...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
Oblivious Astronomers
- 101 statements
- 18 feature instances
- 13 referencing feature instances
| Oblivious Astronomers | type |
FeatureClass | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | label |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | page |
ObliviousAstronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | comment |
Space is big. Like, really, really big. You have no idea how hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. So, in all that empty space, it makes perfect sense you could hide a whole lot of stuff, right? Well, not really. Space may be big, but it's also pretty much empty, with not a lot of things to hide behind. Anything that puts out any amount of any kind of energy can be readily spotted against the near-absolute-zero background of space, and any object with sufficient mass to be troublesome would reflect enough light to be just as visible (at least, in theory). But that just doesn't make for a very interesting story. If you can see the alien battlefleet when it's six months away, and have six months to prepare an appropriate welcome, a lot of the drama and tension can get sucked out of the story right there. If the Earth-shattering asteroid is spotted before it ever even enters the solar system, there's no need for an ad-hoc plan to send a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits up to destroy it, you can make a plan or two, and three or four contingency plans if those fail. Thus, we have this trope, when something that really should have been readily visible to anyone who actually watches the sky for a living (to say nothing of amateurs with decent telescopes), but somehow everyone misses it until it's right at our doorstep. Can be a Justified Trope, if the object in question has some kind of stealth technology, or at times on Earth (or other alien worlds) where astronomy was functionally nonexistent. Can also be justified depending on how Faster-Than-Light Travel works in the setting: if FTL is accurate enough to drop a ship or fleet into an orbit around their target, and there's no way to detect ships in FTL, then the ship can literally appear over its target with no warning.note For example, at Earth's current level of technology, we'd have no way to detect a spaceship approaching at FTL speeds, even if it were planet-sized or larger and hotter than the sun, because it would be outrunning its own light and heat emissions. This may even make space navies unnecessary altogether, as one can just strap FTL drives to massive spaceship-sized bombs and have yourself a nice interstellar ICBM. This is one of many reasons aspiring Sci-Fi writers are encouraged to think long and hard about the rules of their FTL drives. Finally, this is also Truth in Television (see Real Life, below) for objects small enough that they aren't easily visible, but still big enough to cause lots of damage (not necessarily extinction-level damage, but enough to be worrisome). Compare Stealth in Space, where someone manages to deliberately hide themselves while in space. |
|
| Oblivious Astronomers | fetched |
2023-10-03T17:01:32Z | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | parsed |
2023-10-03T17:01:32Z | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | processingComment |
Dropped link to DawnOfWarII: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | processingComment |
Dropped link to PlayedForLaughs: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | processingComment |
Dropped link to justifiedtrope: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | processingUnknown |
DawnOfWarII | |
| Oblivious Astronomers | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_27d467a3 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_27d467a3 | comment |
The episode "Out Of This World" of The Magic School Bus manages to fall into this twice. Dorothy Ann discovers an asteroid she believes is about to hit the school, but when she asks NASA, they don't know anything about it. Later, the class manages to deflect the asteroid by inflating the Bus to the size of the moon so its gravity will pull it off course. Needless to say, no astronomer seems to have made note of that either— or, for that matter, the other consequences of a moon-sized object suddenly appearing in Earth's orbit. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_27d467a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_27d467a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Magic School Bus | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_27d467a3 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_45854dfc | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_45854dfc | comment |
Starship Troopers. The Bugs send a large asteroid to impact the Earth. Even though the Federation has considerably more advanced technology than present-day Earth (including starships), it somehow misses seeing the asteroid approaching. This leads to Earth (later in the story but earlier in the narrative) upgrading its defenses to stop other incoming "Bug Meteors". | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_45854dfc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_45854dfc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Starship Troopers | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_45854dfc | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_5957104c | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_5957104c | comment |
Deep Impact: Zigzagged. It is an amateur astronomer who first notices the approaching comet, but his first reaction is to ask a professional astronomer with a much more powerful telescope to double-check this unknown light in the sky (another amateur mistakes it for the star Megrez). On the other hand, the comet is detected well over a year before impact, giving the various nations plenty of time to come up with ideas for countermeasures. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_5957104c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_5957104c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Deep Impact | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_5957104c | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_62126ef1 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_62126ef1 | comment |
Justified in the The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "Assault on 42," which features a prison in the Negative Zone, an alternate dimension that was thought to consist of just energy. Since there wasn't any indication that anything could live there, the prison was built without any sensors pointing out. Therefore nobody (except the semi-telepathic Leader) knows that an alien army is approaching until they start banging on the walls. After that they have to use the sensors from sets of Powered Armor to figure out what's going on. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_62126ef1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_62126ef1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_62126ef1 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_64ff8c3 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_64ff8c3 | comment |
That no one who's supposed to is watching the sky is one of many tropes CinemaSins points out. Repeatedly. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_64ff8c3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_64ff8c3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| CinemaSins (Web Video) | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_64ff8c3 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6a3ee0a9 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6a3ee0a9 | comment |
Probably one of the more realistic versions in the third book of The Enchantment Emporium. There are two objects very close to each other in the sky from the observers' point of view, so while they do notice the first one, they note it's going to be a standard near miss (in cosmic terms). But Near-Miss kept them from noticing the one behind it, that's on a collision course, until it's too late. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6a3ee0a9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6a3ee0a9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Enchantment Emporium | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_6a3ee0a9 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6cbd00ce | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6cbd00ce | comment |
