Editing 3012: The Future of Orion

{{comic
| number    = 3012
| date      = November 15, 2024
| title     = The Future of Orion
| image     = the_future_of_orion_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x300px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Dinosaur Cosmics
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TYRANNOASTRUS REX - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Stars in the night sky sometimes change, occasionally varying in brightness, very rarely exploding, and imperceptibly moving. For example, {{w|Betelgeuse}}, a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}, is expected to explode as a {{w|supernova}} between [https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/ tens of] and [https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday/ a thousand] years, and then disappear from the night sky. And all stars move relative to us and each other, which results in apparent movement in the sky called {{w|proper motion}}, a function of a star's relative movement in three dimensions and its distance from us.

This comic shows changes in Orion from Betelgeuse disappearing and three of its fastest moving stars, and recommends revising the {{w|constellation}} (or creating a new {{w|Asterism (astronomy)|asterism}}) from one which depicts a hunter to another matching a different hunter, the {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics].

Depending upon the artistic imagination of the observer, western (and northern-hemisphere) traditions may evoke the right 'string' of stars as either Orion's bow-arm holding a bow (perhaps having loosed an arrow towards {{w|Taurus (constellation)|Taurus, the Bull}}, with his off-arm raised aloft and behind having just released the bowstring) or else holding some creature he has caught/is fighting (with his off-arm, the other arm holding a raised club/sword that will strike the beast), with other astronomical traditions maybe 'recognising' various similar or different imageries according to their own cultural ideas (and perspective upon the constellation, e.g. from a southern orientation). In the form adjusted to match the "dinosaur comics" image, the rightmost group becomes the creature's tail and the upper-left maps to the open-jawed head and neck. The torso and legs (the latter sometimes depicted as leading only down to the kneeling Orion's knees, depending upon the imagined pose, hence the enclosed trapezoid of either his lower knee-length robe or from one lower leg crossing the ground, excusing the apparently anomolous leg-to-torso ratio that doesn't fit a hunting human quite as much as the depicted dinosaur) are essentially the same in both versions, but mirrored in sidelong profile, with the minor difference of both shoulders' position within the asterism, and the traditionally short and stubby T-Rex arms not be granted 'star arms' in their own right.

It should be noted that the main stars (but not the nebula) of {{w|Orion's Sword}} are drawn, but do not fit the dinosaur image in any way. In the original Orion constellation, they are rarely connected with the 'lines' of the constellation, but are matched against a sword (or its scabbard) when rendered as a more pictorial Orion. In the full dinosaur they match nothing from the image, but may be considered to be dripped saliva, discarded blood/torn flesh from whatever it might currently be eating or, perhaps (from its subpelvic position), other expelled material...

The proper motion of {{w|Chi1 Orionis|χ¹ Orionis}} shown near the top at the end of Orion's arm (and the back of the dinosaur's head) is 0.20 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse the depicted angular distance of 0.84 degrees in about 15,000 years. {{w|Pi1 Orionis|π¹ Orionis}} at the top of Orion's bow (and the end of the dinosaur's tail) has a proper motion of 0.14 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse its distance of 0.87° in about 23,000 years. However, with a proper motion of 0.46 as/yr, {{w|Pi3 Orionis|π³ Orionis}}, in the middle of the bow, will take only about 9,600 years to traverse its longer depicted distance of 1.24°. (The angular distances traversed by the stars were measured relative to the distance between Orion's two outermost belt stars, {{w|Alnitak}} and {{w|Mintaka}}, the dinosaur's hips.) Thus, the new constellation won't form until its current name has lasted more than three times as long as it already has. There are various other stars that notably move around within or near the vicinity of Orion, given {{w|File:OrionProper.gif|suffiently long}} viewing time, perhaps allowing Randall some small leeway in what way to re-represent the original hunter's pose, though the 'resemblance' of the reworked constellation to its dinosaur image remains a remarkable coincidence.

