Solaris

Solaris () is a 1961 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. It follows a crew of scientists on a space station research facility as they attempt to understand an extraterrestrial intelligence, which takes the form of a vast ocean on the titular alien planet. The novel is one of Lem's best-known works. The book has been adapted many times for film, radio, and theater. Prominent film adaptations include Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 version and Steven Soderbergh's 2002 version, although Lem later remarked that none of these films reflected the book's thematic emphasis on the limitations of human rationality.