In the pilot episode of Dragon Tales, the "star seed" that Ord picks turns into an actual star in the sky, and Max and Emmy are able to see it from their playroom, despite Dragon Land being in another universe. How no astronomers noticed a large, bright star appearing suddenly is a riddle for the ages. The picture-book adaptation of the episode changes it to a shooting star, avoiding this trope. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6cbd00ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_6cbd00ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Dragon Tales | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_6cbd00ce | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_70814599 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_70814599 | comment |
Stargate SG-1: Justified in one episode. An asteroid is coming at Earth, and isn't noticed for quite some time because it's not going through the ecliptic (the plane of space where the planets and the asteroid belt are, and thus where all of Earth's observation equipment is aimed). It was blind luck an amateur astronomer noticed it. Turns out the asteroid isn't from the Solar System, and probably launched at Earth from that improbable angle deliberately. After the climactic battle over Antarctica in Season 7, a Season 8 episode dealt with the Stargate Program having to scramble to cover up the fact that some astronomers without the required security clearance did notice the fleet of alien spaceships getting blown up. |
|
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_70814599 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_70814599 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Stargate SG-1 | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_70814599 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_7e07557b | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_7e07557b | comment |
Averted in Outpost. The asteroid "Vulcan's Hammer" is detected far away enough that there's time to build an interstellar ship as well as to launch a nuclear weapon for diverting its path. It fails. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_7e07557b | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_7e07557b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Outpost (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_7e07557b | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_898bd243 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_898bd243 | comment |
Armageddon (1998): The person who first notices the Texas-sized asteroid that is going to hit Earth is an amateur astronomer, and the fact that NASA (or any other space agency on the planet, for that matter) didn't detect said asteroid at all until then (when the asteroid is about two weeks away from hitting Earth) and that there are no other actual plans that may work (other than than the one that is Crazy Enough to Work) because it is so close is lampshaded to the point of Anviliciousness. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_898bd243 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_898bd243 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Armageddon (1998) | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_898bd243 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a3c14f85 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a3c14f85 | comment |
Averted in Don't Look Up where the astronomers and scientific community do notice the huge comet on a collision course with Earth months before it happens, but the governments and general public wilfully ignore it and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a3c14f85 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a3c14f85 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Don't Look Up | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_a3c14f85 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a40b1126 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a40b1126 | comment |
Independence Day: The huge alien ship (one-quarter the size of the moon!) and its attending fleet coming to attack Earth is first noticed when it begins transmitting a signal, by which point it's within the lunar orbit. Once they know it's there they're able to track it fairly reliably. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a40b1126 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a40b1126 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Independence Day | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_a40b1126 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a4adac56 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a4adac56 | comment |
Initially played straight then subverted in Salvation. An MIT student discovers "Samson", an asteroid on a collision course with Earth in 190 days. After his professor disappears, he goes to the tech billionaire Darius Tanz. Being Genre Savvy, Tanz immediately goes to the US government and demands to know more about it. The officials reluctantly admit to have known about the asteroid for awhile but didn't want to cause a panic among the populace, hoping to end the threat before anyone else learns of it. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a4adac56 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_a4adac56 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Salvation | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_a4adac56 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_b618b457 | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_b618b457 | comment |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Hand Waves Earth's obliviousness to the approach of the Vogon Constructor Fleet in the book: | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_b618b457 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_b618b457 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_b618b457 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c487221e | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c487221e | comment |
Men in Black: Earth is something of an interstellar travel hub, with visitors coming and going all the time. But either no one notices, or MIB is really good at cover-ups. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c487221e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c487221e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Men in Black | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_c487221e | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c9f7a16a | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c9f7a16a | comment |
Averted on The 4400: The ship that brings the returnees to Seattle is noticed by astronomers, but is initially mistaken for a passing comet. It's only when it changes course and starts heading for Mount Rainer that anyone realizes that it isn't what they thought. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c9f7a16a | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_c9f7a16a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The 4400 | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_c9f7a16a | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_fa661c5b | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_fa661c5b | comment |
Independence Day: Resurgence: Given a justification in this film (and perhaps retroactively for the first) in that the massive continent-sized mothership is shown to have some kind of cloaking device. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_fa661c5b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_fa661c5b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Independence Day: Resurgence | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_fa661c5b | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_ffd311a | type |
Oblivious Astronomers | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_ffd311a | comment |
Calling Captain Future by Edmond Hamilton begins with a Do Not Adjust Your Set moment where a mysterious person warns of a danger; an incoming dark star that will destroy the Solar System unless all its resources are entrusted to him to avert the danger. The star is already close enough to be seen through an amateur's telescope, yet the professional astronomers have noticed nothing, so naturally, after this kind of blunder no one trusts them when they say it's merely a low-mass dust cloud. Subverted at the end; it's nothing but an enormous hologram, so naturally nothing could be detected until the projectors were turned on. | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_ffd311a | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Oblivious Astronomers / int_ffd311a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Captain Future | hasFeature |
Oblivious Astronomers / int_ffd311a |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.