Difference between revisions of "1446: Landing"
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The comic title was originally "???" and the title text "..." (probably to not give away too early what the comic was about), but changed to "Landing" and "[LIVE]" part of the way through (somewhere around 5:00 in the morning EST, maybe at the same time as the timestamp timezone switch). At 5:00 AM (EST) the timestamp in the image naming scheme switched from EST to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} as used in ESA's time keeping, resulting in a jump from [[Media:???53.png|04:55]] to [[Media:???54.png|10:00]] without actually any such delay between the two pictures. There were however a few pictures with more than 5 minutes of delay (about 12 times five minutes without an update in total). The update seems to have stopped after 142 pictures at 17:15 UTC, 12 hours and 15 minutes after the first picture. | The comic title was originally "???" and the title text "..." (probably to not give away too early what the comic was about), but changed to "Landing" and "[LIVE]" part of the way through (somewhere around 5:00 in the morning EST, maybe at the same time as the timestamp timezone switch). At 5:00 AM (EST) the timestamp in the image naming scheme switched from EST to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} as used in ESA's time keeping, resulting in a jump from [[Media:???53.png|04:55]] to [[Media:???54.png|10:00]] without actually any such delay between the two pictures. There were however a few pictures with more than 5 minutes of delay (about 12 times five minutes without an update in total). The update seems to have stopped after 142 pictures at 17:15 UTC, 12 hours and 15 minutes after the first picture. | ||
| + | |||
| + | According to [[http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30026398 BBC News]], the harpoons did not fire as planned and the lander may have landed, lifted off, and landed again. This would explain the change in "Do harpoons work on comets" from "YES" to "Don't know" at 16:35:00 and the change in "Have we landed on a comet?" from "YES" to "Yes, at least once" at 16:50:00. According to [[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/science/space/european-space-agencys-spacecraft-lands-on-comets-surface.html?_r=0 The New York Times]], radio contact with Philae fluctuated, which would explain the "Anxious", "Nervous", and "Confused" statuses. | ||
==Frame by Frame Breakdown== | ==Frame by Frame Breakdown== | ||
Revision as of 08:15, 13 November 2014
| Landing |
![[LIVE]](/wiki/index.php/File:landingAnimated.gif) Title text: [LIVE] |
Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight (EST) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a flip book which is shown here above. You can find the individual images by clicking on the latest image of the comic on xkcd (go to that by clicking the date above or find it directly at xkcd1446.org).
Explanation
|
This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Buckle up, boys and girls. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks. |
This comic changes over time, tracking the progress of the Philae lander separating from the European Space Agency's Rosetta probe to land on a comet. More info about it at rosetta.esa.int.
The comic presents the imagined anthropomorphic "thoughts" of the Rosetta spacecraft and the Philae lander (and occasionally other parties) during the hours approaching separation from each other, approach to the comet, and (so far) initial analysis of data after the apparent successful landing on the comet. Beginning at 11:05:00, the comic includes a "Status Report" in the lower right corner which summarizes the status of various interested parties and accomplishments, beginning with "Rosetta", "Philae lander", "Mission Control", "Comet 67P", and "Have we landed on a comet?". As events occur in the comic, more status summaries are added to keep track of the changes to the situation and the supposed emotions behind them.
In many pictures a whale can be seen on the surface of the comet - often marked with a "?" as are almost all other parts of the unknown surface. There is also drawn a Cueball on the surface... Whales are also mentioned in the "Status Report" where they for instance may be listed as "calm" or "(probably) not in space". Dolphins and fish are later also mentioned there, commenting about the whales. The reference to whales comes from the fact that Philae brings along three harpoons, which on Earth have mainly been used to hunt whales; Randall previously brought up that comparison in 1402: Harpoons, suggesting that Philae was programmed to believe it was sent to kill the comet. It could at the same time be a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where a whale suddenly appears over an alien planet, only to fall to its surface.
The comic title was originally "???" and the title text "..." (probably to not give away too early what the comic was about), but changed to "Landing" and "[LIVE]" part of the way through (somewhere around 5:00 in the morning EST, maybe at the same time as the timestamp timezone switch). At 5:00 AM (EST) the timestamp in the image naming scheme switched from EST to UTC as used in ESA's time keeping, resulting in a jump from 04:55 to 10:00 without actually any such delay between the two pictures. There were however a few pictures with more than 5 minutes of delay (about 12 times five minutes without an update in total). The update seems to have stopped after 142 pictures at 17:15 UTC, 12 hours and 15 minutes after the first picture.
