Editing 1231: Habitable Zone

{{comic
| number    = 1231
| date      = June 28, 2013
| title     = Habitable Zone
| image     = habitable zone.png
| titletext = They have a telescope pointed RIGHT AT US!
}}

==Explanation==
While searching for {{w|extrasolar planet}}s this gullible astronomer is looking at a reflection of the Earth itself. He's very excited because he found a planet in a star's {{w|habitable zone}}, with visible oceans and weather. It is presumably quite likely to have life on it, which would be the first discovery many astronomers are looking for.

The title text goes on and says that the planet under observation has a mirror where the telescope is pointing on, so it's just a hint that the astronomer is actually only viewing the Earth. But even pointing to a mirror at a distance of the moon would require a real huge one, probably more than one hundred kilometers (sixty miles) in diameter.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a huge telescope, looking through the eyepiece.]
:Cueball: I've discovered an Earth-sized planet in a star's habitable zone! It even has oceans! And visible weather!
:To mess with an astronomer, put a mirror in the path of their telescope.

==Trivia==
*Searching for extrasolar planets is still a hard job, so even the results from the {{w|Kepler (spacecraft)|Kepler mission}} are only classified as candidates. The findings still have to be confirmed by other (mostly earth based) telescopes.
*As in July 2013 there are no earth-sized planets confirmed, habitable or not.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Exoplanets]]