Talk: Theta VIII

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Theta VIII article. For general discussion, go to Memory Alpha's Discussions or Discord. Click here to start a new discussion on this talk page.

Okudagram data[]

Planetary data taken directly from bridge display (beginning of the episode)
Temperature (originally -291°C) interpreted as -291°F (= -179°C)
Planetary Classification: "Class K Transjovian" (conflicting with Star Charts listing)
data also includes: estimated age 7.2 x 10 E 10 Solar Years (?)

Cool info! I'll try to find that display :) -- Harry 10:54, 23 Dec 2003 (PST)

I recently found that display mentioned as showing "Class C" instead of "Class K". Can someone confirm either way? -- Cid Highwind 06:34, 27 Dec 2003 (PST)

Name[]

I added a cap of the display. My question, when was it ever called Theta 116 VIII? The display clearly says "Theta VIII", the dialog says "the eighth planet of the Theta 116 system." --Alan del Beccio 03:18, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

It might not have been. In many cases in Trek, a planet is just the system name followed by a number. In this case, the system name is "Theta 116", and it is the eighth planet, therefore someone decided to follow that rule and named this "Theta 116 VIII". It would seem that this planet is, in fact, an exception to the rule, and should be "Theta VIII", as seen in the episode. --OuroborosCobra ^talk 03:27, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure without checking the episode again - the Final Draft script doesn't use "116" in any context, so this might have been a last-minute addition that didn't make its way through the whole script. Would be nice to know when and why this was added to the script.

However, inconsistent names are a big problem with early TNG. Just have a look at, for example, "Pen Pals" to see what I mean. There also is an episode where both a full and an abbreviated name are used interchangeably, although the name of that episode escapes me at the moment. So, if this is moved, at least a redirect should stay. ...and, just so that doesn't go unnoticed - the diagram says "THETA EIGHT", not "THETA VIII" ;) -- Cid Highwind 09:45, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

That would be "Survivors" with the confusion between "Delta Rana IV" and Rana IV, --Jörg 10:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Here are the four references to the planet, none of which were shortened like the example above:

Jean-Luc Picard: "the eighth planet of the...Theta 116 solar system."
Okudagram: "THETA EIGHT"
Worf: "We call it Theta VIII."
Jean-Luc Picard: "We remain in orbit around Theta VIII..."

Alan del Beccio 20:14, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Background information[]

Although in real-world science, -291°C and the corresponding -491.8°F are impossible, the corresponding -17.85 K is not. See the Temperature article.

Based on the physics of the away team's motions on the planet's surface, the gravity there seemed to be 1 g. So, the mass and radius of the planet should be approximately the same as Earth's mass of 5.9722 × 10²⁴ kg and radius of 6,371 km, but compared to Earth's mass, Theta VIII's mass of 4.35 x 10¹² as given by the "Planetary Scan - Theta Eight" okudagram is a 10¹² factor too small. Since no measurement units were given, then the units can be inferred to be the equivalent of 10¹² kg, or 10¹⁵ g or 10⁹ tons (t). The International System of Units (SI) provides a prefix "peta (P)" that is equivalent to 10¹⁵, and of course, the prefix "giga (G)" for 10⁹. So, in the okudagram, the units for Theta VIII's mass can be inferred to be Pg or Gt, and the mass itself, respectively to be 4.35 x 10¹² Pg or 4.35 x 10¹² Gt.

(From Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, Theta VIII's radius can be calculated to be 5,440 km.)

Regarding the phrase "two other Theta planets have been mentioned in Star Trek," I have changed it to, "two other planets with the word 'Theta' in their names, planets in at least one other, previously-mapped solar system which may also have 'Theta' in its name, have been mentioned in Star Trek," and have replaced the period with a colon.

Incidentally, on the "Surface feature analysis – Theta eight" okudagram, I spotted another temperature that is impossible on the Celsius scale of the real world: The surface temp is -2740C. -- Astrophysicophile (talk) 01:45, 9 January 2025 (UTC)