According to [BBC News], the harpoons did not fire as planned and the lander may have landed, lifted off, and landed again. This would explain the change in "Do harpoons work on comets" from "YES" to "Don't know" at 16:35:00 and the change in "Have we landed on a comet?" from "YES" to "Yes, at least once" at 16:50:00. According to [The New York Times], radio contact with Philae fluctuated, which would explain the "Anxious", "Nervous", and "Confused" statuses.
Frame by Frame Breakdown
| Image | Day/Time |
|---|---|
| 00:00:00 | 1/00:00:00 |
| 00:05:00 | 1/00:05:00 |
| 00:10:00 | 1/00:10:00 |
| 00:15:00 | 1/00:15:00 |
| 00:20:00 | 1/00:20:00 |
| 00:25:00 | 1/00:25:00 |
| 00:30:00 | 1/00:30:00 |
| 00:35:00 | 1/00:35:00 |
| 00:40:00 | 1/00:40:00 |
| 00:45:00 | 1/00:45:00 |
| 00:50:00 | 1/00:50:00 |
| 00:55:00 | 1/00:55:00 |
| 01:00:00 | 1/01:00:00 |
| 01:05:00 | 1/01:05:00 |
| 01:10:00 | 1/01:10:00 |
| 01:15:00 | 1/01:15:00 |
| 01:20:00 | 1/01:20:00 |
| 01:25:00 | 1/01:25:00 |
| 01:30:00 | 1/01:30:00 |
| 01:35:00 | 1/01:35:00 |
| 01:40:00 | 1/01:40:00 |
| 01:45:00 | 1/01:45:00 |
| 01:50:00 | 1/01:50:00 |
| 01:55:00 | 1/01:55:00 |
| 02:00:00 | 1/02:00:00 |
| 02:05:00 | 1/02:05:00 |
| 02:10:00 | 1/02:10:00 |
| 02:15:00 | 1/02:15:00 |
| 02:20:00 | 1/02:20:00 |
| 02:25:00 | 1/02:25:00 |
| 02:30:00 | 1/02:30:00 |
| 02:35:00 | 1/02:35:00 |
| 02:40:00 | 1/02:40:00 |
| 02:45:00 | 1/02:45:00 |
| 02:50:00 | 1/02:50:00 |
| 02:55:00 | 1/02:55:00 |
| 03:00:00 | 1/03:00:00 |
| 03:05:00 | 1/03:05:00 |
| 03:10:00 | 1/03:10:00 |
| 03:25:00 | 1/03:25:00 |
| 03:35:00 | 1/03:35:00 |
| 03:40:00 | 1/03:40:00 |
| 03:50:00 | 1/03:50:00 |
| 04:10:00 | 1/04:10:00 |
| 04:15:00 | 1/04:15:00 |
| 04:20:00 | 1/04:20:00 |
| 04:25:00 | 1/04:25:00 |
| 04:30:00 | 1/04:30:00 |
| 04:35:00 | 1/04:35:00 |
| 04:40:00 | 1/04:40:00 |
| 04:45:00 | 1/04:45:00 |
| 04:50:00 | 1/04:50:00 |
| 04:55:00 | 1/04:55:00 |
| 10:00:00 | 1/10:00:00 |
| 10:10:00 | 1/10:10:00 |
| 10:15:00 | 1/10:15:00 |
| 10:25:00 | 1/10:25:00 |
| 10:30:00 | 1/10:30:00 |
| 10:35:00 | 1/10:35:00 |
| 10:40:00 | 1/10:40:00 |
| 10:45:00 | 1/10:45:00 |
| 10:50:00 | 1/10:50:00 |
| 10:55:00 | 1/10:55:00 |
| 11:00:00 | 1/11:00:00 |
| 11:05:00 | 1/11:05:00 |
| 11:10:00 | 1/11:10:00 |
| 11:15:00 | 1/11:15:00 |
| 11:20:00 | 1/11:20:00 |
| 11:25:00 | 1/11:25:00 |
| 11:30:00 | 1/11:30:00 |
| 11:35:00 | 1/11:35:00 |
| 11:40:00 | 1/11:40:00 |
| 11:45:00 | 1/11:45:00 |
| 11:50:00 | 1/11:50:00 |
| 11:55:00 | 1/11:55:00 |
| 12:00:00 | 1/12:00:00 |
| 12:05:00 | 1/12:05:00 |
| 12:10:00 | 1/12:10:00 |
| 12:15:00 | 1/12:15:00 |
| 12:20:00 | 1/12:20:00 |
| 12:25:00 | 1/12:25:00 |
| 12:30:00 | 1/12:30:00 |
| 12:35:00 | 1/12:35:00 |
| 12:40:00 | 1/12:40:00 |
| 12:45:00 | 1/12:45:00 |
| 12:50:00 | 1/12:50:00 |
| 12:55:00 | 1/12:55:00 |
| 13:00:00 | 1/13:00:00 |
| 13:05:00 | 1/13:05:00 |
