In the movie Contact..

[fatal291]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNAUR7NQCLA<br /><br />There is that opener of the movie Contact made in 1997.. I was just wondering now, how far off are the sounds now? Like how you hear most of the 80s music as you zoom out near the moon,T when you apply that to the year 2007 or one decade later? Would it be any farther from the moon ten years later? <br /><br /><br />I guess I'm trying to ask how much farther have the sound waves from Earth traveled since 1997. I was born in 88 so bare with me if I am incorrect lol.. Well thats about the best piece of video ever IMO. I hope someone can answer my question.

 

[derekmcd]

Quite simple to figure out. Those radio broadcasts leave the earth and travel at the speed of light. Something broadcast in 1988 would be 19 LYs away. There were several liberties taken with that opening shot as it is not all that accurate.<br /><br />Bad Astronomy<br /><br />With that said... fantastic movie. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

You did mean radio waves, not sound waves, right? <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Sound does not travel through space.<br /><br />Radio waves are what were depicted in Contact and those travel at the speed of light so just figure any radio waves originating in 1988 would now be 19 light years out. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

I took a quick look and took a few notes, not too many, since it is scientifically inaccurate but entertaining, which is sometimes the way movies are.<br /><br />To answer one, the travel time for radio waves to the moon (right now) is 1.3 seconds. Sound here on earth travels about a 1/4 mile in that time.<br /><br />The audio as you pass Saturn is from the 1960, actual radio time to Saturn in about 1 1/4 hour, so that would be whatever you heard on your radio an hour ago.<br /><br />The first star is passed when the sounds of 1939 are heard, in actuality, the radio heard at Alpha Centauri would be from New Years 2003.<br /><br />A few visual licenses were taken as well. The asteroid belt was WAY too dense, probably a billion times denser than reality.<br /><br />Then they showed the sun as being imbedded in the famous "Pillars of God" (my fave Hubble image of all time), when we actually see that in M16 from here with telescope.<br /><br />Just remember, movies are art, not science <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[fatal291]

but.. but.. it was made into a movie from Carl Sagan's book.. ah well I don't understand why thy didn't just make it correct it would have been just as entertaining right? Well thanks anyway I would have never thought that it traveled that fast. Now all we need is to put people out there to listen

 

[MeteorWayne]

It was a trailer/intro, designed to attract attention and tell a story. The facts would not have been as visually spectacular...After all if by the time you got to Saturn (Very recognizable), you heard was last last hour's news, they wouldn't have gotten to use,MLK, Kennedy, Nixon, Hitler,or any of the 60's and 50's music until they were in the void of interstellar space. After all, Pluto is only about 4 light hours away. That's this morning's news. Boring [yawn]. Once you get out into the stars, it's mostly empty space, and stars are not identifiable to the movie audience, so it wouldn't have meant anything.<br /><br />Much less riveting <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> Like I said, movies are art, not science. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

"<i>Sound does not travel through space.</i><br /><br />It most certainly does. A common misconception. As space is not a pure vacuum, there is actually a medium for sound to travel. If you screamed at me in space, there would not be enough atoms to create the required vibration for my ears to pick it up, but equipment that is sensitive enough would hear it.<br /><br />Black holes are B flat <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[ianke]

lol<br />Hummm.<img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[qso1]

Good point so I'll correct by stating that in a practical sense, sound does not travel through space because although there is a medium for it to travel through. As you pointed out, our ears wouldn't pick it up. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Fatal291:<br />but.. but.. it was made into a movie from Carl Sagan's book..<br /><br />Me:<br />Making it correct would not sell, at least according to Hollywood. Especially where visuals are concerned. Movie going audiences are not interested in reality in space...if they were, 2001 A Space Odyssey would have been the first of the new generation of space movies that accurately portray the near total lack of sound in space. Instead, 2001 remains one of the few to portray space accurately, soundwise.<br /><br />As for Contact, and I consider this one of the best space movies ever made. But even in this movie, think for a sec about how Jodie Fosters character is to travel alone in this monstrosity ringed thing at KSC and later Japan. A monstrocity that had its construction plans faxed from the aliens in effect.<br /><br />This monstrocity exists in this movie because it was way cooler computer graphic wise than what might actually be built and how it might actually be built.<br /><br />And that worked well enough even for me. I thought it was cool lookin as all git out. Especially the sound effects in the close up shots which seemed approppriatly otherworldy enough. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

space is practically vacuum.How can you hear? Black holes are B flat Dont understand.

 

[heyscottie]

There was an article about a year back about vibrational resonances of black holes. We were able to observe pressure waves running through accretion disks near black holes, and could determine the vibrational (therefore sound) frequency. It came out to be a B flat, some large amount of octaves (something like 20 octaves) below middle C.

 

[derekmcd]

"<i>space is practically vacuum.</i>"<br /><br />'Practically' is the key word. Read this link for a good explaination.<br /><br />"<i>Black holes are B flat Dont understand.</i>"<br /><br />This Space.com article explains it quite well.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Music in black hole.Good invention.

 

[heyscottie]

Ahh, yes. The article states that it is actually 57 octaves down. I knew it was some ridiculously large number...

 

[derekmcd]

I couldn't agree more. Been a while since I read Contact, but I recall Sagan as being very vague about The Machine. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[qso1]

I thought the machine spinup sequence was one of the coolest I've ever seen as well. It captured an otherworldly feel. I could imagine it being years into the future and what someone boarding might be thinking or feeling. Jodie Foster did an awesome job as well. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qzzq]

"It's poetry"<br /><br />That one still sends shivers down my spine. <br /><br />As for the opening scene; too bad they didn't opt for a more scientifically correct approach. It's beautiful, no doubt about that, but it's flawed, and it could have been as good by staying true to science. Still, it's up there for best opening sequence in a film.<br /><br />Apart from the opening sequence, the part where they discover the signal and the space travel bit, the movie suffers from rather poor writing. Sagan's ending is definitely missing in the film. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p>***</p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Sagans original ideas was edited by Kip Thorne.He was not sure of time machine at the time.