Scope A scope was an optical instrument and type of viewer occasionally incorporated into a spacecraft ' s bridge , usually utilized to scan outside the craft . The device was mainly used by various space faring organizations in the 22nd and 23rd centuries . Additionally , 20th century RADAR screens were also sometimes referred to as scopes . NX - class scope . Design . By April of 2151 , an early scope had been designed and adopted by Starfleet for science station use on starship s . This style of scope had two halves whose exteriors were separated by a thin metallic silver divider . The exterior of the top half contained a brown eyepiece , through which the user directly looked , and an outer metallic silver grip . The lower half had a black outer casing and , while the device was not in use , was lowered into a hidden recess below the level of the surrounding console . When pressed , a control on the console , slightly to the left of the scope , raised the device ' s lower half out of its recess , extending the scope to its full and operational height . Simultaneously , a yellow light would activate from within the scope , enabling visibility of its contents from the other side of the eyepiece . The scope was not entirely silent , as it produced a faint noise when being activated or deactivated . ( ) Between April and May of 2151 , the eyepiece was enlarged in depth , its diameter was reduced , and a ribbed effect was added to the outer sides of the component . The eyepiece was also darkened in color so that it matched with the black of the lower half . A metallic silver component , much like the section dividing the two halves of the device , was introduced near the top of the scope ' s exterior , separating the eyepiece from the device ' s lower sections . ( ) Additionally , sometime between May and July of the same year , several square controls were added to the top of the scope , arranged in two generally straight clusters along either edge of the device ' s top half . ( ) Each cluster included four adjacent black controls , each of which were positioned lower than and , from the user ' s perspective , behind a similar white control . Next to each row of black and white controls , three light grey buttons were aligned in a slightly differing arrangement from each other – on the right , comparative to the user , the grey buttons were situated next to the white control , as well as by the second and third lower black controls , while the grey buttons on the left were beside the first , third and fourth black controls . ( ) In August of that year , the scope ' s lower half was slightly increased in length , effectively making the top section higher when the device was operational . ( ) Between July 2151 and October 2152 , the grey controls atop the scope were colored a darker grey that was more similar to the shade of the top half ' s outer grip . ( ) In February 2154 , the color of the light within the scope was altered from yellow to pale blue . ( ) These styles of science station viewer were successively implemented aboard the NX - class starship , on which the device was used during the starship ' s mission from 2151 until 2161 , most frequently by science officer T ' Pol . ( ) Other officer s , including Captain Jonathan Archer and Commander Charles " Trip " Tucker , also occasionally used the instrument , however . ( ) " The latter style scope was also used aboard " Enterprise " of an alternate timeline until 2165 , when the starship ' s bridge and , shortly after , the entire ship itself were destroyed in a battle with several Xindi vessels . " ( ) Other NX - class ships using the latter style scope include the and the of the mirror universe , until they were both individually destroyed in 2155 , as well as , aboard which a scope was installed several months before the ship ' s launch . ( ) Although these styles of viewer had become antiquated by 2370 , one could still be found in a holoprogram depicting " Enterprise " s final voyage to Earth by way of Rigel X , a simulation set in 2161 . Despite the holographic nature of the program ' s environment , the scope was interactive , allowing a user to automate the device at will . ( ) History of an NX - class scope . 2151 . When , in April of 2151 , the NX - class " Enterprise " unexpectedly started trembling after having entered the atmosphere of a gas giant , T ' Pol used her scope to ascertain that the shaking was due to the ship having penetrated a layer of liquid phosphorus . Soon after , when the ship ' s crew was tasked with recovering Captain Archer and Commander Tucker , T ' Pol used her scope to locate the ignited thruster exhaust of a that Archer and Tucker had commandeered , and to obtain coordinates where " Enterprise " could rendezvous with the Suliban craft . ( ) The next month , T ' Pol used her scope to see a long range tactical scan , showing " Enterprise " s position and that of an Axanar cargo ship that had been manned by an Axanar crew which was now entirely deceased . After " Enterprise " approached the ship and received no response to hail s , T ' Pol looked through her scope ' s eyepiece to help the senior officer s determine whether holes surrounding a hatch on the vessel were venting ports or hull breach es . By using her scope , she learned that residue near the holes indicated the possibility that weapons had been fired at the alien craft . ( ) T ' Pol also used her scope to determine that an unnamed planet , later called Archer IV , had an atmosphere largely consisting of oxygen and nitrogen , confirming that a Human away team from " Enterprise " would be able to breathe easily on the planet ' s surface . ( ) While " Enterprise " was plagued with malfunctions , T ' Pol ' s scope helped the crew discover that the problems were due to a disruption in the plasma flow being caused by the presence of a vessel hidden aft of the starship ' s warp nacelle s . When a male member of the vessel ' s Xyrillian crew later explained that his craft ' s engines were damaged , T ' Pol used her scope to ascertain that the vessel ' s warp reactor was off - line , supporting the crew member ' s claim . ( ) While attempting to locate a group of missing Human colonists who had settled on the planet Terra Nova , T ' Pol used her scope to learn that , although the colony seemed intact , " Enterprise " was not detecting any bio - sign s from the planet . ( ) T ' Pol later used her scope to measure a comet , one previously undiscovered by Vulcan s and Humans , as having a diameter of 82 . 