The Return of Arthur C. Clarke's Fantastic Vision of Jupiter

The Juno space probe is now in orbit around Jupiter, meaning space buffs around the world are eagerly awaiting whatever new data the probe sends back. One of those space buffs is science fiction author Stephen Baxter, who recently collaborated with Alastair Reynolds on the novel The Medusa Chronicles. The book is an authorized sequel to Arthur C. Clarke's famous 1971 novella "A Meeting with Medusa," about an astronaut who discovers intelligent life on Jupiter. "All this comes from Carl Sagan, the great astronomer, who hypothesized that somewhere in Jupiter's deep cloud layers … you could have a great ocean, a gaseous ocean, where gigantic creatures could live," Baxter says in Episode 211 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Baxter is well-positioned to carry on Clarke's legacy, having collaborated with Clarke on four novels, a process that was sometimes complicated by the fact that the two men lived on different continents.