Boldly Going To Nerdville

So, just how big is the NCC-1701-D USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation?

Here is an overlay of the Enterprise on the Seattle Center. At 643 meters in length, notice how it dwarfs the Space Needle, EMP, Key Arena, Childrens Museum, and IMAX. See also: In relation to the University of Washington, and in relation to Qwest Field and Safeco Field. The saucer section is 467 meters wide, which is 510 yards, or about five football fields.

Here's what the Seattle sky line would look like if the Enterprise were to fly over it. As you can see, the Enterprise is just about 7 city blocks long, and taller than a 40 story building.

Over the Pentagon. I tried to center the bridge over Ground Zero Cafe. Let's see if that freaks the Russians out some more. (Only Pentagon know-it-alls will get that joke.)

The Ellipse at The White House. The Ellipse circumference is about the same as the dorsal phaser array. The White House occupies about the same area as the rear shield grid.

The Colosseum in Rome. There's really no comparison here. The Colosseum doesn't even occupy the same space as the top six decks. Those of you who have seen the Colosseum (me!) are getting a sense of just how big the Enterprise-D really is.

Computer, arch! The St. Louis Arch is 630ft high and 630ft wide at its base. That's 192 meters versus the saucer section's 467 meters. Ignore the skyscrapers in the background which are obviously at a distance from the Arch and do not reflect a comparative size to the Enterprise.

Over Liberty Island, NY.

Over and cross sectioned with Manhattan. Even this city's enormity is brought into perspective when you put the entire ship on it. Whoever initially described the Ent-D as a "city in space" wasn't kidding!

And if Wil Wheaton is reading this, since you were kind enough to link here, it turns out the Enterprise is about the size the of Paramount lot after all.

(disclaimer: all calculations were done using comparative mapping and data using Google Maps, Ex Astris Scientia, and TNG Trek Core. Accuracy +/- a few pixels.)

Goodbye, Seattle!

And last, but not least, my gift to the people of Seattle for last weekend's Memorial Day holiday.

[ geeknerd, star trek published on 2007-05-30 | Permalink (82,620) | ]

80 Comments

Beth wrote at 2007-05-30 at 10:30am:

that is absolutely amazing! can you show it over other skylines or landmarks, like the pentagon or new ork city?

Anonymous wrote at 2007-05-30 at 1:37pm:

New Ork City? So you want him to compare it to Robin Williams?

Here's a little useless info I wish I didn't know: the Enterprise has only one bathroom.

Mike wrote at 2007-05-30 at 2:05pm:

How about a post on *how* you did it? I'd like to try it with some of my local places..

Patrick Delahanty wrote at 2007-05-30 at 4:33pm:

I think the dimensions that Paramount may have exaggerated the dimensions�because it looks like a car could drive through the windows and a bus would fit in the observation lounge.

The Enterprise D is supposed to be something like 26 decks tall, right? Seems odd that those 26 decks take up 40 stories.

I call foul. I'd like to suggest scaling it down to what looks like the right size and then figuring out how wide Paramount should have said it is.

josh wrote at 2007-05-30 at 5:56pm:

just to make things interesting, i'd say you should recalculate the size of the ship flying over seattle. einstein's theory or relativity shows that as objects travel at relativistic speeds (i'm blanking on an �average� speed for the enterprise), it will appear shorter. the formal term is length contraction, and you can find the formula - as a function of speed- here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorentz-FitzGerald_contraction_hypothesis
just for fun!

josh wrote at 2007-05-30 at 5:56pm:

MarrowMan wrote at 2007-05-30 at 5:59pm:

It doesn't matter! the bloody thing is toast anyway! Did you guys not see Generations? LOL

Chad wrote at 2007-05-30 at 6:07pm:

It is a big ass ship. Does it really matter how accurate it is?

sean wrote at 2007-05-30 at 6:10pm:

If the enterprise flew over Seattle that close, even at 10% of the speed of light, it would destroy the buildings, and even at that percentage the size would hardly be changed to the outside observer.