6 kilometers , bigger than any comet Humans had ever seen . ( ) When " Enterprise " encountered a populated planet , T ' Pol ' s scope determined that the inhabitants of the planet , the Akaali , were a pre - industrial civilization . However , T ' Pol later detected neutrino emissions from a city on the planet . Her scope was deactivated when she reported this finding to Captain Archer and speculated that they could be due to an antimatter reactor , suggesting that technologically advanced visitors had found the planet before " Enterprise " s crew . In an attempt to determine whether her theory was accurate , T ' Pol used her scope to scan the planet ' s surface for non - indigenous bio - signs . Although the device did not detect any , T ' Pol was uncertain of the reliability of its results , due to " Enterprise " s range from the planet ; she did indeed turn out to be correct , though , with the planet being secretly mined by a species called the Malurian s . ( ) While approaching the Earth freighter " Fortunate " , T ' Pol ' s scope distinguished that there were twenty - four bio - signs aboard the craft . " Enterprise " later left the " Fortunate " but , upon returning to the freighter , T ' Pol reported that long range sensor s , which she observed through her scope , were detecting weapons fire – " Enterprise " s first indication that the freighter was being attacked by a Nausicaan raider . ( ) In late August of the same year , " Enterprise " , having previously established the subspace amplifier " Echo 1 " , deployed " Echo 2 " and had several encounters with a mysterious , hostile alien ship . Upon encountering the ship for the third time , T ' Pol used her scope to determine that the vessel was dead astern . Shortly thereafter , T ' Pol ' s scope determined that both " Echo 1 " and " Echo 2 " had been destroyed . ( ) In early September , T ' Pol peered through her scope ' s eyepiece , occasionally using the instruments on the panel right of the scope , while " Enterprise " was being escorted by a transport ship around the edges of the Great Plume of Agosoria . ( ) When " Enterprise " encountered an alien craft of pre - warp design , T ' Pol used her scope to learn that there were two very faint bio - signs aboard the vessel . The occupants of the ship were actually two unconscious Valakian s , members of a civilization afflicted by plague . ( ) After " Enterprise " discovered a gas giant , T ' Pol tracked a probe launched from the starship , by using her scope and the controls at the top of the device , as the probe entered the planet ' s outer atmosphere . Soon after , T ' Pol also learned from her scope , again using the controls atop the device , that there was , in the planet ' s lower atmosphere , the anomalous power signature of a starship , with several bio - signs aboard . The ship was later determined to be of a Klingon design that " Enterprise " had not previously encountered ( namely , the ) , explaining the anomalous nature of its power signature , as seen through T ' Pol ' s scope . ( ) While Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed were stranded in a in November 2151 , Tucker remarked that the pod would probably only appear to " Enterprise " , being two days away at warp three , as " a nice little blip on T ' Pol ' s viewer . " As a method to alert " Enterprise " s crew to the shuttlepod and influence them to increase the starship ' s speed , Reed suggested firing the pod ' s weapons . Commander Tucker , however , argued that the shuttlepod ' s plasma cannon s had a range of less than ten kilometers – less than what was needed to make both the weapons and the shuttlecraft appear as more than a single " blip " on T ' Pol ' s scope . Ultimately , Tucker and Reed decided to ignite their shuttlepod ' s engine , an explosion detected by " Enterprise " , and both officers were subsequently rescued by the starship . ( ) While " Enterprise " initially encountered the Vulcan civilian transport " Vahklas " , T ' Pol was able to see through her scope that the ship , occupied by Vulcan V ' tosh ka ' tur , belonged to a class of vessel that had not been used for a long time . ( ) " Enterprise " later investigated the planet , the site of a crashed ship that the Starfleet crew had been informed was possibly haunted . Upon entering orbit of the planet , T ' Pol used her scope to confirm that Kantare ' s atmosphere was thin but breathable . ( ) 2152 . In April 2152 , " Enterprise " ventured into a planetary system that neither Vulcans nor Humans had previously charted . After the ship approached an uninhabited planet in the system ( a world that was volcanic but class M ) , T ' Pol deactivated her scope and pressed several controls on the panel to the right of the viewer , moments before " Enterprise " disastrously struck a cloak ed Romulan mine . ( ) In need of repairs due to damage caused by the mine , " Enterprise " headed to an alien space station that T ' Pol scanned with her scope , determining that the station ' s interior had a liquid helium atmosphere . ( ) After discovering a trinary star system that included a black hole , T ' Pol began to study the phenomena with her scope , using the controls to the right of the device , but she was interrupted from her work . T ' Pol later used the device to navigate a safe course through a debris field and away from the black hole . ( ) While " Enterprise " pursued a Retellian freighter , the alien vessel