| 13:10:00 | 1/13:10:00 |
| 13:15:00 | 1/13:15:00 |
| 13:20:00 | 1/13:20:00 |
| 13:25:00 | 1/13:25:00 |
| 13:30:00 | 1/13:30:00 |
| 13:35:00 | 1/13:35:00 |
| 13:40:00 | 1/13:40:00 |
| 13:45:00 | 1/13:45:00 |
| 13:50:00 | 1/13:50:00 |
| 13:55:00 | 1/13:55:00 |
| 14:00:00 | 1/14:00:00 |
| 14:05:00 | 1/14:05:00 |
| 14:10:00 | 1/14:10:00 |
| 14:15:00 | 1/14:15:00 |
| 14:20:00 | 1/14:20:00 |
| 14:25:00 | 1/14:25:00 |
| 14:30:00 | 1/14:30:00 |
| 14:35:00 | 1/14:35:00 |
| 14:40:00 | 1/14:40:00 |
| 14:45:00 | 1/14:45:00 |
| 14:50:00 | 1/14:50:00 |
| 15:00:00 | 1/15:00:00 |
| 15:10:00 | 1/15:10:00 |
| 15:15:00 | 1/15:15:00 |
| 15:20:00 | 1/15:20:00 |
| 15:25:00 | 1/15:25:00 |
| 15:30:00 | 1/15:30:00 |
| 15:35:00 | 1/15:35:00 |
| 15:40:00 | 1/15:40:00 |
| 15:45:00 | 1/15:45:00 |
| 15:50:00 | 1/15:50:00 |
| 15:55:00 | 1/15:55:00 |
| 16:00:00 | 1/16:00:00 |
| 16:15:00 | 1/16:15:00 |
| 16:20:00 | 1/16:20:00 |
| 16:25:00 | 1/16:25:00 |
| 16:30:00 | 1/16:30:00 |
| 16:35:00 | 1/16:35:00 |
| 16:40:00 | 1/16:40:00 |
| 16:45:00 | 1/16:45:00 |
| 16:50:00 | 1/16:50:00 |
| 16:55:00 | 1/16:55:00 |
| 17:00:00 | 1/17:00:00 |
| 17:05:00 | 1/17:05:00 |
| 17:10:00 | 1/17:10:00 |
| 17:15:00 | 1/17:15:00 |
Transcript
00:00:00
- [Showing blank image]
00:35:00
- Rosetta: Three hours to separation
00:45:00
- Philae: Has anyone ever tried this before?
00:50:00
- Rosetta: I don't think so.
01:25:00
- Rosetta: Ready to begin pre-delivery burn.
02:20:00
- Rosetta: We are go for separation!
02:25:00
- Rosetta: We are go for separation!
- Philae: Yessss!
02:35:00
- Time until lander separation: 1 Hour
02:40:00
- Time until lander separation: 55 Minutes
02:45:00
- Time until lander separation: 50 Minutes
02:50:00
- Time until lander separation: 75 Minutes
02:55:00
- Time until lander separation: 70 Minutes
03:00:00
- Time until lander separation: 65 Minutes
03:05:00
- Time until lander separation: 60 Minutes
- Philae: Can I just go now?
03:10:00
- Time until lander separation: 60 Minutes
03:20:00
- Time until lander separation: 45 Minutes
- Philae: Turning on sesame Bzzzzzzzzzt.
03:25:00
- Time until lander separation: 40 Minutes
- Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
03:35:00
- Time until lander separation: 30 Minutes
- Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
- Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:40:00
- Time until lander separation: 25 Minutes
- Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
- Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:45:00
- Time until lander separation: 20 Minutes
- Rosetta: Ok, turning on concert. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
03:50:00
- Time until lander separation: 15 Minutes
- Rosetta: Ok, turning on concert. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
- Philae: Assuming comets even have insides!
- Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
03:55:00
- Time until lander separation: 10 Minutes
- Rosetta: Ok, turning on concert. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
- Philae: Assuming comets even have insides!
- Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
04:05:00
- Time until lander separation: None
04:10:00
- [Philae separates from Rosetta to comet]
- Philae: Wheee!
04:15:00
- Rosetta: Quick, take a picture of me!
- Philae: Just take a selfie
- Rosetta: Can't. No front-facing camera
04:20:00
- Time until landing: 6 Hours
10:00:00
- Rosetta: Bye
10:05:00
- [Rosetta, Philae and comet appear on the left, indicating the landing progress. Philae appear on the right.]
10:15:00
- Philae: Spaaaaaaaace
10:25:00
- [Showing Rosetta on the right]
- Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt.
10:30:00
- Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it...
10:35:00
- Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it... Aha!
10:40:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Rosetta: Hey! Earth!
10:45:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Rosetta: Hey! Earth! Check out these pics!
10:55:00
- [Showing Philae on the right]
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet.
11:00:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
11:05:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- [Status report appear from bottom-right corner]
- Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Not in space
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:10:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons work on comets.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Not in space
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:15:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons work on comets.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Not in space
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:20:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Not in space
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:25:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Not in space
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:30:00
- Time until landing: 5 Hours
- Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
- Rosetta: Yes!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Not in space
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:35:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
- Rosetta: Yes! ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Not in space
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:40:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:45:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:50:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: In space
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:55:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
- Philae: I really hope harpoons work on comets.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:05:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:10:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:15:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:20:00
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:25:00
- [Whale appears inside the comet]
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:30:00
- [Whale marked "Probably not"]
- Time until landing: 4 Hours
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:35:00
- [Whale and stick figure on comet marked "Probably not"]
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Rosetta: They should be getting the pictures back on earth about now.
- Philae: The 28-minute delay is weird.
- Rosetta: I'm watching for the ✔ seen 12:41 pm message.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:40:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Rosetta: They should be getting the pictures back on earth about now.
- Philae: The 28-minute delay is weird.
- Rosetta: I'm watching for the ✔ seen 12:41 pm message.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:45:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:50:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:55:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
- Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:00:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
- Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through. We think, anyway.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:10:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Philae lander: [thinks] I mean, when I think about it, it's hard to believe harpoons even work on whales.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:15:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
- Philae lander: No.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:20:00
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
- Philae lander: No.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Thinking about whales
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:25:00
- [More whales appear above the comet surface]
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Thinking about whales
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:30:00
- [Whales and stick figure disappear]
- [Slab of rock appears near the target]
- [Whale hides behind rock]
- Time until landing: 3 Hours
- Rosetta: ✔ seen 1:02 pm Hooray!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Thinking about rocks
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:35:00
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention -
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:40:00
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:45:00
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
- Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.
- Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:50:00
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
- Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.
- Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: WORRIED
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:55:00:
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?
- Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:00:00:
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?
- Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. You're gonna have to do it on your own.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Worried
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:05:00:
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. You're gonna have to do it on your own.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:10:00:
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Philae lander: I can do this.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:15:00:
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Philae lander: I can do this.
- Rosetta: Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.
- Philae lander: Haha, yeah!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Worried
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:20:00: [Slab of rock disappears]
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Philae lander: I can do this.
- Rosetta: Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.
- Philae lander: Haha, yeah! Enjoy being stuck on your planet, suckers!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:25:00:
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras...
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:30:00:
- Time until landing: 2 Hours
- Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras... ...Annnnd arm my harpoons!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:35:00:
- Time until landing: 60 Minutes
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:40:00:
- Time until landing: 55 Minutes
- Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:45:00:
- Time until landing: 50 Minutes
- Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
- Philae lander: WOW.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Brave
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:50:00:
- Time until landing: 45 Minutes
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: WOW.
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Big
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:00:00:
- Time until landing: 35 Minutes
- Philae lander: Hi, comet. I'm Philae. We caught you.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: WOW.
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Near
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:10:00:
- [Showing Rosetta on the right]
- Time until landing: 25 Minutes
- Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little.
- Philae lander: WHEEEE!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: WHEEEE!
- Mission control: Stuck on earth
- Comet 67P: Near
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:15:00:
- Time until landing: 20 Minutes
- Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little. They're loving your pictures back home!