Juan wrote at 2007-05-30 at 6:32pm:

The Enterprise-D is actually forty-two decks high, not twenty-six.

giga wrote at 2007-05-30 at 6:41pm:

I agree with Patrick there…
In the movie we can see windows the size of a normal window, no more than 2 meters in height.
Here, the windows are the same size of a car…

I think impulse power can make Enterprise hover. No need to calculate length contraction ;-)

Mongo61 wrote at 2007-05-30 at 7:12pm:

@ Patrick Delahanty
Who says the height of a deck is the same as the story of a building? The bridge has got to be 20 feet high, and the holodeck likewise. How about the loading docks, the shuttle bays? Hmmm…..?
Boy, do I wish I knew the touch of a woman…

toomanytribbles wrote at 2007-05-30 at 7:25pm:

thank you.. this is great!

David Ford wrote at 2007-05-30 at 7:25pm:

Go look at a Executor class Star Destroyer (pointy vessel) (SSD)… Around 19 Km long, holding “clouds” of fleets of TIE fighters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executor_%28Star_Wars%29
Crew: 250 000 (or 3.3 million, depending upon estimates). Potentially hundreds of wings of TIE fighters at 144 TIE fighters per wing.

This thing could ruin your whole morning coffee if it appeared over the horizon just as you were attacking….

Geordi wrote at 2007-05-30 at 7:46pm:

There is no length contraction.. the enterprise doesn’t accelerate to light and warp speed in normal space, but creates a subspace field which avoids the relativistic effects

Mike E. wrote at 2007-05-30 at 7:50pm:

Since this isn’t digg and I can’t be buried, I will say… GET A LIFE. (And yet I clicked to this site, read it with interest and am posting a comment. Oh, the hypocrisy.)

Some ST Nerd wrote at 2007-05-30 at 8:08pm:

Ok you morons… just because a ship has 26 decks doesnt mean that a) 1 deck = 3.5 meters… look at the ‘flight deck’ on a standard Nimitz Class aircraft carrier… its at the very least 10 meters (about 10 feet) from floor to ceiling in there…. not to mention if you are in a deep space faring craft you arent going to have crew space straight up to the hull (i dont care if you have sheilds and polarized hull playing… ) not to metion the ship is atlease double hulled…

Doug wrote at 2007-05-30 at 8:20pm:

Dave’s got issues.

How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? « News Coctail wrote at 2007-05-30 at 8:36pm:

[…] Big Is The Starship Enterprise? Filed under: Uncategorized — recar @ 4:36 am How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? The Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation is a big ship. But, how big is it compared to […]

Luke Skywaker wrote at 2007-05-30 at 8:53pm:

Death Star is bigger.

pr5owner wrote at 2007-05-30 at 8:55pm:

omg, you guys are arguing about startrek, its a big ship, just leave it at that, there are bigger ships than the enterprise anyways, IE CUBE, TACTICAL CUBE, TACTICAL FUSION CUBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pwn3d wrote at 2007-05-30 at 9:14pm:

OMG, the show has been over for a decade and yet people are still talking about it? Guys, its not real. How many of you have ever kissed a girl?! You need to get out more.

Jean-Luc wrote at 2007-05-30 at 10:38pm:

Oh yeah, Luke Lamewalker? I was reaming your mom’s sub-space with my warp nacelle long before you could even say, “tachyon field.”

Jimmy Blaze wrote at 2007-05-30 at 11:58pm:

Yeah, the Key Arena is HUGE. Those windows on the enterprise are surly big enough for a bus to drive through. I think some better calculations on the realistic size of the enterprice need to be done.

Jason Fortuny wrote at 2007-05-31 at 12:01 am:

@Jimmy:
Show me the math that says I’m wrong.

Mayhem wrote at 2007-05-31 at 12:25 am:

The same thing could be said for you.. show us the math proving you’re right? How about you compare the size of the windows on the enterprise to the size of cars parked around it ;)

GirlGeek wrote at Mongo61 Said:
2007-05-30 at 7:12 pm
@ Patrick Delahanty

Who says the height of a deck is the same as the story of a building? The bridge has got to be 20 feet high, and the holodeck likewise. How about the loading docks, the shuttle bays? Hmmm�..?

Boy, do I wish I knew the touch of a woman�
_________________________________________

This would be the part in which I stealthily creep up on you and pat you on the back.
Voila! Now you are so touched!

