astronomy

Solar Crisis

Solar Crisis is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Solar Crisis rather than just read about it. In short: Solar Crisis is a 1990 Japanese-American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard C. Sarafian (credited as Alan Smithee).

Key takeaways

Solar Crisis belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Solar Crisis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Solar Crisis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Solar Crisis is a 1990 Japanese-American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard C. Sarafian (credited as Alan Smithee). The screenplay was written by Joe Gannon and Tedi Sarafian (credited as Crispan Bolt), based on Takeshi Kawata's 1990 novel Crisis 2050; Kawata co-produced the film. The film was first released in Japan in 1990, and in the United States in 1992. The cast features Tim Matheson as Steve Kelso, Charlton Heston as Admiral "Skeet" Kelso, Peter Boyle as Arnold Teague, Annabel Schofield as Alex Noffe, Corin Nemec as Mike Kelso, and Jack Palance as Travis. The executive producers were Takeshi Kawata and Takehito Sadamura. FX cinematographer Richard Edlund and veteran sound editor James Nelson served as producers.

Plot To stop a solar flare from destroying the Earth, Steve Kelso is tasked to drop an artificially intelligent bomb on the Sun from the spaceship Helios. Arnold Teague, who believes the danger to be overstated, attempts to sabotage the mission so he can profit from the panic. Teague's agents on Earth clash with Kelso's father, Admiral "Skeet" Kelso, and his son, Mike.

Cast

Production In October 1989, Solar Crisis began shooting, with an announced budget of US$30 million (equivalent to $80 million in 2025). Nippon Steel, one of the investors, announced a Japanese theme park based on the film. By January 1990, filming had completed on Solar Crisis, but by July 1991 it was reported reshoots had taken place. Scientist Richard J. Terrile served as a technical advisor. He at first tried to convince the filmmakers to avoid sending a crew to the Sun, calling it unscientific. When it was explained to him that audience would demand such a plot point regardless of scientific accuracy, Terrile said he realized his job was to make impossible situations sound more plausible. $7 million is estimated to have been spent on special effects.

Release TV Guide quoted the final budget as US$43 million (equivalent to $110 million in 2025). The film opened in Japan in 1990, where it underperformed. In response, the producers extensively recut and reshot scenes to secure an American distributor. Sarafian had his name removed from the credits and replaced with the Directors Guild of America alias "Alan Smithee". Sarafian's son Tedi, who performed rewrites, was credited as "Crispan Bolt". Producers Edlund and Nelson also brought in Rene Balcer to do uncredited rewrites. The film was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 25, 1992. A home video release followed on March 17, 1993.

Reception TV Guide rated it 2/5 stars and wrote: "Enjoy its awesome visuals or scorn its slipshod execution, Solar Crisis amounts to one small step for cinema, one giant leap for Alan Smithee."

See also Solar Attack (2006), a direct-to-video film by Lions Gate Entertainment with a somewhat similar plot Sunshine (2007), a film with a similar premise of dropping a bomb into the Sun to save the Earth Sun in culture

Notes

References

Bibliography Kawata, Takeshi (1990). Crisis 2050.

External links Solar Crisis at IMDb Solar Crisis at Rotten Tomatoes

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Solar Crisis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Solar Crisis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Solar Crisis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Solar Crisis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Solar Crisis

In research: Solar Crisis appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Solar Crisis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Solar Crisis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990 American films, 1990 English-language films, 1990 Japanese films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Solar Crisis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Solar Crisis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Solar Crisis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Solar Crisis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Solar Crisis in simple terms?

Solar Crisis is a 1990 Japanese-American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard C. Sarafian (credited as Alan Smithee).

Why does Solar Crisis matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Solar Crisis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Solar Crisis.