- Philae lander: WHEEEE!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: WHEEEE!
- Mission control: Nervous
- Comet 67P: Near
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:20:00:
- Time until landing: 15 Minutes
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: WOW.
- Mission control: Nervous
- Comet 67P: Near
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?"
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:25:00:
- Time until landing: 10 Minutes
- Rosetta: Hey, Philae- Do you see anything that might explain how to levitate and destroy rocks with your minds? People back home keep asking.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Wow.
- Mission control: Nervous
- Comet 67P: Near
- Whales: Probably Not in space
- U.S. Scientists: Anxious
- Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:30:00:
- Time until landing: 5 Minutes
- Rosetta: Philae?
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ...
- Mission control: Anxious
- Comet 67P: Near
- Whales: Anxious
- U.S. Scientists: Nervous
- Have we landed on a comet?: ...
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Far away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:35:00:
- [Showing Earth on the right]
- Time until news of landing: 30 minutes
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ...
- Mission control: Anxious
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Nervous
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:40:00:
- Time until news of landing: 25 minutes
- Prime Minister: I hope we succeeded. That awful comet must be destroyed.
- Aide: ...Mr. Prime Minister, no one is trying to destroy the comet.
- Prime Minister: What?! But I secured you all this funding. I just assumed...
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ...
- Mission control: Nervous
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Anxious
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:45:00:
- Time until news of landing: 20 minutes
- This picture of Philae falling away is beautiful.
- Its kind of blurry and washed out.
- There will be a lot more soon. But this was the first.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ...
- Mission control: Nervous
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Anxious
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:50:00:
- Time until news of landing: 15 minutes
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: AAAAAAA
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: AAAAAAA
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:55:00:
- Time until news of landing: 10 minutes
- AAAA! I can't take it - this is too stressful!
- You're just looking at Twitter.
- I should probably never actually go to space.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: AAAAAAA
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: AAAAAAA
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:00:00:
- Time until news of landing: 5 minutes
- AAAAAAAAAAA
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: AAAAAAA
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: AAAAAAA
- U.S. Scientists: AAAAAAA
- Dolphins and Fish: Um, are those whales screaming?
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:05:00:
- [Philae and the comet on the left veiled]
- Time until news of landing: [now]
- [Holding breath]
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander:???
- Mission control: [...]
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: [...]
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: [...]
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:10:00:
- Time until news of landing: [now]
- Philae lander: Hey, Earth!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander:
- Mission control: [...]
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: [...]
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: [...]
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:15:00:
- Time until news of landing: [now]
- Philae lander: Hey, Earth!
- Philae lander: It's Philae.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander:
- Mission control: [...]
- Comet 67P: Far away
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: [...]
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: ???
- Do harpoons work on comets: [...]
- Earth: Near
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:20:00:
- [Showing Philae on a comet]
- Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
- Philae lander: I got you a comet.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Landed
- Mission control: [...]
- Comet 67P: Here.
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: [...]
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
- Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
- Earth: Far Away
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:25:00:
- Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
- Philae lander: I got you a comet.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Landed
- Mission control: Proud
- Comet 67P: Here.
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Proud
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
- Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
- Earth: Proud
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:30:00:
- Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
- Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Landed
- Mission control: Proud
- Comet 67P: Harpooned
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Proud
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
- Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
- Earth: Proud
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:35:00:
- Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
- Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Landed
- Mission control: Proud
- Comet 67P: Landed on
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Proud
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: Proud
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:40:00:
- [Philae slightly tilts]
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: Nervous
- Comet 67P: Landed on
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Anxious
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: Proud
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:45:00:
- [Philae tilts more]
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: Anxious
- Comet 67P: ???
- Whales: Calm
- U.S. Scientists: Nervous
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: Confused
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:50:00:
- [Philae tilts the opposite]
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: Anxious
- Comet 67P: ???
- Whales: Calm
- Scientists: Nervous
- Harpoons: Tricky
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: Yes, at least once
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: Confused
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:55:00:
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: Anxious
- Comet 67P: ???
- Whales: Calm
- Scientists: Nervous
- Harpoons: Tricky
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: Yes, at least once
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: Confused
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
17:00:00:
- [Showing Earth]
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: Anxious
- Comet 67P: ???
- Whales: Calm
- Scientists: Anxious
- Harpoons: Tricky
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: Yes, at least once
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: Nervous
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
17:05:00:
- Philae? Are you OK?