released a cloud of debris that covered " Enterprise " s viewscreen . By using her scope and a control panel directly below it , between her and the device , T ' Pol was able to identify the debris as dilithium hydroxyl s and ion ized pyrosulfate s . ( ) After Commander Tucker went missing in a shuttlepod while in a system consisting of a gas giant and many moons , " Enterprise " s crew searched for him but they experienced interference while attempting to use their ship ' s sensors . T ' Pol utilized her scope to learn that many of the moon s in the system had atmospheres containing selenium isotope s , the factor most likely affecting the ship ' s sensors . While the search continued , T ' Pol later peered through her scope ' s eyepiece , while using the controls atop the device , to observe a thermo - kinetic analysis of the moons . She showed Captain Archer the same demonstration and explained that she , with the use of her scope , had learned that , although the moons ' surfaces were moderately cool at night , they could become extremely hot during the day , reaching temperatures possibly as high as 170 degrees . ( ) T ' Pol later looked through her scope ' s eyepiece during " Enterprise " s first encounter with a . After , one that was supposedly from the future and highly sought after by the Tholian s , was armed with a torpedo warhead and dropped through one of " Enterprise " s launch bay door s , T ' Pol used her scope to ascertain that the Tholians had neutralized the warhead . ( ) While " Enterprise " was trapped inside a vast alien vessel , T ' Pol determined , using her scope , that vapor inside the alien craft only contained elements that " Enterprise " s sensors could identify and that the vessel contained an atmosphere mostly consisting of helium , but with trace amounts of xenon . ( ) During an attack by a Klingon battle cruiser named the " " , " Enterprise " maneuvered into a particular planet ' s ring system , where T ' Pol utilized her scope to inform the other officers on the bridge that their starship was approaching a large , rock y fragment , 600 meters in diameter . Essentially acting on the information from T ' Pol ' s scope , Captain Archer subsequently issued orders to hide the starship behind the rocky fragment . ( ) 2153 . In January of 2153 , " Enterprise " s crew studied an imminently volcanic planet . When the volcanoes on the planet began to erupt , T ' Pol used her scope , discovering bio - signs on the planet that appeared to be those of several microbial species that usually resided under the planet ' s surface but were being unearthed by the volcanic activity . ( ) Later the same year , T ' Pol was able to analyze a dying hypergiant star with the aid of her scope . She saw , through the device ' s eyepiece , that the star was losing mass at an extraordinary rate , leading her to conclude that it would go supernova in one or two hundred years . ( ) T ' Pol also looked through her scope ' s eyepiece while " Enterprise " was approaching a layer of thermobaric cloud s that surrounded the Delphic Expanse . While the starship subsequently journeyed through the cloud layer , T ' Pol detected three energy signatures that she was able to examine with her scope . She was only able to differentiate the readings from those of a communications buoy the starship had recently launched because she was detecting three energy signatures ( which were actually ) , not just one . ( ) Early in the Xindi incident , " Enterprise " s crew was provided with coordinates to the Xindi homeworld but , while the ship was approaching the coordinates , T ' Pol discovered with her scope that there were no planets in the area . The crew ultimately learned that this was because the coordinates were for the previous Xindi homeworld , which had been destroyed . ( ) After " Enterprise " had a hostile encounter with an Osaarian starship and its piratical crew , T ' Pol used her scope to help track the alien craft ' s ion trail to the edge of a cloaking barrier . On the other side of the barrier , " Enterprise " s crew first discovered a Delphic Expanse sphere , whose interior T ' Pol tried to scan by utilizing her scope . She found that the starship ' s sensors were being deflected , but the scope later proved useful in locating a portal – twenty - two degrees north from the ship ' s position – that would allow access to the sphere ' s interior . After Captain Archer decided to ambush the Osaarian ship in close proximity to the sphere , T ' Pol used her scope to determine that the alien craft , as it entered the cloaking barrier , had not yet detected " Enterprise " . ( ) After the Starfleet craft tracked the course of a Xindi - Arboreal starship to a planet that the Xindi vessel had last visited before being destroyed , T ' Pol found , with the use of her scope and the controls to the right of the device , that the planet had a prolific ecosystem , including several million chromophyllic plant species . ( ) " Enterprise " later discovered the Vulcan starship " Seleya " , inside an asteroid field where T ' Pol utilized her scope , and at least one of the controls atop the device , to ascertain that the asteroid s were moving in a chaotic fashion on paths that were unpredictable . ( ) As the result of a disastrous experiment with " Enterprise " s warp core , the ship entered an anomaly that T ' Pol identified , by using her scope , as a polaric field , approximately 11 , 000 kilometers in diameter . Even though her scope helped to ascertain the nature of the field , the device was unable to instantly determine the field ' s composition and T ' Pol required substantial time to complete a detailed scan . ( ) In December of 2153 , " Enterprise " was forced to traverse an exceptionally intense anomaly field . T ' Pol prepared for the perilous journey by constructing a changeable map of the area . She viewed the map through her scope ' s eyepiece , simultaneously using the controls atop the device , to relay directions to