[[File:School of Athens Raphael detail 03.jpg|thumb|Hipparchus and Ptolemy compare globes in {{w|Raphael}}'s famous fresco ''{{w|The School of Athens}}''. Ptolemy is shown with a crown because of his erroneous association with the royal house of Ptolemaic Egypt.]]
There are no official constellations depicting dinosaurs. However, {{w|Draco (constellation)|Draco}} represents a mythological reptilian dragon, and the lizard {{w|Lacerta}} was described in 1687. The first fossil to be later identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676, but the term "dinosaur" was not introduced until 1842. The earliest constellations in the northern hemisphere were recognized around 3000 BC. By the 2nd century AD, the Greek mathematician and astronomer {{w|Ptolemy}} listed 48 constellations visible from the northern hemisphere in his ''{{w|Almagest}},'' following the star catalogs and globes made by {{w|Hipparchus}} which have since been lost to history. The remaining modern southern constellations were mostly finalized by {{w|Nicolas Louis de Lacaille}} in 1756. Dozens of {{w|former constellations}} have been recognized, sometimes for hundreds of years, before being disregarded, replaced by others, or because they were only recognized by cultures apart from dominant Western traditions. ({{w|Micronesian navigation#Navigation by the stars|Polynesian navigators}} settled {{w|Polynesian Triangle|a vast expanse of the south Pacific Ocean}} from 26,000 to 950 years ago apparently without naming constellations, but instead [https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/items/f617b33c-531b-41b4-b550-5aec81face2c recording the positions of stars] on {{w|Compass rose#Sidereal|sidereal compass dials}}.) The {{w|International Astronomical Union}} established the current official list of 88 constellations in 1922.

The title text is another joke regarding Dinosaur Comics, replacing "comics" with "cosmics" because we're talking about a dinosaur in the sky.

Orion is also mentioned in [[1020: Orion Nebula]]. T-Rex is also featured in [[1452: Jurassic World]].  In 2006, [[Randall]] emulated the style of Dinosaur Comics with [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]] and he lists the comic as one of those comics [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Comics_I_enjoy|he enjoys]]. Randall and Ryan North are known to be friends. And on the day Randall posted this comic, Ryan wrote the following in his "[https://web.archive.org/web/20241117023759/https://qwantz.com/ What are the haps my friends]" section beneath his own comic: November 15th, 2024: [https://xkcd.com/3012/ HEY DID YOU SEE XKCD TODAY??]

==Transcript==
:[Star map of the Orion constellation at present, everything black on white background. The majority of the twenty-three points are connected with the traditional constellation lines. As is usual, the three stars<!-- the nebula seemingly undepicted --> of "Orion's Sword" are left unconnected, and neither is Sigma Orionis, in its position very close to Alnitak on Orion's Belt. In a frame above the stars there is a label:]
:Orion Today:

:[In the next panel the same stars are drawn (except Sigma Orionis, which features in no further panels) but without the constellation lines. Three of the dots that mark the stars are drawn in grey, and from them a short red line is going to an additional red dot that marks a new star position. A fourth star has a red cross over it. There are two labels in red. From the upper label goes two long red arrows in opposite directions towards the red and grey stars and lines (two of those are close together beneath the label, one is above). A small red arrow goes from the other label to the crossed out star. The rest of the stars remain unchanged. In a frame above the stars there is a label:]
:Predicted Changes:
:Upper label: Star movement
:Lower label: Star Death (Betelgeuse)

:[Star map of the future Orion constellation, all map features black on white, with Betelgeuse now missing and the three moved stars where their red 'new' positions were in the prior panel. A set of mostly different constellation lines are drawn joining the majority of the twenty-one points (excepting the traditional Sword stars). A red label is written with a red arrow pointing to a constellation line at the top right. In a frame above the stars there is a label:]
:Orion in the future:
:Label: Suggested lines

:[In the last panel the same stars with constellation lines are drawn. It overlays an image of Dinosaur Comics T-rex, the full color habitual 'final pane' pose, but flipped left/right to match and generally encompasses the new constellation lines in a way typical of more classical artistic constellation depictions. In particular, bow and right arm of Orion (in some versions, left arm holding captured prey) now matches the dinosaur tail, whilst the raised left arm (sometimes considered the right arm, holding a club aloft) now matches the neck and dropped jaw of its head. The stars of "Orion's Sword" remain as three dots between the legs constellation/dinosaur legs, without any connection to either, or indeed any 'sword'-equivalent.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]