MIIB Bad Astronomy Results (spoilers)

[Russ]

I saw MIIB last night. What a disapointment! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] Word must have gotten to other people that didn't get to me. There were only about 30 people in a theater for 300. I'll let you go see it to judge the quality of the show for yourself.

The only BA that jumped out at me was that most of the action happened in New York City. Every time they looked at or show the sky it looked like the shot was taken in Skunkbutt, Montana (very far from light pollution). The sky is very black (no light pollution) with brilliant stars twinkling away. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
Everything else was bad for humor's sake. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Exploding planets did not have "the ring". There were no references to asterisms as a place. I can't remember what else was predicted but none of it happened.

Go see it and tell us what you think.

[Aodoi]

Huh. I actually rather liked it. After my ranting about how much I disliked SW:AOTC I hope that's rather refreshing. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Anyway, the intro section with the planets blowing up wasn't real accurate, especially from a perspective level (it didn't make sense that the ship would be the size it was). But given the campy "Mysteries of the Unknown" type thing I wasn't too worried about it. I figured it fight with that little theme. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Plus the perspective thing lead up to the tiny spaceship landing which was pretty funny and well done.

The lights in the NYC sky was decidedly innacurate, but sorta necessary to the whole "we never look at the stars" lines.

... and... um... I can't really think of any other astronomy issues. Really wasn't much astronomy in it that I recall. A bit unclear on the ability of a bowling ball to influence memory retention, but that's not astronomy. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[nebularain]

Hah! I knew there'd be bad astronomy in there somewhere! My thanks to all who played my little contest game earlier [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] !

Review blurb: It was a fun movie, not quite as good as the first one, but still enjoyable (though why did they have to ruin things by putting almost all the best lines in the previews? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img] ). At least the acting was good [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] - oops! I didn't say that. I'd also say that the evil alien reminded me of "The Rumor Weed" from the Veggie Tales "Larry Boy" saga, but maybe only three other people on this board would know what I was talking about [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] .

Bad Astronomy: A planet with two rings on different orbital planes (one of those that got blown up); it looked cool, but I doubt it would be possible. The blowing-up of the planets was hardly realistic, but somehow I have a feeling it wasn't supposed to be. (Imagery, folks, imagery.) I concur about the amount of stars Kay could see from inside New York City - I live in a suburban area and can't even see that many stars on a moonless night! Finally (this is more meteorology than astronomy, but they both fit under the category of "Earth Science" so I can get away with it), Kay says, "It rains because you're sad." Well, it doesn't take a meteorologist to know that weather systems can't be altered fast enough to conform to anyone's emotional state. Hey, wouldn't that be great, though - make an alien sad and have her travel up and down the East Coast to end this drought we're going through!

Good Astronomy: I forget the exact details (photographic memory fails me), but one alien was referred to as having traveled either billions or trillions of miles (silly me, I forgot which). How about that folks? (Note: I wouldn't have caught that if I hadn't read the BA's review of the first movie [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] .)

[jaydeehess]

Both in Star Wars and in MIIB I am troubled about another aspect of the exploding planets. The ship that caused it would be in grave danger of being hit by large, high velocity chunks would it not? My cat moving at 50,000 kmph would dent a spacecraft.

[The Bad Astronomer]

Bad Astronomy: A planet with two rings on different orbital planes

Oh nuts. I missed that. I saw the two ring systems, but didn't notice if they were coplanar or not.

You could get two rings systems tilted with respect to one another, but in real life they might not be stable. Tidal effects may play a role, but to be honest I am not sure. That would make an interesting problem for people who model such things. My friend Dan Durda does such things, so I'll ask him next time I talk with him (I've mentioned him on the main site a few times; do a search).

Anyway, my review is up. I didn't like the movie nearly as much as the first one.

[Russ]

On 2002-07-07 01:13, jaydeehess wrote:
Both in Star Wars and in MIIB I am troubled about another aspect of the exploding planets. The ship that caused it would be in grave danger of being hit by large, high velocity chunks would it not? My cat moving at 50,000 kmph would dent a spacecraft.

I hope for your sake there are no PETA people reading the BABB. They will take severe exception to you positing your cat as a dangerous projectile. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Now WRT you cat being able to dent a spacecraft...it would depend on what the craft was made from. Pure neutronium, no way! Aluminium? Yeah, probably a major dent.

Last (totally irrelevent) thought. Wouldn't the spacecraft be able to escape by traveling at superluminal velocity? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Ring]

[quote]
On 2002-07-09 11:09, Russ wrote:

Now WRT you cat being able to dent a spacecraft...it would depend on what the craft was made from. Pure neutronium, no way! Aluminium? Yeah, probably a major dent.

Outside of a neutron star you can't have neutronium can you? I thought if somehow or other you were able to remove it it would just go poof. (If so, would that be a really BIG POOF or a little poof)?

[Russ]

[quote]
On 2002-07-09 12:28, Ring wrote:

On 2002-07-09 11:09, Russ wrote:

Now WRT you cat being able to dent a spacecraft...it would depend on what the craft was made from. Pure neutronium, no way! Aluminium? Yeah, probably a major dent.

Outside of a neutron star you can't have neutronium can you? I thought if somehow or other you were able to remove it it would just go poof. (If so, would that be a really BIG POOF or a little poof)?

You mean that there really is something called neutronium???? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] Here I thought I was using a term from Star Trek TOS, to make a joke! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

WRT taking a piece off a neutron star....I'm not so sure. Can a 20 mile diameter neutron be cut up or otherwise subdevided? My sense of the force tells me nooooooway. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[g99]

One thing that made me go, UHHGG. WHY? WHY? WHY? Is when the bad lady blows up at the end? How come she turns into fireworks?