Jason,
Nice comparisons! That would make one sweet Google Earth layer! (maybe adding one more over Starfleet in San Francisco, or some very Picardian locales in France…)
/girl geek wants to go boldly to Nerdville too….:

Neal wrote at Erm, you did know it’s fictional right ? It’s made up by a bunch of americans sitting in a room thinking of new ways to fill tv hours ?:

Jason Fortuny wrote at 2007-05-31 at 12:54 am:

@Neal:

NO IT’S NOT U SHUT UR FILTHY MOUTH THE STAR TREK ENTERPRISE IS REAL AND IT’S COMING TO BEAM ME UP WHERE I WILL TOUCH COUNSELLOR TROI’S BOOBS AND BLOW YOU UP WITH MY PHASER GUNS AND PHODON DORPETOS U JERK UR HATEFUL WORDS ARE GIVING ME A NOSEBLEED AND MY MOM JUST BOUGHT THIS SHIRT FOR ME THANK GOD IT’S REVERSIBLE OTHERWISE U WULD BE IN OMG SO MUCH TROUBLE CUZ MY MOM IS TUFF AND SHE CULD BEAT U UP BCUZ UR A STUPID LAMEOID VULCAN NERVE PINCH VULCAN DEATH GRIP AHNWOON TO YOUR HEAD HAHAHAHAHAHA I AM TEH WINNAR 4EVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Neal wrote at 2007-05-31 at 1:15 am:

@Jason

May teh Force be with you, and your Mum.

mike wrote at 2007-05-31 at 3:18 am:

Will someone please look up the word ‘enormity’ in the dictionary - it means evil, not big, as I think is suggested here!

Peon wrote at 2007-05-31 at 3:29 am:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/enormity :
…
3.

Steven Michaels wrote at 2007-05-31 at 3:54 am:

Wow i am glad people are doing such important research…..i want to touch consouler troi’ boobs, dammit.

My Favorite Diggs » How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? wrote at 2007-05-31 at 5:16 am:

[…] read more | digg story […]

Anus wrote at 2007-05-31 at 6:11 am:

My penis smells!

pligg.com wrote at 2007-05-31 at 6:35 am:

Boldly Going To Nerdville - Just How Big is The Enterprise?…

A guy gets major geek cred by showing the Enterprise-D in relation to U.S. major cities. Check out the trekkies in the comments….

Motorcycle Guy wrote at 2007-05-31 at 7:21 am:

I never realized the lawns in front of the whitehouse were that big.

Re:Generator Magazine » Blog Archive » A map only a nerd could love wrote at 2007-05-31 at 7:25 am:

[…] does the NCC-1701-D USS Enterprise compare with the University of Washington in Seattle? These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web […]

velo wrote at 2007-05-31 at 9:06 am:

@some ST nerd
“its at the very least 10 meters (about 10 feet) from floor to ceiling in there�. ”

your maths astound me..

Brent wrote at 2007-05-31 at 9:07 am:

10 years old and yet still alive.
Anyone notice the lisence plate of Hiro and Ando’s car in Heroes?
NCC1701

size_matters wrote at 2007-05-31 at 9:30 am:

wow… the pentagon can seat 40,000 people working… a Galaxy Class ship has a max berthing capability of 1300.

In comparison… a Nimitz Class Carrier has a crew of 5000, and is approximaly 1/4 the size of the saucer

Some how I’m trying to fathom the scope of the ‘engineering spaces’

accdient wrote at 2007-05-31 at 9:35 am:

Wow, and incredible waste of everyone’s time!

Cop wrote at 2007-05-31 at 9:51 am:

Plaster’s mom gives it up for free!

BoomerDog9 wrote at 2007-05-31 at 10:13 am:

Just to throw my $0.02 in…

The Galaxy-class starships have 42 decks, not 26, so the profile of the Enterprise-D would be consistent with a forty-story city skyline.

I have just maxed my nerd-cred for the rest of the century!

:-)

Lt. Barclay wrote at 2007-05-31 at 11:19 am:

Um, I thought it was the license plate on Hiro’s dad’s limo that read NCC1701, not Hiro and Ando’s Nissan Versa… And Sulu served on a much earlier model of Enterprise much more than thirty years ago, so I thumb my nose at anyone who says Star Trek has lost relevance. Nyah!

randombloke wrote at 2007-05-31 at 12:18pm:

“wow� the pentagon can seat 40,000 people working� a Galaxy Class ship has a max berthing capability of 1300.

