Maybe it acquired one since with its new name.
I Thought Vulcan Had No Moon
- Thread starter USS Excelsior
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That was retconned decades ago.
Though some sources refuse to call it a moon because of something Spock said in the 60s, they instead label it as a sister planet.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Vulcan_(planet)#Sister_planet
Though some sources refuse to call it a moon because of something Spock said in the 60s, they instead label it as a sister planet.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Vulcan_(planet)#Sister_planet
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This should be in the Movie Forum because, clear as night, Vulcan had a moon in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
That's the non-canon name for it, yes.
If it's a planet, it's a pretty damn close planet.
In TMP, it looks like a moon from the sky. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's not an eagle.
And I consider TMP to be the single most visually impressive piece of Star Trek ever made. Period. The craftsmanship is a sight to be seen. It hasn't been and won't ever be equaled in that department, as far as I'm concerned. So good luck trying to change my mind.
In TMP, it looks like a moon from the sky. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's not an eagle.
And I consider TMP to be the single most visually impressive piece of Star Trek ever made. Period. The craftsmanship is a sight to be seen. It hasn't been and won't ever be equaled in that department, as far as I'm concerned. So good luck trying to change my mind.
It's a space station.
And old Spock must have been standing on it to see Vulcan being destroyed.
There's no reason to assume that sequence was perfectly literal.
And, yeah Vulcan's moon/no moon has been around for a while.
The significant issue here is that the monstrously large celestial body on Vulcan's sky can only be seen from the surface. It is never visible from space, even in wide shots that really ought to show it.
What to make of that?
1) The body is a hallucination induced by volcanic gases.
2) The body is only there on occasion, and our space shots come from outside such an occasion.
The latter in fact makes a great deal of sense. In "Yesteryear", the giant rock on the sky stays immobile from day to subsequent night, as if hovering right above Shi'Kahr. Yet it's gone soon thereafter. Rather than be tidally locked to a giant companion, Vulcan might instead be getting scheduled visits from a large planet (and possible moons belonging to that one - see TMP) that is on a slightly differing orbit.
Interestingly, this is explicit in the case of the Romulan system, where Romulus and Remus in NEM are shown to be on orbits of slightly differing radii. Perhaps that's how Vulcanoids like it? Occasional visits by Remus would mean a known scheduling of slave rebellions, too: Shinzon would have to strike when the two planets are more or less kissing.
In case of the Planet Formerly Known As Vulcan, we're quite entitled to seeing a space shot of a close companion for the first time after decades of Star Trek. It's just that unlike in the Remus case, there's no dramatic-logical connection attached, just aesthetically pleasing coincidence. (Coincidence would also be at play in "Yesteryear"; in TMP, we can argue that Kolinahr ceremonies only take place during visitations!)
Timo Saloniemi
What to make of that?
1) The body is a hallucination induced by volcanic gases.
2) The body is only there on occasion, and our space shots come from outside such an occasion.
The latter in fact makes a great deal of sense. In "Yesteryear", the giant rock on the sky stays immobile from day to subsequent night, as if hovering right above Shi'Kahr. Yet it's gone soon thereafter. Rather than be tidally locked to a giant companion, Vulcan might instead be getting scheduled visits from a large planet (and possible moons belonging to that one - see TMP) that is on a slightly differing orbit.
Interestingly, this is explicit in the case of the Romulan system, where Romulus and Remus in NEM are shown to be on orbits of slightly differing radii. Perhaps that's how Vulcanoids like it? Occasional visits by Remus would mean a known scheduling of slave rebellions, too: Shinzon would have to strike when the two planets are more or less kissing.
In case of the Planet Formerly Known As Vulcan, we're quite entitled to seeing a space shot of a close companion for the first time after decades of Star Trek. It's just that unlike in the Remus case, there's no dramatic-logical connection attached, just aesthetically pleasing coincidence. (Coincidence would also be at play in "Yesteryear"; in TMP, we can argue that Kolinahr ceremonies only take place during visitations!)
Timo Saloniemi
If you can see Vulcan's Sister from Vulcan it stands to reason you can see Vulcan from Vulcan's Sister.
Cousin Gaila bought it off the Vulcans.
Or, maybe Spock was just irritated with Uhura for making a mistake in her log and trying to flirt with him, so he said Vulcan has no moon just to shut her up.
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