POLL: Clear dome on my NUMA ship model.

[seadude]

Looking at the picture below, what do you folks think I should do for that clear part dome?
As for the clear observation dome idea I had, it's hard to explain, but I was kind of basing my idea on this that I found and/or heard about:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeoastronomy
Not all shipwrecks, treasure, etc. are found with maps. What if Dirk Pitt and crew were were trying to find an ancient Egyptian sailing vessel that somehow made it to China and all they had to go on was stars and astronomy? And the thing is, the positions of stars and constellations was different centuries and millenia ago in the night sky than today due to continental drift, Earth axis, and a few other variables. I mean, remember what Indiana Jones said near the end of the movie Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny when the German plane and occupants wanted to go back in time and change history, but didn't factor in continental drift and ended up in a Greek/Roman battle instead?

But like I said, if the observation dome idea doesn't work out, I'll just paint over it and say there's an advanced radar system underneath instead.

[kerick]

I can imagine several uses for a clear dome. Astronomy, satellite and launch tracking, navigation by stars, even camera surveillance in a full hemisphere around the ship. I say carry on!

[Weaver]

From a real-world "read-my-model-right" point of view, the dome helps to define the ship as a civilian research ship rather than a military one, so it's good on that score even if it's use is a little fuzzy. It's not that unusual for innovative ships to have innovative features that get underutilised: I recall a millionaire's adventure yacht, converted from an ocean-going tug, that had a helipad on the roof of it's stern swimming pool. However the owner said they rarely used it because the lack of a hangar limited the weather they could go into without getting it damaged, and it was much easier to teach temporary guests to fly the folding paragliders they carrier than carry a pilot for the helo. The helipad _looked_ like a good idea, and was occasionally useful, but didn't get used much. Likewise, IIRC, some of the "toys" on Jacques Cousteau's Calypso were very useful, but others were better in theory than in practice and were rarely carried or used.

Use-wise, pre-GPS, navigators used to use the stars just fine without a globe, indeed it might be argued that not having a layer of distorting plexiglass between you and the tiny points of light was an advantage. However it's clearly possible (pardon the pun) becuase aircraft navigators use astrodomes, and there have been examples of small domes on ships, notably on turrets and fire-control directors. If there was some sensitive piece of equipment in there, say a computer-controlled telescope that's intended as an alternative to GPS, then it might need the dome to keep it reliable, the same way some radar aerials are enclosed in a static radome.

[seadude]

Use-wise, pre-GPS, navigators used to use the stars just fine without a globe, indeed it might be argued that not having a layer of distorting plexiglass between you and the tiny points of light was an advantage. However it's clearly possible (pardon the pun) becuase aircraft navigators use astrodomes, and there have been examples of small domes on ships, notably on turrets and fire-control directors. If there was some sensitive piece of equipment in there, say a computer-controlled telescope that's intended as an alternative to GPS, then it might need the dome to keep it reliable, the same way some radar aerials are enclosed in a static radome.

Another reason to keep the dome would be to protect crew/equipment from any adverse weather (Rain, heavy winds, etc.).
I almost see the dome station being similar to the STAR TREK "stellar cartography" stations seen on starships. Most notably the one on STAR TREK Voyager tv series.

[royabulgaf]

Kerik, you would want something optically flat for that.  The dome would not do.  Now I don't know the peoper terms, but terrestrial telescopes are usually housed in a dome with a  vertical sliding door.  Call up some images of Palomar to get an idea what to do.

[Andrew Gorman]

Maybe make it an old fashioned observatory dome:
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:dz0111146
You could even open it up and add a tiny telescope?

[martinbayer]

You can *NEVER* have too many different sensor inputs for analysis, and the human MK1 Eyeball is a time tested and proven visual intelligence system, so keep it as is!