Editing 1522: Astronomy
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|What if it isn't the sky, but just a black backdrop with white spots? And clarify the optical principles re focal length, magnification etc (see discussion).}} | |
− | + | For many ordinary objects, one can achieve a better view in two ways: (#1) by looking at the object from a distance through a telescope, or (#2) by approaching the object and looking at it through a microscope, (e.g., a magnifying glass, a type of simple microscope.) Microscopes and magnifying glasses typically have very short resolving distances, anywhere between a few millimeters to a tenth of a meter, so approach #2 is effective only in the case where you can get very close to the object in question. | |
− | + | In the comic, the objects being viewed are celestial bodies. Megan takes approach #1, looking at them through a telescope. Beret Guy attempts approach #2, using a step-ladder to get close to the celestial bodies, and then looking through a magnifying glass. This approach could be successful only if the celestial bodies were within a few meters of us. In fact they are many orders of magnitude further away than that, although given Beret Guy's powers over time and space it's quite possible his method would yield similar results as Megan's. Given his naivety, it's also possible he just doesn't realize they should look any different. His naivety of astronomy is also demonstrated in [[811: Starlight]]. | |
− | + | The history of astronomy is filled with drastic misunderstanding of distances to celestial bodies, even up to the present day, (which topic Randall has already covered in [[1342: Ancient Stars]].) Thus, the comic could be in reference to the general overestimation of distances, albeit taken to the opposite extreme. | |
+ | Alternatively, the comic could also be a reference to the fact that space-based telescopes are much smaller than ground-based telescopes: for example, the primary mirrors of the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} and the {{w|W. M. Keck Observatory}} are 2.4 m and 10 m respectively. | ||
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+ | The title text assumes (for comic effect) that the only thing wrong with Beret Guy's strategy is the instability of the ladder endangering the expensive microscopes used by biologists for {{w|Astrobiology}}. Astrobiology is the study of life (or the possibility thereof) elsewhere in the universe. {{w|Electron microscopes}} used to study microbiology cost a lot, but are very heavy, therefore implausible to carry up a ladder. | ||
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+ | It might be interesting to note that a lot of developments in "terrestrial" biology were made by the use of a simple microscope (similar to a magnifying lens), so Beret Guy's approach might be an attempt to build on that. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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− | + | [In front of a starry black sky, Megan looks at the stars through a telescope about twice her size, touching it at the base] | |
− | + | [Beret Guy enters the panel holding a ladder and a magnifying glass] | |
− | + | [Beret Guy places the ladder next to Megan and her telescope. The ladder is stands like a triangle, is slightly larger than Megan, but smaller than the telescope] | |
− | + | [Beret guy climbs to the top of the ladder, and looks at the stars through a magnifying glass] | |
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− | + | {{comic discussion}} | |
+ | <!-- Include any categories below this line. --> | ||
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[[Category:Science]] | [[Category:Science]] | ||
[[Category:Astronomy]] | [[Category:Astronomy]] | ||
[[Category:Biology]] | [[Category:Biology]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]] |