Weird scope in movie

[Rigel003]

I'm always fascinated by the appearance of telescopes in B grade movies. Here's a screen shot I took last week, watching a rerun of the truly dreadful sci-fi, end of the world movie, Knowing. Nicholas Cage is supposed to be an astrophysicist. Is that rotating, extendable, really long diagonal thingy on a newtonian for real or just some figment of the director's imagination?

[Blue Skies]

Yikes! I remember seeing that film...B-grade is about right. Shame, since the main character was actually (supposed to be) a scientist. Can't remember what was said about it at the time, though...Which film was it again? I remember he cracks some code about the end of the world, and it all ends in giant solar flares or something.

[traveller]

And all done with the cap on the finder...

[bloodhound31]

What's he doing with his hand? Is he TOUCHING the eyepiece while he looks??!! Oh, and why are all the lights on?

[Rigel003]

He was looking at Saturn I think while waiting for his barbeque to cook. Later he swivels that device down so his son can look through.

This one has always been one of my favourites. "It came from Outer Space" 1953. It's an equatorial mount but the polar axis is horizontal. They seem to do their observing with the lights on too.

[Blue Skies]

Tsk, no lens capping to block stray light coming in, either. It's as bad as Matthew Broderick swinging a rather large refractor down to below horizontal at midday to see his girlfriend wave at him less than a mile away in "Addicted to Love". :rofl:

[Ric]

It's certainly amazing what level directors perceive our knowledge of telescopes to be. :screwy:


"Hmm, it looks technical, yeah that will do" :lol:

If they can spend millions on a movie then why not spend a few hundred of that on a technical advisor to show how to use a scope properly. :P

[Baddad]

Hi Ric,

If they can spend millions on a movie then why not spend a few hundred of that on a technical advisor to show how to use a scope properly.

Your statement made me think. At first I agreed with you. It would add credibility.

On second thought: Why bother? 90% of the audience would be oblivious to the technicallities.

However I am with you. I find it insulting to try to pass on a weak effort as such, but them's the cards we get dealt.

Cheers

[LAW]

You guys will get a kick out of this.

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

:rofl: If you have a spare hour and a half the full interview is brilliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBUVLBtxdj0

[Omaroo]

You know nothing, the lot of you! Do you not know a daylight inversion flux deioniser when you see one? :shrug:

[MortonH]

For a long time now I've been asking if Nicholas Cage is supposed to be an actor. He should just stop instead of making one turkey after another.

[Omaroo]

Raising Arizona us one of my all-time faves Morton! Actors suit some roles and not others, granted. His effort in this Cohen brothers classic was spot-on. I've not really seen him in anything that I've really liked so much since.

[Nightshift]

Faceoff was awesome albeit morbidly hard to believe. He and John did a great job and he was named after a star, John of course being the better actor saved the movie though. Lets not forget Conair, the only movie I have seen yet where a Corevette really can fly (OUCH).

[erick]

That was great, thanks. :)

[Poita]

I agree, although I *loved* his batman style protrayal in KickAss.
Funniest movie I've seen in a long long time, not for the profanity-averse viewer though!

[Barrykgerdes]

Those movie people are smarter than you think. They rely on techos to see the obvious errors and spread the word on forums so everybody goes along to see the mistakes!

Barry

[AstralTraveller]

Obviously they are on the equator. There must have been some continental drift. Oh and whatever it was that came from outer space came close to the horizon.

[AstralTraveller]

Ugh. Does the word vignette mean anything to you??

[Jules76]

I brought this up a few years ago when I first saw the movie. The general consensus is that it appears to be for real and is quite possibly an attachment for setting up telescopes for people in wheelchairs. They used it to improve the camera angle as otherwise you would of course seen Cage side on (so I read).

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=48512

Seems the most likely explanation. :)

On the topic of telescopes in movies/TV, whenever you see a reflector just make note of which way it is pointing. I watched "Touch" (that new TV series on Channel 10 with Kiefer Sutherland) and there is one in his apartment near the window. And of course, the eyepiece is nearest to the ground with the back end pointing towards the sky! :lol:

[wayne anderson]

There are certainly some strange scopes in the movies, I noticed this “Hollywood” Meade LX200 Modification in the movie StarTrek First Contact.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Any publicity is good, hey? :D

[Barrykgerdes]

A few years ago in the "Phantom" comic strip the phantom was on the top of his "rock" surveying the bad guys with what was a very good drawing of a LX200 classic in its Alt/azm mode and he had it pointed in the right direction and was looking though the eyepiece.

Barry