As for the second photo above: I’ve never been a Star Trek fan at all, and I have to admit I don’t really understand what grown men see in it. However as a teenager I did see the first series when it was originally broadcast in the UK (what’s that – 35+ years ago?). I was highly taken aback that I recognised the second photo immediately. It really made me wonder to what extent my brain has become a receptacle for gigantic quantities of useless information over the decades.

Jeff: TNV sounds neat. Maybe I’ll take a look, for old times’ sake.

@Tod: the tube and the angled aperture is to shield the mirror and internal structure from stray light. The part of the aperture that sticks forward a little will be oriented to be on the same side of the spacecraft as the sun, as a shield. Since the designers want to save weight, they cut off the other three sides of the aperture. My little telescope on Earth has a flat front end so I won’t think I’ve been cheated out of some telescope tube–and because I don’t have to pay a bajillion dollars a kilogram to lift it into orbit.

@Cindy: YOU should buy and read Sagan’s book, “The Demon-Haunted World: science as a candle in the darkness.” It is by far the best primer on skeptical thought, ever. Then, if you think your nephew can handle it, give it to him. (Assuming his parents will let it into the house, that is. They do retain the right to be his parents.) Otherwise, you can just use what you learn from it when you get your chance to exercise your privilege to be his aunt.

@All you trekkers: if you liked “The Doomsday Machine” you should really surf over to “Star Trek: The New Voyages” and check out their episode, “In Harm’s Way.” The doomsday machines are back, and badder than ever.

[In case you haven't heard, there are groups on the net that that are making new Star Trek episodes. They are highly variable in setting, length, and quality, but the folks over at ST:TNV are producing near-professional, hour-length episodes set in the original series era. Lots of original cast and crew have donated their talents to the episodes, and there are professional CGI schools that do all the CG work, free, as student projects. These episodes are so good that Paramount has granted the producers a limited license to use the Star Trek characters and properties--as long as there is NO commercial gain from the projects. Now, THAT's an endorsement!]

Thank you for posting this and saving me the trouble!

This episode is also the closest Kirk ever came to saying “Beam me up, Scotty.” I believe his line was, “Scotty, beam me aboard” as the detonation clock was ticking.

- Jack

PS – Decker’s ship was the “Constellation” (it’s namesake can still be found floating in Baltimore harbor), and Decker was played by William Windom. He also played James Thurber in the vastly underrated comedy “My World, and Welcome to It!” That sort of ruined for me any credibility he might have had as a starship captain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY22gBF_DgI

1. What function is performed by all that external hardware that winds and twists all over the surface like a bunch of rotting ivy? Kudzu in space?

2. My first thought on seeing all those coherent light rays was that they were being emitted by the scope, and certainly not being gathered as incoming light. Incoming light will be arriving from all different directions, no? Maybe I’m too conditioned by reading all those Superman comics in the 50s and seeing rays being emitted by his eyes.

3. [Serious question] Why is the aperture angled? Is there some physical reason it’s not perpendicular to the axis of the tube?

4. [another serious question] Why is there a tube in the first place? Is it to direct light from a narrow source onto the objective? It seems like so much extra mass unless it’s totally necessary.

Enlightening responses welcome!

duuuh-dunt, duuuh-dunt, duuuh-dunt, DAA-DA!
duuuh-dunt, duuuh-dunt, duuuh-dunt, DAA-DA!

Come on, sing along, you know the words…

[[Just like parents tell children about god, Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Christopher Columbus, etc., we must coat their path to obtaining knowledge with a sugary glaze of fantasy, because reality is all too horrible to digest on its own, apparently.]]

Check out #3:

http://members.aol.com/bpl1960/Atheist.htm

Commodore Decker flew a shuttlecraft into the maw. Kirk piloted Decker’s damaged starship in but beamed out just in time.

The ISO observatory looks cool. When is it launched?

From the Irrelevant Astronomy vodcast episode “Spaceship Spitzer”

The picture, for the benefit of the humor impaired, is from a Star Trek episode whose title was, IIRC, “The Doomsday Machine”. What is was, in the episode, was a weapon manufactured by a presumable now dead civilization that went around cutting up planets and using the debris for fuel. As another poster pointed out, Commodore Decker flew what was left of the USS Constellation into the maw of the device and detonated it inside. It was a very good episode.

His History of the Universe series is pretty fun – book 1 here ==>

http://www.larrygonick.com/html/pub/books/his1.html

Trivia buffs rejoice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydrPkJ52ft8

Um, are you humor-imipaired, maybe?

Arriving at a star trek fansite should have tipped you off that this was a joke.