ALIEN: The Weyland-Yutani Report (S.D. Perry, 160 pages)

[Corporal Hicks]

Where did you find that? Ossians?

I see more info on Ossians here:

http://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Mala'kak

http://avp.wikia.com/wiki/Engineer

I can remember where Mala'kak came from but I have no idea where Ossians is from. Anyone know?

[HuDaFuK]

How could you tell if the planetoid is covered in uneven terrain like mountains and valleys?

There aren't any mountains and valleys. There are a lot of fairly large, weirdly-shaped rocks poking up about the place and some small rises, but otherwise the terrain we see in the films is relatively flat. The curvature would really be quite noticeable if it was only 1,200 km across - seriously, that's tiny, less than a quarter of the distance from New York to London for an entire planet - but the ground seems pretty flat. In fact, 1,200 km is barely bigger than the UK top to bottom.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Besides, our own moon is definitely a bit larger than LV-426, but photos of the Apollo 11 astronauts walking on the surface don't reveal any obvious signs of curvature on the horizon.

http://i65.tinypic.com/bi6z6a.jpg

That's a pretty pointless photograph Trouble. There are no familiar objects in the distance which can give you a point of reference with regards to scale.

The image below better illustrates how truncated the horizon is. Notice how close that flag is sitting to the horizon (click on image to enlarge).

[Nostromo]

The simple fact is Acheron can't be as small as the deleted scene says it is because it would be visibly curved when you're standing on it, which it isn't in Alien and it definitely isn't in Aliens.

I don't think that's correct either. I did some snooping around and found some proof, therefore you are guilty of deceiving us lol.

Seriously though, checkout these 2 links, it explains it well enough as do the pictures above and in these links.

Also, our moon is roughly 87km smaller in diameter than LV-426. Pretty much the same views on the moon. Whichever has a flatter surface

[Local Trouble]

There aren't any mountains and valleys. There are a lot of fairly large, weirdly-shaped rocks poking up about the place and some small rises, but otherwise the terrain we see in the films is relatively flat.

Is this your idea of flat?

That's a pretty pointless photograph Trouble. There are no familiar objects in the distance which can give you a point of reference with regards to scale.

The image below better illustrates how truncated the horizon is. Notice how close that flag is sitting to the horizon (click on image to enlarge).

And yet the curvature isn't apparent on both sides of that photo.  The horizon is a non-issue because we never get a view of it on LV-426 that isn't obscured by terrain or atmospheric haze.

[HuDaFuK]

Is this your idea of flat?

Very easy to post some convenient closeups. I'm talking more about the wide shots.

[Nostromo]

Check this theory out:

The Moon is about a quarter (1/4) of the Earth's diameter.

Imagine if you were 4 times as tall (about 7 meters). Your new size and Earth's size would be proportional to your normal size and the size of the Moon.

The amount of curvature of the Earth's horizon from 7 meters up is comparable to the Moon's curvature from normal eye height. You know already from everyday experience you can't see the curvature of the Earth from the third floor of a building.

[HuDaFuK]

More to the point, Calpamos is 10x the size of Jupiter?



That moon should be a freaking pinprick if it's only 1,200 km across.

[Local Trouble]

Is this your idea of flat?

Very easy to post some convenient closeups. I'm talking more about the wide shots.

Post as many wide shots as you want.  They're all inconclusive from what I can see.

More to the point, Calpamos is 10x the size of Jupiter?



That moon should be a freaking pinprick if it's only 1,200 km across.

That depends entirely on both its distance from the camera and the moon's distance from the planet.

[Local Trouble]

I suspect the hologram was designed more for illustrative purposes, not for size accuracy.  Kinda like this diagram from space.com.



It's also possible that the outer moon of Calpamos is in a wider orbit, like Callisto, and thus didn't make the cut when they designed the hologram.

[Nostromo]

A very interesting thread on this subject, http://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/index.php?topic=46532.0

By the way, is this a scene from within a movie?. It would be an even bigger goof since it would mean there are 4 moons.

[Local Trouble]

I don't think that's in the movie. 

[Nostromo]

I suspect the hologram was designed more for illustrative purposes, not for size accuracy.  Kinda like this diagram from space.com.



It's also possible that the outer moon of Calpamos is in a wider orbit, like Callisto, and thus didn't make the cut when they designed the hologram.

"wider orbit" I thought of that, I think that makes good sense.

Does anyone know if this is a fact? "Calpamos (117, 925 km), the ringed gas giant that the moon LV-426 revolves around in the Alien series"

I was wrong earlier. I was using the radius of Jupiter and not the diameter. Therefore the largest possible size would be 280,000km or twice Jupiter's diameter of 139,822 km. Which makes good sense, as Jupiter is already almost at the maximum size for a Gas Giant. If the earlier info that e found of LV-426 having a 3,500km diameter it would make perfect sense. It would put LV-223 in the 5,000km+  diameter range.

More to the point, Calpamos is 10x the size of Jupiter?



That moon should be a freaking pinprick if it's only 1,200 km across.

That's actually not possible, it would implode from it's own gravity. Jupiter has a diameter of 139,800km. A planet cannot have a diameter of 1,398,00km. Max from what I was reading is 1.5x - 2x Jupiter's diameter. If you add more mass it implodes.

I think that info earlier with Calpamos being 117,000km is very probable. With LV-426 at 3,550km and LV-223 the size of Ganymede or around 5000-5,500km. Forget the hologram by the way, as there is not enough room for the 3rd planet's wide orbit and the moons are made to look bigger to study them/showcase them better. And the space scene uses various shots to make the moons look bigger than they really appear. The 3rd moon is far in the distance because it has a much wider orbit. I think these are the best solutions and/or explanations.

[Local Trouble]

I think that info earlier with Calpamos being 117,000km is very probable.  With LV-426 at 3,550km and LV-223 the size of Ganymede or around 5000-5,500km.

That's a blatant contradiction of the WYR and a staggering defiance of authority.

[HuDaFuK]