Ensign Mayweather at the helm . While using her scope , T ' Pol witnessed an anomaly form , expand and merge with other anomalies , a sight which she had never seen before . She became unable to provide the helm with directions from her scope when the anomalies began to grow too rapidly . As they engulfed " Enterprise " , causing the ship ' s bridge to violently tremble , T ' Pol gripped onto a metallic hand hold above and to the left of her scope and was able to return her gaze to the device ' s eyepiece . ( ) 2154 . While " Enterprise " was approaching a solar system containing the star in early 2154 , T ' Pol used her scope to discover that there seemed to be considerable activity around two of the system ' s inner planets – the first indication of numerous Xindi ships in the area . As " Enterprise " hid from the ships behind Unnamed Alpha and Beta Quadrant planetoids # Azati Prime system planetoid | a nearby planetoid ] ] , it was decided that Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather would fly a previously commandeered Xindi - Insectoid shuttlecraft into the system and attempt to locate the Xindi weapon , which was meanwhile almost complete . Shortly after this decision was made , T ' Pol began to gaze through her scope , pressing several of the controls on the console right of the device , but she was distracted by Communications Officer Hoshi Sato , trying to study the Xindi - Insectoid language at her own console , and subsequently deactivated her scope . ( ) While tasked with accessing a one - way subspace corridor that extended from a nebula inhabited by hostile Kovaalan s to a distant location not far from the Xindi Council planet , " Enterprise " encountered a version of itself from an alternate timeline . As the two ships traveled into the nebula , they clustered together in an attempt to fool the Kovaalans into believing the alternate " Enterprise " was a sensor reflection . Moments before the Kovaalan ships attacked , T ' Pol activated her scope and looked through the device ' s eyepiece , while operating at least one control on the console directly in front of her and several of the controls atop the viewer , to see that " Enterprise " s sensors were detecting multiple images , confirming that the strategy was working . ( ) Commander Tucker later used " Enterprise " s scope , and one of the controls to the right of the device , in order to monitor the destruction of Sphere 41 , while the ship was in a trans - dimensional disturbance . ( ) After " Enterprise " came across a debris field in November 2154 , T ' Pol saw through her scope that the wreckage included significant quantities of duranium alloy . This was because the debris was the remainder of an Andorian battle cruiser , the " Kumari " , which had been destroyed by a Romulan drone ship . ( ) Upon encountering another debris field , the result of the drone ship having destroyed the Earth freighter " Ticonderoga " , T ' Pol learned , by using her scope and the controls directly in front of her , that the wreckage consisted of hull fragments , nacelle casings and several Human bodies . When Archer instructed her to search for the drone ship ' s warp signature , T ' Pol again turned her gaze to the scope but momentarily stopped using the device to turn back to the captain . She was later able to utilize the scope to detect a ship that seemed to be a as it dropped out of warp nearby . However , the craft was actually the Romulan drone ship , using holographic projector s on its hull to disguise itself – a fact that T ' Pol ' s scope was unable to ascertain . ( ) " Constitution " - class science scope . Design . In 2254 , some starships , including the , were not equipped with a scope . ( ) By 2265 , however , a dark blue , featureless scope had been introduced at the science station of most Federation starships . This device jutted out of a console at an elevated angle , camouflaged well into the darkness of the console . Unlike the scopes of the previous century , this style of viewer was stationary and its contents could be seen from a further distance . As direct contact with an eyepiece was not necessary , two people could simultaneously view the device ' s display . ( TOS Season 1 ) In 2267 , the shaft that comprised the science viewer ' s exterior was re - colorized to a light grey , consequently becoming more easily recognized within its console . Also , a circular control was added to the device ' s exterior on the left side of the shaft , comparative to the user ' s position . ( , " et al . " ) These styles of viewer were consecutively utilized during the " Enterprise " s five - year mission by the vessel ' s science officer , Spock . ( , ) In 2268 , science scopes of the second configuration could also be found aboard the " Constitution " - class starships and . ( ) After the latter craft journeyed to 2155 of the mirror universe , the " Defiant " was discovered and commandeered by members of the Terran Empire including science officer , who subsequently utilized the vessel ' s science scope . ( ) Additionally , an inoperative duplicate of the " Enterprise " s scope was integrated into a stationary replica of the starship , constructed on Gideon by that planet ' s inhabitants in or prior to 2268 . ( ) History of a " Constitution " - class science scope . 