In comparison� a Nimitz Class Carrier has a crew of 5000, and is approximaly 1/4 the size of the saucer

Some how I'm trying to fathom the scope of the �engineering spaces'”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The original enterprise was about a third the size of the -D in each dimension, but had ~450 crew (mostly redshirts ;P). It’s not just that the engineering spaces are big, the crew quarters are huge too; the original would have fit sixteen ratings into the space a single crewman gets on the -D. Even Kirk’s quarters weren’t as big as the senior staff/family quarters assigned the bridge crew of the -D. Scotty even commented on this when they found him stuck on that Dyson sphere.

Heck, even Voyager, which is about the size of the Enterprise-A had half the crew…

As to why the difference is so great, I suspect that there is a lot more automation on Galaxy Class vessels and the Federation of the 23rd century cared a lot less for creature comforts than does the Federation of the 24th.

???? ???? ????? ?? » ?????? » ??? ????? ??? ????? ??????????? wrote at 2007-05-31 at 1:10pm:

[…] ????? ?? ?? ??????… […]

doylez.com » link me to your tina dealer wrote at 2007-05-31 at 1:51pm:

[…] a detailed write-up of how big the starship enterprise really is [rfjason.com] […]

Evil Jersey wrote at 2007-05-31 at 2:08pm:

@velo:

You statement that 10 meters = 10 feet is a little off. 1 meter = appox. 39 inches (i.e. 3.25 feet). Therefore, 10 meters would equal approx. 32.5 feet. So, from floor to ceiling would be 32.5 feet (greater than your typical “vaulted ceiling”? What a wonderful bunch of comments regarding such nonsensical, but relevant subject matter.

waaw wrote at 2007-05-31 at 3:19pm:

Are you guys kidding me. The thing doesn’t exist. Stop bs-ing about it on how great it is, because it isn’t real. LAME

pristina.org | everything design » links for 2007-06-01 wrote at 2007-05-31 at 6:23pm:

[…] RFJason � Blog Archive � Boldly Going To Nerdville Qual � o tamanho certo da nave de Star Trek (tags: startrek geek scifi visualization photos blog maps) […]

Anonymous wrote at 2007-05-31 at 6:33pm:

rfjason’s latest little experiment to draw the star trek geeks out of the woodwork seems to be coming along quite nicely. You probably don’t want to be sending him pictures of your *ahem* forward phaser array though. ;)

(rfjason: I kid!)
(unless someone actually does it, then be sure to make fun of them muchly)

How big is the NCC-1701-D USS Enterprise « 10 daily things wrote at 2007-05-31 at 10:08pm:

[…] View all the photos >>> […]

Parkplatzsuche wird schwierig « m.arschflugkoerper wrote at 2007-06-01 at 1:43 am:

[…] Ich hatte immer das Gef�hl, dass die Gr��e der Untertassensektion in Generations nicht so richtig r�berkommt. Was wahrscheinlich an den fehlenden Vergleichsma�st�ben in der Absturzszene liegt. Aber so, da kommt das richtig gut raus. Auch wenn der Nutzen dieser Gegen�berstellung angezweifelt werden darf. Bei Rfjason. […]

Carles wrote at 2007-06-01 at 2:52 am:

Excellent work! Congratulations and Thank you very much.

Carles
From Catalonia, Spain.

Captain Kirk wrote at 2007-06-01 at 11:17 am:

You all are a bunch of morons. . . Everyone knows the Klingon destroyer with it’s death rays would blow up your puny ship. Live long and prosper.

No seriously, Open the blinds up . . .and the windows and take a trip outside.

Darth Maul wrote at 2007-06-01 at 11:19 am:

Santa Claus has read your conversations. . and is very displeased.

bob wrote at 2007-06-01 at 11:20 am:

Santa Claus has read your conversations. . and is very displeased. VERY DISPLEASED

Brathor wrote at 2007-06-01 at 1:48pm:

Neat

enterprize wrote at 2007-06-01 at 7:51pm:

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME

Trip Hop Clan » Blog Archive » How big is the Starship Enterprise? wrote at 2007-06-02 at 7:33 am:

[…] Boldly Going To Nerdville - RFJason Here is an overlay of the Enterprise on the Seattle Center. At 643 meters in length, notice how it dwarfs the Space Needle, EMP, Key Arena, Childrens Museum, and IMAX. See also: In relation to the University of Washington, and in relation to Qwest Field and Safeco Field. The saucer section is 467 meters wide, which is 510 yards, or about five football fields. […]