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: ???
- Mission control: Anxious
- Comet 67P: ???
- Whales: Calm
- Scientists: Anxious
- Harpoons: Tricky
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: Yes, at least once
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: Nervous
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
17:10:00:
- [Showing Philae on a comet]
- Philae: I did it.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Landed
- Mission control: !!!!!
- Comet 67P: Landed on
- Whales: Calm
- Scientists: [Wine]
- Harpoons: Tricky
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: !!!!!
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
17:15:00:
- Philae? Is everything OK?
- Philae: I landed! I'm on a comet. I'm OK and I'm on a comet.
- Status report:
- Rosetta: In space
- Philae lander: Landed
- Mission control: !!!!!
- Comet 67P: Landed on
- Whales: Calm
- Scientists: [Wine]
- Harpoons: Tricky
- Dolphins and Fish: OK
- Have we landed on a comet?: YES
- Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
- Earth: !!!!!
- Has anybody tried this before: Nope
add a comment! ⋅ add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ 
refresh comments!Discussion
In 2021 July comic was broken!((
I would bet money that this comic will have to do with the Rosetta Lander that will be landing on a comet for the first time in history this morning. Info about it at Rosetta.esa.int
108.162.237.173 05:37, 12 November 2014 (UTC)pH
- from xkcd1446.org: "Note: This event is over. You can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to browse through the images" 108.162.221.113 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Almost definitely. The URL for the image (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-40-00_wmf0bPtxDN.png) contains 'landing'.
Love this comic108.162.241.196 22:33, 17 May 2018 (UTC)
DeedleFake (talk) 05:44, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
The image changes every five minutes. (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-35-00_lVC98SMY1X.png) followed by (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-40-00_wmf0bPtxDN.png) followed by (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-45-00_MZprhbADHL.png) then (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-50-00_Z63bWhoaxd.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-55-00_2wCeCFN0R1.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-00-00_FRnIhqA5IZ.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-05-00_Os6SVGalch.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-10-00_xn4nUL9lry.png) http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-15-00_soIuPGfUYh.png , also I'm sorry about deleting other people's comments - firefox decided to not show the "other people have edited this" page :(. If anyone's interested, here's the command I'm using to grab the urls:
while :; do http --stream --body http://c0.xkcd.com/stream/comic/landing\?method\=EventSource | awk '/png/ { print $2 }' | perl -ne '/(r_.+png)/; print "$1\n";' ; done
where the 'http' command is from http://httpie.org - not the neatest way to do it, but it works ;) Forkbomb (talk) 05:47, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Forkbomb, you are not supposed to delete other's comments... Yes. It is definitely about Rosetta. The image changed at 9.35 pm PST and it says "Three hours to separation", i.e. 12.35am PST, which is exactly the time at which PHILAE is going to separate... image_seen rosetta timeline
199.27.128.237 05:50, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Is anyone collecting URLs? I assume there's an easy automated way to do this that was used for Time. If not...
LONG LIST OF URLs HIDDEN. CLICK EXPAND OVER THERE →
Randall switched to SSL after 1:30 but you can of course use either server.