2266 . In 2266 , Spock used his scope to determine that there was no sign of a cube that , until the " Enterprise " destroyed it , had been blocking the starship ' s path and endangering the vessel ' s crew with high levels of radiation . Spock later used the scope to analyze an object approaching the " Enterprise " that was larger than the cube but was in the same area of space . Using the scope , Spock reported that the starship was receiving an exceptionally strong signal from the object but that a visual representation of the object was not yet available . ( ) Later the same year , Captain Kirk activated and used Spock ' s science viewer during the " Enterprise " s rescue of Harry Mudd and three female passengers from " Stella " , a troubled spacecraft that had entered an asteroid field . ( ) After Crewman Darnell mysteriously died while accompanying Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy on a visit to Robert and Nancy Crater ' s home on the planet M - 113 , Spock peered through his scope to examine the ship ' s record tape s and , by doing so , identified a plant found in Darnell ' s mouth as a borgia plant , disproving a possibility that the plant had caused the crewman ' s death . In a virtually simultaneous capacity , Spock also used the scope to review the history of Robert Crater and his wife , discovering that there was no apparent reason to suspect the couple of involvement in Darnell ' s death . While later monitoring M - 113 with his scope , Spock noticed the strange fact that the ship was detecting only one person on the planet , after having been told by Kirk that the planet was inhabited by the two Craters . Spock showed Kirk his viewer ' s perspective and was able to see through the device that the sole remaining inhabitant of the planet , whom he estimated was most likely Robert Crater , was circling , as if searching for something . Spock operated several controls at the right of the scope to expand the device ' s search radius . Eventually , he determined that , unless the ship ' s equipment was at fault , there was only one person within a hundred - mile circle . This was because , as ultimately learned by both Kirk and Spock , " Nancy Crater " was actually a shapeshifting creature that had killed Crewman Darnell and had come aboard the " Enterprise " , disguised as various crewmembers . ( ) As the " Enterprise " orbited Psi 2000 , a planet nearing the end of its ancient life , an officer named Joe Tormolen stabbed himself . While investigating the incident , Spock used his scope to study Tormolen ' s psychiatric file and personality quotient s . Spock also showed Kirk the files on Tormolen , displayed within the " Enterprise " s scope . Spock later used his viewer to monitor the imminent breakup of Psi 2000 , as the planet began to condense at an increasing rate . ( ) While the " Enterprise " headed towards the Romulan Neutral Zone in response to a distress call from Outpost 4 , Spock looked at a map of the area through his scope and , at Kirk ' s request , transferred the same map to screens throughout the ship , including the bridge ' s viewscreen , while continuing to observe the diagram through his scope . Although the map was initially a still image of the appropriate star sector , Spock added a moving , blinking white mark to represent the " Enterprise " and its position in the area . After finding that both Outposts 2 and 3 were no longer present and that the asteroids they had been constructed on showed signs of having been pulverized , Spock utilized his scope to determine that Outpost 4 fortunately remained . However , the fourth outpost was soon destroyed by an that was responsible for having pulverized the second and third outposts . After tracking the Romulan ship to comet Icarus IV , Spock used his scope to determine that the " Enterprise " was losing sensor contact with the Bird - of - Prey as it entered the comet ' s tail . Spock also used his viewer to see that the Romulan ship was continuing on a course straight towards the Neutral Zone . However , after the " Enterprise " opened fire on the Bird - of - Prey , Spock saw in the device that a signal , representing the Romulan vessel , on the starship ' s motion sensor had halted . Among debris encountered outside the " Enterprise " , Spock , by using his scope , was able to distinguish vessel wreckage and a body , although he also used his scope to determine that the wreckage was of insufficient mass to have been an entire vessel . With this information , Spock deduced that the debris was most likely the result of an attempted trick to fool the " Enterprise " s crew into believing that the Romulan ship had been destroyed . When he tried to locate the Bird - of - Prey by checking the perspective of the " Enterprise " s sensor probes through his scope , Spock detected no motion in the Starfleet ship ' s vicinity . After relocating the Romulan craft , Spock again used his scope to analyze debris launched from the Bird - of - Prey , this time including a nuclear warhead that the scope detected as a metal - cased object . Although the weapon struck the " Enterprise " , the Starfleet ship was the ultimate victor of the battle , as the Romulan vessel self - destruct ed . ( ) Shortly before departing the planet Tantalus V , the crew of the " Enterprise " accidentally brought aboard Simon Van Gelder , an escapee from the Tantalus Colony . On the way back to Tantalus V in order to return Van Gelder to the colony , Spock peered through his scope while he reported to Kirk that the ship would arrive at its destination in fifty - seven minutes , thirty seconds . Seeing that Spock looked fascinated by the scope ' s contents , Kirk tried to simultaneously look into the device but failed to determine the nature of its display . Spock explained that the device was showing an extremely interesting identification tape on Van Gelder from the ship ' s library , revealing that he was actually a doctor who had been assigned to the Tantalus colony six months earlier . ( ) While the " Enterprise " received an Earth - style SOS distress signal , Spock used his scope to ascertain that the source of the signal was not a vessel , but a nearby planet . As the ship approached the planet , Spock again utilized the device to measure the planet ' s circumference , mass and mean density , as well as to determine that the planet was spheroid - shaped and had an atmosphere consisting of oxygen and nitrogen , much like Earth . ( ) 2267 . After " Enterprise " shuttlecraft " " became lost in the quasar - like formation Murasaki 312 in early 2267 , Kirk looked through the science scope and listened to the ship ' s