Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 4x10 - "The Galactic Barrier"

[Username Not Recognized]

No, no. Star Systems sound appropriate for other far away galaxies.

 

[Sci]

Is there a galactic barrier in real life,

There is no Galactic Barrier in real life so far as modern science can ascertain.

I thought the Universe was whole

... It is? I'm not sure what you mean by that.

and Galaxies were just a man-made description of distant star systems. Will have to Google that.

Oh my goodness no. No no no. Someone has failed to impart basic, fundamental information about the structure of the universe to you.

The Universe is everything we know to exist. The Universe contains many stars. The Sun, Sol, is one such star. Our solar system is comprised of eight planets and numerous dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and other bodies orbiting Sol. Our solar system is one of many such systems that orbit their respective stars. Billions of stars, along with stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter, all gravitationally bound in orbit of a vast black hole, comprise our galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy is only one of many galaxies; there are are over two trillion galaxies known to exist in the observable Universe.

I think you may be confusing the concept of a galaxy with the concept of a constellation. Constellations are collections of stars as perceived from Earth, forming human-perceived patterns. The Big Dipper is a classic example; from Earth, the stars assigned to that constellation appear to form the pattern of a cup or plow; in reality, the stars involved are tens of light-years apart from one-another and have no real connection to one-another.

 

[Sci]

Interesting bit of trivia: "The Galactic Barrier" is the first canonical mention of a Vice President of the United Federation of Planets.

 

[Vale]

No, no. Star Systems sound appropriate for other far away galaxies.

A star system is just another term for a solar system; often used to distinguish our solar system from others. A star system is the collective term for all the objects that are gravitationally bound to one or more central stars. Galaxies are composed of potentially hundreds of billions of star systems.

 

[Phoenix219]

No and no. Galaxies are real, and vast, groups of stars that are gravitationally bound and distinct from each other, but there's no basis in fact for a magic energy barrier surrounding each one.

Sure there is. An electromagnetic double-layer. Just like the Voyager's crossed when they left the Sun's EM sheath. (yes, yes, i know people here think the plasma universe concept is blasphemy, so i expect nothing but refutations at this point.)

 

[Vale]

Sure there is. An electromagnetic double-layer. Just like the Voyager's crossed when they left the Sun's EM sheath. (yes, yes, i know people here think the plasma universe concept is blasphemy, so i expect nothing but refutations at this point.)

Given that you aren't using the word "electromagnetic" correctly, I'll skip the "blasphemy" part and say: mathematics consistent with all current observations please

 

[WarpTenLizard]

I loved the episode... except for the usual filler scenes, where the characters talk about how their last visit to the John made them feel for 6 minutes straight. Like a previous poster said, the show is stalling, and that's frustrating.

I don't think Tarka's flashbacks were a waste though, because I was stunned he was actually telling Book the truth about his background. When he first gave Book his sob story way back, I thought it was stupidly obvious that he was lying. Maybe the massive MCU vibes Tarka emits had me thinking of the bad guy from "Spider-Man: Far from Home." In any case, for me it was practically a twist that he wasn't making it all up. I'm sure he's still leaving out something major, but nevertheless.

I wish I could watch the last three episodes but alas, I work tomorrow.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Not thrilled with the way the title phenomenon was handled. It's been handled much better in the Novelverse. And of course, the way it's been portrayed (at least in canon) has kind of ignored the 3-dimensional nature of space.

And it's "ESP in Human beings" that was so critical in TOS:WNM. Spock was never affected. And at least one TOS novel (CLB's The Higher Frontier, if memory serves) suggests an explanation for the distinction, and for why "ESP in Human beings" never showed up again, other than the telepathy of Dr. Miranda Jones.

I give it a 7.

 

[NCC-73515]

This episode should have been called: Journey to Bubble.

 

[thribs]

Not thrilled with the way the title phenomenon was handled. It's been handled much better in the Novelverse. And of course, the way it's been portrayed (at least in canon) has kind of ignored the 3-dimensional nature of space.

And it's "ESP in Human beings" that was so critical in TOS:WNM. Spock was never affected. And at least one TOS novel (CLB's The Higher Frontier, if memory serves) suggests an explanation for the distinction, and for why "ESP in Human beings" never showed up again, other than the telepathy of Dr. Miranda Jones.

I give it a 7.

I prefer Cox’s Q Continuum trilogy explanation for it more. That it’s a barrier to keep something out.

 

[Jedi Marso]

And there is no way that any Enterprise (1701 original to E) could ever get to what scientist consider the edge of our galaxy with the technological they had. So. It really depends on how far out they. are talking about literally....

Your pattern indicates... 2-dimensional thinking.

Actually, there's a relatively simple explanation for ships making it to the Galactic Barrier, if you engage in three dimensional thinking. The galactic disk is pretty wide, but also pretty thin. You don't go out to the galaxy's edge- you go up or down.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

The galactic disk is pretty wide, but also pretty thin. You don't go out to the galaxy's edge- you go up or down.

Which is of course entirely contrary to the way the barrier has been portrayed in canon.

I will also note that ADF took us "up and out" of the galaxy in Star Trek Log Eight (in the part that followed the adaptation of "The Eye of the Beholder," when the Lactrans asked Kirk & co. to get them a jawanda). And encountered no barrier. In general, I've found his adaptations of TAS to be better than the original episodes.

 

[Quantum21]

There is no galactic barrier per se, but there are some odd things out there.

https://www.livescience.com/milky-way-center-cosmic-ray-barrier

The researchers described the effect as an invisible "barrier" that is wrapped around the galactic center and is keeping the density of cosmic rays there significantly lower than the baseline level seen throughout the rest of our galaxy. In other words: Cosmic rays can get out of the galactic center, but have a hard time getting in.

How this cosmic barrier works, or why it exists, remains a mystery.