- Marcustyphoon/108.162.219.244 07:37, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-45-00_MZprhbADHL.png) "Has anyone ever tried this before?" "No but fetishes have to start somewhere, right?" Nexxuz (talk)
Probably just a mistake, but the transcript in the html source of 1446 is from 1445. --Pascal (talk) 05:58, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
It fetches things using this javascript tag.. <script type="text/javascript" src="/s/c3b919.js"></script> I've pasted it in pastebin, can we get zealous and fetch the images before they actually show up ? :P link_to_javascript 199.27.128.237 06:04, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
By the way, the current explanation says it's pinging c4.xkcd for updates. From the javascript source, it looks like there's more than one server for this: var SERVERS = ["http://c0.xkcd.com", "http://c1.xkcd.com", "http://c2.xkcd.com", "http://c3.xkcd.com", "http://c4.xkcd.com", "http://c5.xkcd.com", "http://c6.xkcd.com", "http://c7.xkcd.com"]; So that would be c0 to c7
Unfortuantely, as I had suggested, it seems that we cannot grab all the images beforehand :( The javascript only fetches a json, which actually gives image name. So there's a server side script running which generates the paths to actual images. The javascript just shows it.. You can see the json here. 199.27.128.237 06:23, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Attempting to load the URL directly in Firefox results in unreadable results, but it's something like
id: acae0462-6a34-11e4-8001-002590720087
event: comic/landing
data: {"image":"r_01-25-00_ADajYkIBoR.png","spread":1}
There are several other events as well, such as 'reload' and 'heartbeat'. DeedleFake (talk) 06:32, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
By the way, that UUID (i.e. acae0462-6a34-11e4-8001-002590720087) seems to encode the time the image was uploaded as a v1 UUID. Maths22 (talk) 06:58, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
The best part of this is ninja-ing the image uploads. The xkcd servers seem to be off atomic time by around 45 seconds. Skylarmt (talk) 06:45, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
What are people's thoughts on changing the image label to an image number? It seems redundant to use the timestamp twice, but I copied it over from time. Davidy²²[talk] 07:06, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
A lovely explanation. Itaigreif (talk) 07:45, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Why is the comic titled "???" and not "Rosetta" or something? Smperron (talk) 08:02, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- "Rosetta" would have given the game away in the first few minutes before we could figure it out. "???" is a strange choice, though. 103.22.201.157 09:20, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
The page has changed name from "???" to "Landing" about 5AM, and title text changed from "..." to "[LIVE]". Not sure about actual times, and don't know how to rename page. Can someone else handle this? 141.101.89.217 10:12, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
At 00:03:50 the comic mentions turning on CONCERT, which I think is a typo and should be CONSERT --Pudder (talk) 10:56, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- I think this is a typo Randall made on purpose. SirKitKat (talk) 15:45, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- Welp - if it's a joke or other reference, it's lost on me - do you have an explanation for what it could mean if intentional? -- Brettpeirce (talk) 19:15, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Keep uploading the images under the current naming convention, guys, I'll do a batch move to "landing[X]" later when things die down a little. Davidy²²[talk] 11:02, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- Check out http://xkcd1446.org/list.json. E.g. http://xkcd1446.org/img/r_11-30-00_DEpbhsl54D.png. 141.101.105.189 11:54, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Shouldn't we write up the changing "Time until landing: [x] hours" top text in the transcripts as well? Phantom (talk) 12:39, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Oh no, not again! Petunia 12:45, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- What? What's happening? -- Bowl (talk) 19:20, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- Hurling towards the ground, with all of these stupid whales around... well, "hurling" would have been better actually, so it could all end quicker. Instead, it is tens of thousands of times slower than last time. And instead of splatting, the whales are bouncing... they seem to be enjoying this. Petunia 08:07, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
In the transcript, added or changed text should be in bold for easy reading? also, this format reads a lot easier then the transcript. - sir KitKat - 141.101.64.137 12:57, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- I think so. After adding 'Status Report' it's even harder to read it. Graphene (talk) 13:01, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- I'm not sure... the purpose of the transcript is not to make it easier for those too lazy to compare the images and find what changed between them, but just to represent what the images contain for those that can not see them... preferably as accurately as possible, i.e. with the original formatting. 141.101.93.206 13:10, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- I'd agree with the transcript not containing formatting that changes - especially since that formatting may confuse (or be confused with) the formatting used for emphasis in the comic itself - perhaps we could have a separated "changes" version of the transcript on another page? -- Brettpeirce (talk) 17:34, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- Maybe the transcript should move to a subpage to avoid clutter? And can we add a section for the lazy people to follow the changes without going through every image? SirKitKat (talk) 15:18, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- By the way, the bold changed stuff helped me notice some subtle changes :) SirKitKat (talk) 15:27, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Did anyone notice that not all whales disappeared at 13:30? One is hidden behind the mountains in the background with a "? ->" pointing at it. I wonder if this should be included in the transcript... Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 14:28, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- It should be in a transcript. I missed it while editing. My apologies for that. Graphene (talk) 15:28, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