computer voice to learn that the phenomenon had ion ized the entire surrounding sector , causing a massive equipment failure on board the " Enterprise " . Before the ion storm dissipated , Lieutenant Uhura could be seen looking through the scope ' s eyepiece shortly before she reported the nearby presence of Taurus II to Captain Kirk . ( ) Later that year , Spock hijacked the " Enterprise " while the ship and its captain were at Starbase 11 but Kirk managed to pursue the vessel in a shuttlecraft from the starbase . As the object following the " Enterprise " had not yet been identified , Spock quietly used his scope before determining more information about the craft from the ship ' s computer , which was able to identify the object as a shuttlecraft . ( ) While Captain Kirk and a landing party were exploring the surface of the Shore Leave Planet , Spock ' s scope detected strange readings from the planet ' s surface that indicated a form of power field was in operation , most likely subterranean in origin . ( ) Spock momentarily again used his scope , following the sudden appearance of planet Gothos . When the " Enterprise " later attempted to leave Gothos , the same planet re - appeared in front of the ship three times ; Spock ' s scope identified the planet as being Gothos and , during the planet ' s first re - appearance , registered that the ship and planet were on a collision course . ( ) Engineering scopes . Aboard " Constitution " - class starships , a secondary scope was introduced at the bridge ' s engineering station in 2267 . Another scope was added to the environmental engineering station around this time . The appearance of these devices was identical to the science viewer ' s second configuration . ( ) Both these scopes were used aboard the USS " Enterprise " until their removal in 2269 . ( TOS Season 2 ; TOS Season 3 ; ) Both viewers were duplicated as part of the USS " Enterprise " replica , constructed on planet Gideon . ( ) However , they were omitted from a holodeck simulation of the " Enterprise " s typical bridge that could be accessed in 2369 . ( ) Tactical scope . A tactical scope , installed into the helm station aboard several " Constitution " - class starships , was added to the bridge in or prior to 2267 . This automated style of viewer was stowed inside the actual helm station , hidden beneath a set of small double - doors built into the console . When the device was required , use of the console would maneuver the scope into place , slowly lifting the small hatchway doors open while elevating the device to the helmsman ' s eye level as the scope was unfolded from its compact storage position . The design of this tactical scope was much different from and more complex than that of all other contemporary scopes , and the device was perhaps even more intricate than the science viewers of the previous century . It essentially consisted of two thin , metallic legs that supported an upper functional body . A metallic grille was positioned between the two legs , binding them together . The functional body of the device was comprised of two trapezoidal components ; the first and larger part connected the eyepiece , the second and higher of the components , to the support legs below and had a rectangular light on the opposite side to the eyepiece . The connecting component ' s rectangular light and a light within the eyepiece would glow green and blue respectively , in times of use . The base of the connecting component was rimmed with a small metallic frame . Although each part of the device was grey in color , two different shades of grey were used ; the small frame and lower support legs were lighter in shade to the top of the connecting component and the eyepiece . ( , et al . ) This style of tactical scope , so called because it was frequently used in battle situations , was employed by Lieutenant Sulu aboard the " Constitution " - class " Enterprise " until at least 2270 . ( TOS Season 2 ; TOS Season 3 ; TAS ) Automated viewers of the same style could be found aboard at least two other " Constitution " - class starships - the " Defiant " , aboard which Sergeant used the device after the Federation ship was transported to the year 2155 of the mirror universe , and , over a century later , the Imperial starship , where Lieutenant utilized the tactical scope in 2267 . ( ; ) Like all other scopes used aboard the " Constitution " - class USS " Enterprise " , an inoperable duplicate of the tactical scope was present on Gideon in 2268 . ( ) In 2285 , the tactical station on the and that on the " Enterprise " were both equipped with a tactical scope . ( ) Other Starfleet scopes of the 2260s . Auxiliary Control Center scope . In 2267 , a scope could be found in the " Enterprise " s Auxiliary Control Center . This device , which could be used to obtain readouts from the ship ' s history computer , had an extremely similar design to the science and both engineering scopes on the bridge but included a slightly longer shaft . While helping Captain Kirk and Dr . McCoy question the space probe " Nomad " in the Auxiliary Control Center , Spock used this scope for historical research , correlating all available information on " Nomad " to learn about the probe . ( ) Transporter room scope . Design . By 2267 , the transporter rooms of several " Constitution " - class ships had been installed with a scope that had a similar appearance to virtually every other scope used aboard the same class of ship , with the exception of the tactical viewer . The top of the transporter room scope did not have grooves , however , unlike the " Constitution " - class science viewers and the scope that , in 2267 , could be found in the " Enterprise " s Auxiliary Control Center . The transporter room scope was affixed to a console built into a wall of the transporter room , in an alcove aft and to the side of the main transporter console . ( ) The scope ' s console included several controls , some of which could be used in