Enterprise-D's Spotlights (TNG "Pegasus")

[FalTorPan]

In TNG's "Pegasus," we learned that the Enterprise-D has... steerable spotlights.

The spotlights made for interesting visual effects, which is no doubt why were added for the episode, but in-universe, what purpose would they serve? The ship's various sensors are already capable of gathering far more information than any spotlights would reveal.

Discuss!

 

[Timo]

But visuals are important to Starfleet nevertheless, otherwise they wouldn't bother to light up the starships and their pennants.

I'm sure the lights would be useful when somebody else besides the starship herself is at work. Say, they'd be an excellent aid for spacewalks and work pod operations, or for inspecting and handling objects in the ship's tractor beams before they are moved to or from the ship's holds. Apart from that, though, it would probably still be standard procedure to illuminate any starships or other objects encountered unless they are polite enough to illuminate themselves. Sensors may be fine for navigating, docking and so forth, but the heroes still want to see what they are up against.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Vanyel]

The spotlights could also be some sort of high intensity, short range scanner. We've seen plenty of races in Trek whose scanners cast a visible beam of light.

 

[Plecostomus]

Nothing beats the Mk1 Eyeball. Perhaps they lit up the rockface so people near windows could take a gander.

 

[Meredith]

Nothing beats the Mk1 Eyeball. Perhaps they lit up the rockface so people near windows could take a gander.

Yeah as for the light source, I'd say low grade holographic (light only) projectors.

 

[Forbin]

Yeah as for the light source, I'd say low grade holographic (light only) projectors.

What's "graphic" about them?

 

[Plecostomus]

As Freud would say sometimes a lightbulb is simply a lightbulb. Not everything has to be technobabbled to the extreme. Prehaps its an array of some kind of LED lights made from exotic materials. Or maybe some kind of high energy plasma-based florescent light source.

 

[Santaman]

No matter how advanced the equipment, humans stay humans and so they want/need windows, gravity, up&down being the same as on planets etc etc and of course switch on the lights when flying into the dark.

 

[Major Chord]

I wonder how many interstellar deer the Enterprise would hit if she flew with those lights on at warp speed?

 

[Plecostomus]

None, that is why they have the nav-defector.

 

[Forbin]

None, that is why they have the nav-defector.

From this moment on, to be called a "subspace cowcatcher."

 

[jolau]

Didn't spacedock have something similar?

Also, the TNG Tech Manual mentions something about mooring tractors built along with the RCS thrusters. Perhaps these are low-level tractor beams that in Spacedock's case, keeps ships still (but will break if a ship begins to move as in Star Trek: 3) but in the Galaxy Class case, it keeps the ship from bumping into walls in such confined spaces.

 

[Rÿcher]

the E-D had spotlights so the camera following it could wee what's going on.

 

[Jadzia]

Many encounters were away from stars. And out there in interstellar space, it's pretty dark, and you wouldn't be able to see the ship 1km in front of yours.

The real secret behind the Romulans' cloaking fields is that they just switched off their floodlights.