How come the planets blow up immediately after being hit by the beam? what kind of neam was it? A planet (even a moon) is a very large object with lots ofmass, If you destroy a planet, the amount of mass in the planet would, more or less, keep it together for a long time by its combined gravity. Only an outside force pushing on the object and the eventual centrufugal force of the rotating solar system, galaxy, universe (does the universe rotate?), or something smaking into it will cause it to disperse.
Plus If the planet was blown up i don't think the PETA people would worry about a cat hitting a space ship. By the way, who would they sue or throw paint on? Plus i'd be more worried about a rhino or a blue whale traveling at several thousand miles per hour towards my ship than a cat. One good thing is that we won't have to worry about global warming or the environment anymore (Save the Planet!!!! [A Big Boom] Oh...never mind, umm anyone got a cigarret?).

[Ring]

On 2002-07-09 12:55, Russ wrote:

You mean that there really is something called neutronium???? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] Here I thought I was using a term from Star Trek TOS, to make a joke! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

WRT taking a piece off a neutron star....I'm not so sure. Can a 20 mile diameter neutron be cut up or otherwise subdevided? My sense of the force tells me nooooooway. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Yes Virginia there is Neutronium. What, pray tell, did you think came in packets of Neutrosweet.

God that was lame, but I had to think of something to cover up missing your joke. (On the other hand maybe it was just a crappy joke) [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] BTW there's actually more than one neutron in a NS.

[Bob]

When the Columbia pictures Miss Liberty logo is shown, her torch flashes like a neuralizer. I don't remember that, but then I'm not supposed to remember that, am I?
Since a planet's equatorial bulge tends to pull satellites into an equatorial plane, I believe that ring systems must eventually be coplanar.

[g99]

What they should of done if flashed the scrren at the end of the movie with a neuralizer and you hear will smith saying "You have not seen this movie, see it again, and again, and agian untill you get a life" That would of ben funny.

The way they showed the dual ring system would not of worked. If my memmory served me correctly after being hit with a neuralizer so many times in the movie, both rings intersect and form a sort of giant "x" if viewed 2 dimentially. If the rings are moving at all they would eventually envelope and destroy eachother by the particles hitting eachother over millions of years. Plus You have to think about how rings form in the first place. Two rings at (im guessing here) 30 degree angles to eachother have to have two seperate planes to eachother. How can there be two seperate planes pf motion to form two sistinct sets of rings?

Here is another theory, which goes along more of the aurora borealis effect. Maybe they are superheated palsma and metal particles following the magnetic field lines of two distinct boides deep in the planets crust (Two planetary cores) I think they looked a little whipsy to me. Any opinions?

[jaydeehess]

I love my puddy tat. I only use him as an example of flotsam that could be expected to have a high velocity imparted upon it if the planet were to be violently exploded. PETA members would also serve as examples of such flotsam.

Yes, one could escape the flying chunks o' planet by running away quickly. However, in the movies the bad guys usually stick around to watch and wring their hands.

[nebularain]

On 2002-07-09 13:10, g99 wrote:
One thing that made me go, UHHGG. WHY? WHY? WHY? Is when the bad lady blows up at the end? How come she turns into fireworks?

That's Follywood - er, I mean Hollywood - for you [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] !

Plus If the planet was blown up i don't think the PETA people would worry about a cat hitting a space ship. By the way, who would they sue or throw paint on? Plus i'd be more worried about a rhino or a blue whale traveling at several thousand miles per hour towards my ship than a cat. One good thing is that we won't have to worry about global warming or the environment anymore (Save the Planet!!!! [A Big Boom] Oh...never mind, umm anyone got a cigarret?).

Good one! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

[Russ]

On 2002-07-09 14:08, Ring wrote:
Yes Virginia there is Neutronium. What, pray tell, did you think came in packets of Neutrosweet.

Major neutrogroan. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] And you talk about MY crappy jokes! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

God that was lame, but I had to think of something to cover up missing your joke. (On the other hand maybe it was just a crappy joke) [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] BTW there's actually more than one neutron in a NS.

Of course it was crappy. The "Three Stooges" made a very fine (pun intened(Larry's last name was Fine))living with crappy jokes.

WRT more than one Neutorn in NS. I was unaware of this. Maybe you could fill me in more over in the General Astronomy area. If it's not just one, then how many? Structure? You've piqued my interest. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Bob]

[quote]
On 2002-07-15 12:11, Russ wrote:

WRT more than one Neutorn in NS. I was unaware of this. Maybe you could fill me in more over in the General Astronomy area. If it's not just one, then how many? Structure? You've piqued my interest. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Try here:http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state....5/notes21.html

A neutron star has a complex structure with the predominant regular old neutrons prevented from collapse by the Pauli exclusion principle (Similar to why an atom's electrons cannot collapse arbitrarily into some ground state).

[Valiant Dancer]

On 2002-07-09 11:09, Russ wrote:

On 2002-07-07 01:13, jaydeehess wrote:
Both in Star Wars and in MIIB I am troubled about another aspect of the exploding planets. The ship that caused it would be in grave danger of being hit by large, high velocity chunks would it not? My cat moving at 50,000 kmph would dent a spacecraft.

I hope for your sake there are no PETA people reading the BABB. They will take severe exception to you positing your cat as a dangerous projectile. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Now WRT you cat being able to dent a spacecraft...it would depend on what the craft was made from. Pure neutronium, no way! Aluminium? Yeah, probably a major dent.

Last (totally irrelevent) thought. Wouldn't the spacecraft be able to escape by traveling at superluminal velocity? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Sure. They just go to Ludicrious speed. (Whoa, they shifted to plaid.) [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]