conjunction with the scope , and a circular light independent of the scope ' s internal light . The light within the scope was less temperamental than the circular light and it would continue to function even if the other light was sparking . ( ) The transporter room of the USS " Enterprise " was equipped with this style of scope from 2267 until at least 2268 . ( TOS Seasons 2 and 3 ) The same ship ' s mirror universe equivalent and its Gideon duplicate also each included a transporter room scope , in 2267 and 2268 respectively . ( ) Aboard the " Enterprise " , the device was mostly utilized by Spock . However , Spock and Captain Kirk simultaneously used the device , together , at least once . ( ) Crewmen Lemli and Vinci also individually operated the device . ( ) History of a transporter room scope . Moments after the hitherto unidentified " Nomad " was beamed aboard the " Enterprise " , Spock used the transporter room scope in an attempt to obtain sensor readings of the object ' s interior but his scans were unable to penetrate a protective screen that the probe had activated . While the same , potentially deadly probe was struggling to compute an error within its systems , Spock again manned the transporter room scope as Kirk and Scott beamed " Nomad " back into space . Shortly thereafter , Kirk joined Spock and they used the scope to observe " Nomad " self - destruct , both looking away from the device when the probe exploded brightly . ( ) After the " Enterprise " traveled back in time to 1968 and accidentally intercepted an unidentified person ' s powerful transporter beam , Spock used the scope to determine that the beam was originating from an unlikely distance of at least a thousand light year s away . The unidentified person was actually Gary Seven , who beamed aboard the ship but later escaped and transported himself back down to the Earth ' s surface . While Kirk and Spock tracked Gary Seven on Earth , Lemli quietly used the " Enterprise " s transporter room scope but his gaze was distracted from the viewer when both senior officers were transported aboard the ship , accidentally accompanied by two police men native to the 20th century . ( ) The following year , Crewman Vinci used the transporter room scope and deactivated the device shortly before transporting Kirk , Spock , and Dr . McCoy aboard the Fabrini vessel " Yonada " . ( ) After the ship was contacted by an individual who claimed and appeared to be Abraham Lincoln , Spock used the scope in the transporter room to scan the individual ' s position , a seemingly uninhabitable planet , in preparation for beaming the individual aboard . For a moment , the scope seemed to detect that the individual was almost mineral before it settled down to completely Human readings . Spock also looked at the scope before announcing that taped music which would welcome the individual aboard was ready to be played . ( ) Romulan scopes . In 2266 , three white scopes were used , rather than a main viewscreen , aboard the Romulan Praetor ' s flagship that attacked several Federation outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone . The scopes were each connected by and positioned around a thin , white column whose base , on which each scope sat , was much like a table . Each scope consisted of a control surface and a large , higher screen similar to a 23rd century Starfleet science or engineering scope , in the way its featureless exterior jutted out of the control surface . In normal operation mode , the screens would constantly change color , slowly filtering through the visual spectrum . Although the colors on each screen would change simultaneously , individual controls below every screen could be altered at each user ' s discretion . The controls were dark brown dials , three of which were precisely arranged adjacent to one another near each scope ' s base , while a fourth could be found above the innermost and middle of the lower controls . The other section of the control surface , between the four controls and the screen , was flat and featured thin strips of colored light – one on either side , and another at the top , just below the screen . On the sides of each scope were twistable , metallic handles that each officer could grip if the craft was shaking , such as during battle situations . When the Romulan flagship became damaged in battle , the screens lost power and darkened . They emitted smoke and sparks shortly before the vessel ' s destruction . ( ) Klingon scopes . During or prior to 2287 , the Klingon Empire designed a type of scope that remained in widespread use aboard Klingon ships until about 2351 . This bronze - colored apparatus was very different from the scopes normally used by Starfleet , the Romulan Empire and the Terran Empire of the mirror universe , being much larger than most other scopes and designed to be personally utilized by the ship ' s commanding officer . Like some scopes used identically by Starfleet and the Terran Empire ( for example , the science viewers used aboard NX - class starships and the tactical helm scopes implemented aboard " Constitution " - class ships ) , Klingon scopes could be moved between a usable , extended position and a more hidden location ; upon activation , the scope would descend from the bridge ' s ceiling where it would be returned after use . A Klingon scope essentially consisted of a long , round shaft comprised of three main sections . The lowest sections were of the most interest , as the highest of the three was entirely bare , neither decorative nor notably useful except that it contracted when the scope was not needed . On the side of the shaft facing the viewer , a screen was set into the middle section and , on the opposite side , the section was labeled with a red hexagonal Klingon sign written in formal Klingonese text . The lowest section included sturdy hand - grips – two small cylinders that jutted out of two thin hexagonally - shaped blocks on either side of a central column . The column was vertically connected to the shaft of the higher two sections by a thin horizontal plate , made of a different material that was slightly shinier than the rest of the scope ' s exterior . The apparatus could swivel at the user ' s discretion . Klaa used a Klingon scope aboard his ship , a Klingon Bird - of - Prey , in 2287 and another Klingon scope was later used by B ' Etor on the bridge of a Bird - of - Prey under the command of she and her sister , Lursa , shortly before the ship ' s destruction in 2371 , twenty years after that class of ship had been retired from service . Though these scopes were virtually identical , they did have slight differences – the 24th century style of Klingon scope was labeled differently from Klaa ' s scope , with orange rather than red signs and only one rather than both of the thin hexagonal blocks labeled ; the screen on the older scope was positioned on a slightly raised surface while the more modern screen was built into the scope at the same level as the shaft ; the newer scope had hand - grips that internally glowed with a purple , faint luminescence instead of being surrounded by white bands like the older hand - grips ; and , most noticeably , Klaa ' s scope had struts that folded down from the shaft and could be manually moved into position on either side of the user , extending between the scope and the command chair , securing the user in their seat . ( ; ) Klaa ' s scope could be tied into conjunction with the weapon systems at a station behind and to the left of his chair , with the hand - grips effectively serving as triggers . Klaa used his scope in this way to destroy the space probe " Pioneer 10 " . He later used the equipment to target the " " , a shuttlecraft assigned to the , but required the input of an officer behind and to the right of his chair to subsequently alter the scope ' s aim from the shuttlecraft to the " Enterprise " . Again using the scope ' s firing mechanism , Klaa then fired a photon torpedo at " Enterprise " that missed its target . ( ) B ' Etor used her scope during combat with the . ( ) Background information . According to Matt Jefferies , a production designer and art director of who designed the original " Enterprise " , the scope used by Spock is reminiscent of RADAR stations used by World War II naval ships . Because early RADAR imagery was very weak , ambient room light typically overwhelmed and " washed out " the RADAR screen . Rubberized viewing hoods were needed to allow the RADAR operator to see images . These viewing hoods are no longer required , as LEDs used by modern RADAR are brighter . Although the only spoken reference to the fictional " Star Trek " device was in , the technology was referred to therein as a " viewer " , a name that was often used to describe a viewscreen , even in later episodes . The script of calls Spock ' s version of the instrument a " scope " and Klaa uses the same name to refer to his own viewing apparatus in . Spock ' s earlier use of the name in , to describe a hypothetical visual gadget that Trelane or the designers of his abode may have used , establishes that the 23rd century science officer , familiar with the blue - lit device at his science station , would use the term " scope " to refer to an imagined viewing instrument of similar or identical design as his own . The term was also used in the revised final draft script of , cited three times to refer to the Romulan devices in that installment ( albeit used interchangeably with such terms as " scanners " , " hooded viewers " , and " hooded screens " ) . In his written adaptations of " The Original Series " episodes , James Blish refers to Sulu ' s scanner as a " gooseneck viewer " . According to the subtitles commentary for written by Michael and Denise Okuda for the ENT Season 1 DVD , the " hooded scanner " that T ' Pol uses both in the episode and in the rest of the series was " inspired by Spock ' s viewer on the original " Enterprise " bridge " . In the same episode ' s DVD audio commentary , Rick Berman describes T ' Pol ' s scope as " a little homage to the viewer that Spock will have in a hundred years " . The link between the two scopes , notably both used by Vulcan science officers who at some point joined Starfleet , was also established in canon ; in , Deanna Troi likens the scope found in a holographic simulation of the NX - class " Enterprise " s bridge to a photograph she once saw of a similar device that had been used on " Kirk ' s ship " . The contents of a scope ' s eyepiece was never shown in " The Original Series " but both and " Star Trek : Enterprise " were eager to reveal interior views of scopes . The first animated episode of " Star Trek " , , featured a magnetic flux reading on Spock ' s science viewer and the fifth episode of the same series , , showed an approaching Klingon battle cruiser , as seen through Sulu ' s tactical scope . Interior views of T ' Pol ' s scope appeared twice in episodes of " Enterprise " . revealed how a long range tactical scan appeared through the device and showed the scope ' s display of a thermo - kinetic analysis . These revealing graphics were computer generated , as both science viewers had only a light bulb inside . Although an actual video screen was at one point planned for installation inside T ' Pol ' s scope , the production staff were reminded that the audience had never seen the inside of Spock ' s viewer and the plan was consequently scrapped . Special effects technician Wil Thoms , who operated many of the " automatic " doors on " Enterprise " , was also responsible for the fact that T ' Pol ' s scope was rigged to extend on command . Scopes have been the subject of many parodies , particularly of " The Original Series " . They have also been featured in several serious fan productions , including the " New Voyages " fan films . The tactical scope prop used in the ENT Season 4 episode was donated to the production by the makers of that particular fan series .