I did just notice that clicking on the image now takes you to http://xkcd1446.org/. 141.101.104.4 16:23, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
LONG LIST OF URLs HIDDEN. CLICK EXPAND OVER THERE →
Where is Randall getting his info? His news is the most current I can find - anyone have a good link to up-to-the-minute status reporting like Randall is providing, preferably with more detail? --Nipchee (talk) 18:08, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- Nipchee: This seems to be very up-to-date: http://www.theguardian.com/science/across-the-universe/live/2014/nov/12/rosetta-comet-landing-live-blog 108.162.219.150 18:11, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- This one is pretty good: https://newscientist.creatavist.com/rosetta#chapter-132425 (scroll to bottom)
- Also, here is the list of feeds from ESA: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Live_updates_Rosetta_mission_comet_landing GreenWyvern (talk) 18:26, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- I could imagine that, combining his influence as a web celebrity and connections he's maintained since working with NASA, he might be able to get a few extra details before everyone else (?) -- Brettpeirce (talk) 19:06, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
On a related note - what exactly is the distinction between "impact" and "landing" other than the perhaps intent? Is the result factored in as well? Where is the threshold between the two? -- Brettpeirce (talk) 19:10, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
I'd say it's more to do with the level of control. An impact is when an object forcibly hits something else, a landing is when it's directed and doesn't result in 10 years of wasted effort and money. --141.101.104.15 20:27, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Okay, looks like the comic is done, unless he picks it up again after radio contact resumes. -- Frankie (talk) 21:35, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
- from xkcd1446.org: "Note: This event is over. You can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to browse through the images" 108.162.221.113 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
p.s. The vertical sprawl here (particularly in the Frame by Frame section) is really ugly. It should be subdivided and/or columnized like in 1190: Time. -- Frankie (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- I doubt it's over yet. Also, it's actually a bit annoying to do multiple columns of homogenous data a la time, and those were done post-hoc. Subdivision and collapsing is a thing that could happen though. Davidy²²[talk] 22:59, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Did anyone notice 16-05 and 16-10 are missing from xkcd1446.org? Saibot84 21:41, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
Why does it jump from 55 minutes to 75 minutes at image #33? Keavon (talk) 22:50, 12 November 2014 (UTC)
I love the GIF, good work, but is there any way it could be slowed down about 1/4 to 1/2 a second longer for a few frames, espicaly while the lander is landing. It is hard to catch all the jokes. Not all Frames need to be the same speed. 108.162.216.209 13:40, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
Not convinced there's any special reference to Hitchhiker's here. People seem to believe that "space whale art" was popular in the 1970s, and we know there were space whales in fiction long before the Guide, at least in Robert F. Young's series of stories published in genre magazines like F&SF and If starting in 1962, and in Pinocchio in Outer Space, an animated feature film from 1965. Pesthouse (talk) 23:09, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
- Might also be a reference to the second episode of "Futurama" — title: "The Series Has Landed". In that episode there is an amusement park on the moon with animated robots dressed as whalers (which is itself a parody of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction) singing "We're whalers on the moon; we carry a harpoon; but there ain't no whales so we tell tall tales; and sing our whaling tune."108.162.216.94 09:35, 14 November 2014 (UTC)
"Since the event is over, and the images don't show the rebounds, we can guess that Randall made all or most of the drawings before the landing." - I disagree with this statement. Between 16:35 and 16:55 you can clearly see Philae settle (stop moving), jostle, and settle again. You may have to watch the GIF closely to notice it. Smperron (talk) 04:36, 14 November 2014 (UTC)
All plain URLs:
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See The whale and the petunias. I wanted to include the picture but it's not licensed. --Thnidu (talk) 21:43, 15 November 2014 (UTC)
The image on the comic updated to [1], there may be more missing frames. 188.114.98.207 16:29, 18 November 2014 (UTC)
And now getting smaller! [2]
108.162.219.164 18:05, 20 November 2014 (UTC)
Did randall made a mistake with the "US Scientists" and fixed it to just plain "Scientists" when someone warned him about the mission being from European Scientists ? --173.245.52.108 23:42, 25 November 2014 (UTC)
It appears to be over, and is now (forever?) blank [3]. --199.27.128.182 20:08, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
These were not logged here at the wiki. Check the xkcd forum for release details.
https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_148_MLFkxqV4Dy.png https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_149_CQkN74U21V.png https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_150_LhNsD4qM0F.png https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_151_T9etbD9OH6.png
Azule (talk) 21:01, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
The image was updated! Now there is world thinking about Philae 108.162.229.91 21:34, 11 December 2014 (UTC)
There is a new image over at http://xkcd.com/1446/ !!! "Time since landing: 211 days" Philae says hi! https://twitter.com/ESA_Rosetta 162.158.80.59 13:36, 14 June 2015 (UTC)
![[1]](https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_149_CQkN74U21V.png){kind=link}
![[2]](https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_151_T9etbD9OH6.png){kind=link}
![[3]](http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/%3F%3F%3F.png){kind=link}