Vampires in Space

Have you noticed the occasional astronomy references in the Twilight novels?  They’re one of my favorite things about them.  Even the titles (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn) are related to astronomy terms, and the movie soundtracks include songs like “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Neutron Star Collision.”

I’ve often felt that, as a society increasingly dependent on science, scientific language should somehow seep into our literature.  And not just science fiction literature.  So in that spirit, here are some suggestions for future Twilight novels:

Twilight: Syzygy

“Oh Edward,” Bella said, “don’t you see?  You, me, and Jacob… our lives are perfectly aligned, like three planets in a state of syzygy.”

Twilight: Perihelion

“Sometimes,” Edward admitted, “Bella does things that drive us apart, but I am like a planet and she is the sun, and no matter how far away my orbit takes me, I always turn back.  I always return to be as close to her as possible, at the point of perihelion.”

Twilight: Oort Cloud

“Listen, bloodsucker,” Jacob snarled at Edward, “I don’t want to see you anywhere near Bella.  You should be as far away as possible, like a comet in the Oort Cloud.”