How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? « Tons of Fresh News wrote at 2007-06-02 at 2:54pm:

[…] Big Is The Starship Enterprise? How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? The Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation is a big ship. But, how big is it compared to […]

Mr. Data wrote at 2007-06-04 at 9:37 am:

@accident

then what the f@#& are you doing here O.o

Life is a lemon » Blog Archive » Como seria de grande el NCC-1701-D USS Enterprise wrote at 2007-06-04 at 2:48pm:

[…] los curiosos de Star Trek, aqu� ten�is unas im�genes que ayudan a relativizar (la compara con elementos arquitect�nicos reconocibles) el tama�o de […]

Jonathon wrote at 2007-06-04 at 10:09pm:

You are so going to be indicted for conspiracy to commit terrorism with that flash at the end…

JGG wrote at 2007-06-05 at 1:51 am:

Even if it were half the purported size, it would still be a BIG ASS ship! Cool comparisons regardless!

jon wrote at 2007-06-06 at 6:08 am:

First of all…. you are a serious bunch of geeks….

But if you are going to talk about relativity and the speed of the ship etc….. keep in mind that the friggin ship isn’t going very fast inside the atmosphere!!!! No one would go anywhere near light speed inside the atmosphere of a planet.

If you are going to be a geek, at least be a good smart geek you loser!!!!!!!! I hate people who are geeky but stupid! I’m the opposite, smart but not geeky! You think because you watched a discovery channel show on relativity that you can speak about it?

Morons!

Adman the Cadman wrote at 2007-06-08 at 4:14 am:

DOUCHE BAGS!!!

James Martin wrote at 2007-06-08 at 4:19 am:

I love Planet of the Apes. Does someone want to talk to me about the possibility that this could of ever happened in real life?

James Martin wrote at 2007-06-08 at 4:20 am:

Mummy said it could happen in like 30years

Mark wrote at 2007-06-10 at 11:08 am:

Love the work put in on this. All the nay-sayers who think it’s way too big or comparable to a 42 story building in height are over thinking what should be a fun thing to gander at. Also remember the Galaxy Class ship had very large cargo bays, and more than one shuttle craft hanger bay. Did I mention the Captains yacht located in the middle of the lowest part of the saucer section? I wonder why the makers of TNG never allowed Picard to be seen flying about in his own personal yacht? Nevermind, I’m sure it had something to do with budget. ;)
At any rate…this was great fun to look at at. Enjoy it for what it’s worth, everyone.
Mark
Dallas, TX. (area)

waste of webspace wrote at 2007-06-12 at 12:15pm:

Sometimes you can find a Firefly in the strangest places�…
Several weeks ago I was poking around Wil Wheaton's blog and found a link to RFJason.com who had taken an image of the Enterprise, NCC-1701 D from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and overlaid it onto real world images using Google Maps. Well, I just …

Mr Ray. wrote at 2007-06-12 at 12:40pm:

It is amazing how someone can read 50 posts and then call US LLLLLAAAAAMMMMEEEEEEEE……

Kelly wrote at 2007-06-27 at 2:33pm:

Cool….now do Voyager.

How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? « Space News wrote at 2007-10-06 at 8:56 am:

[…] read more | digg story […]

Austraunatic News » Blog Archive » How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? wrote at 2007-10-26 at 5:05 am:

[…] read more | digg story […]

qiuck wrote at 2007-11-01 at 7:53pm:

will you do defiant and enterprise e and deep space nine

Space Sheepz » How Big Is The Starship Enterprise? wrote at 2007-11-22 at 9:46 am:

[…] read more | digg story […]

viaesta wrote at 2007-12-04 at 6:02pm:

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. IT IS THE BEST THING IVE SEEN IN MY LIFE. THANK YOU LOL!!!!!!!

LOLTrekTNG.com wrote at 2007-12-23 at 9:39pm:

You need to check my website out. You’d probably appreciate it :) You may even want to help me with it :)

Boldly Going To Nerdville

Goodbye, Seattle!

[ geeknerd, star trek published on 2007-05-30 | Permalink (82,620) | ]

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Boldly Going To Nerdville

Goodbye, Seattle!

[ geeknerd, star trek published on 2007-05-30 | Permalink (82,620) | digg_url = location.href; digg_skin = "icon"; ]

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[ geeknerd, star trek published on 2007-05-30 | Permalink (82,620) | ]