish physicist in the early 1900s.

• Giovanni Deomenico Cassini (30.20)—An Italian astronomer in the 1600s.

• William Caxton (9.40)—Early printer.

• James Cook (17.23)—British explorer in the 1700s.

• Cold War (10.10)

• Albert Einstein (32.10)—Twentieth century American mathematician and physicist.

• ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) (16.9)—The first electronic general purpose computer.

• Johannes Gutenberg (9.40)—Early printer.

• Kennedy Airport (7.41)

• Ferdinand Magellan (17.23)—Portuguese explorer in the 1500s.

• Manila Galleon (17.23)— Spanish trading ships in the early modern period.

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (7.41)

• Pillars of Hercules (17.23)—Ancient Greek name for the rocks at the entrance to the Strait of Gibralter.

• Pleistocene Era (1.6)

• Pytheas (17.23)—Ancient Greek geographer and explorer.

• Sargasso Sea (42.22)—A sea in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. A lack of wind currents meant that in the past ships had great difficulty navigating out of it, resulting in legends of aimlessly drifting and abandoned ships.

• Special Theory of Relativity (32.10, first reference)—The theory that nothing can travel faster than light; discovered by Albert Einstein.

• Alan Turing ( 16.14)—Early twentieth century British mathematician and computer science pioneer.

• Turing Test (16.14)—A test developed by Alan Turing to determine whether an artificial intelligence is sentient.

• Troy (30.23)—Site of an Ancient Greek war.

• John Wheeler (32.11)—An American physicist of the 1900s who invented the terms "black hole" and "wormhole."

• Grand Central Station (41.24)—A train station in New York City.

Pop Culture References

• "Happy Birthday" (21.1)