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1941 short story by Isaac Asimov

"Nightfall" is a 1941 science fiction short story by the American writer Isaac Asimov about the coming of darkness to the people of a planet ordinarily illuminated by sunlight at all times. It was adapted into a novel with Robert Silverberg in 1990. The short story has appeared in many anthologies and six collections of Asimov stories. In 1968, the Science Fiction Writers of America voted "Nightfall" the best science fiction short story written prior to the 1965 establishment of the Nebula Awards and included it in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929–1964.

The planet Lagash ("Kalgash" in the novel) is constantly illuminated by the six suns of its multiple star system. Areas of darkness exist in enclosed areas on Lagash, such as caves, tunnels, and windowless rooms, but night never falls because at least one sun is present in the sky at any given time. A skeptical journalist visits a university observatory to interview a group of scientists who warn that civilization on Lagash will soon end. The researchers explain that they have discovered evidence of numerous ancient civilizations on the planet, all destroyed by fire, with the collapses occurring about 2,000 years apart. Furthermore, the religious writings of a doomsday cult claim that Lagash periodically passes through an enormous cave where mysterious "stars" appear. The stars are said to rain down fire from the heavens and rob people of their souls, reducing them to beast like savages. The scientists use this apparent myth, along with recent discoveries in gravitational research, to develop a theory about the repeated collapse of society. A mathematical analysis of Lagash's orbit around its primary sun reveals irregularities caused by the presence of a previously undiscovered moon that cannot be seen in the light of day. Calculations indicate that this "invisible" moon will soon obscure one of Lagash's suns when it is alone in the sky, resulting in a total eclipse that recurs every 2,049 years. Having evolved on a planet with no diurnal cycle, all Lagashians possess an intense, instinctive fear of the dark. Psychological experiments involving darkness have revealed that Lagashians may suffer permanent mental illness or even death after as little as 15 minutes of exposure and the eclipse is projected to last for over half a day. This, coupled with the diameter of the umbra being at least as great as that of the planet, ensures that the entire world population will experience an unprecedented period of prolonged, widespread darkness. The scientists theorize that earlier civilizations on Lagash were destroyed by people who went insane during previous eclipses and, desperate for any light source, started large fires that destroyed cities. Oral accounts of the resulting chaos from crazed survivors and their children were passed down through the ages and formed the basis for the doomsday cult's sacred texts. Present day civilization is doomed for the same reasons but the researchers hope that saving a few hundred sane people in a hideout lit by newly invented torches and conducting detailed observations of the upcoming eclipse will help to break the cycle of societal collapse. The scientists are unprepared for the stars. Because of the perpetual daylight on Lagash, its inhabitants are unaware of the existence of stars apart from their own; Lagashian astronomers estimate that the entire universe is no more than a few light years in diameter and may hypothetically contain a small number of other suns. But Lagash is located in the center of a giant cluster and, during the eclipse, the night sky, the first that any living person on Lagash has ever seen, is filled with the dazzling light of more than 30,000 newly visible stars. Learning that the universe is far vaster and Lagash far more insignificant than they believed, coupled with the worldwide darkness produced by the eclipse, drives everyone, including the scientists, insane. Outside the observatory, in the direction of the city, the horizon begins glowing with the light of spreading fires as "the long night" returns to Lagash.

In the 1950s, the story was adapted for the radio programs Dimension X and X Minus One. In 1976, Analog Records, as their only release, presented a further dramatization of "Nightfall" on a 33 1/3 rpm vinyl record, produced by James Cutting and recorded at American Learning Center. After the story, it includes a dialog between Isaac Asimov and Ben Bova. Dawn is a 1981 novel written by Dean McLaughlin as a re imagining of Nightfall. In 1988, Nightfall, a low budget movie, was produced based upon the story. The movie was shot on location at the Arcosanti Project, using the resident community members as background actors. Another film version, Nightfall, was made in 2000. In 1989, George Alec Effinger wrote a parody of the original short story, titled "Maureen Birnbaum After Dark." This story was included in the collections Foundation's Friends and Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson. In April 2007, the story was the 100th episode of Escape Pod, a science fiction podcast.

In a 2022 episode of the comedy series Young Sheldon, after the death of Asimov the main character Sheldon Cooper sets up a book club to discuss Asimov's works as a tribute to him. "Nightfall" is chosen to be the first book to be discussed at the club.