The lunar eclipse on Oberon-9 was scheduled to last forty-eight standard hours. Outside the reinforced viewport, the planet’s colossal, rusted shadow slowly swallowed the local star, plunging the automated research outpost into an unnatural, sub-zero twilight.

The rain on Kepler-186f did not fall; it hummed against the thick, reinforced glass of the observation deck. Inside, the cabin smelled of old paper and roasted chicory.