We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Science fiction often takes audiences across the galaxy, seeing unknown worlds and creatures. It's typically a way to escape from reality and see something amazing — until the extraterrestrials invade

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist who is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He is the author of “Take Me To Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter.”