1246: Pale Blue Dot - Revision history

81.179.199.253: /* Explanation */ punc

2026-02-26T20:01:16Z

‎Explanation: punc

DKMell: minor fixes

2026-02-26T19:44:55Z

minor fixes

42.book.addict at 16:49, 4 November 2024

2024-11-04T16:49:27Z

CalibansCreations at 07:14, 24 October 2024

2024-10-24T07:14:48Z

172.70.111.23: /* Explanation */

2024-03-15T16:15:29Z

‎Explanation

198.41.242.184: a typo & an incomplete sentence

2024-03-15T05:23:37Z

a typo & an incomplete sentence

172.69.43.220: /* Explanation */

2024-03-14T03:59:34Z

‎Explanation

172.64.236.29 at 10:22, 6 February 2023

2023-02-06T10:22:37Z

172.70.174.69: /* Explanation */

2022-11-08T17:52:44Z

‎Explanation

172.70.91.128: /* Transcript */ The most logical reason for a stuck-pixel (one might argue over whether it was a slide-projector/OHP, given the original era, but the stuck pixel could have been present in the method of transfering data to the transparent film).

2022-08-17T10:40:01Z

‎Transcript: The most logical reason for a stuck-pixel (one might argue over whether it was a slide-projector/OHP, given the original era, but the stuck pixel could have been present in the method of transfering data to the transparent film).

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 The title text evokes {{w|Cosmicism}}, a philosophy developed and exemplified by the fictional {{w|Cthulhu Mythos}}. This Mythos is expounded in fantasy/horror works of H.P. Lovecraft and, later, August Derleth, and features a cosmology in which humanity is depicted as inconsequential within a greater existence that is unknowable and frightening. Cosmicism asserts that humanity is doomed to death and destruction through the workings of vastly more powerful supernatural forces far beyond our understanding. There are many instances in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft of factions that embrace the destruction of humanity and actively work towards bringing about that end through the invocation of the unknowable and powerful forces that supporters of Cosmicism believe surround everything.
-The text also references {{w|Ba'al}}, originally a Semitic deity that members of other religions have since associated with demonic or otherwise evil forces. The name Ba'al, and other variants of the same, has been included in many other fictional works, often as a villain or antagonist – for example, the fictional System Lord {{w|Ba'al (Stargate)#Ba.27al|Ba'al}} from the television show {{w|Stargate}}. The title text uses Ba'al to supplant all of the supernatural forces associated with Cosmicism in the works of other authors. Cueball, who continues his discourse in the title text, may be acting as a Cosmicist and is calling on a Congress, to which he is speaking, to fund the space exploration program as a means to join with Ba'al, the Eater of Souls. The fact that a Ba'al cultist would be speaking in front of a government body in such a manner is comically absurd{{Citation needed}}.
+The text also references {{w|Ba'al}}, originally a Semitic deity that members of other religions have since associated with demonic or otherwise evil forces. The name Ba'al, and other variants of the same, has been included in many other fictional works, often as a villain or antagonist – for example, the fictional System Lord {{w|Ba'al (Stargate)#Ba.27al|Ba'al}} from the television show {{w|Stargate}}. The title text uses Ba'al to supplant all of the supernatural forces associated with Cosmicism in the works of other authors. Cueball, who continues his discourse in the title text, may be acting as a Cosmicist and is calling on a Congress, to which he is speaking, to fund the space exploration program as a means to join with Ba'al, the Eater of Souls. The fact that a Ba'al cultist would be speaking in front of a government body in such a manner is comically absurd.{{Citation needed}}
 Ba'al, the Eater of Souls (sometimes as Ba'al the soul eater) has been mentioned later in [[1419: On the Phone]] and [[1638: Backslashes]].

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
 [[File:Pale Blue Dot.png|thumb|right|Earth is the "pale blue dot" halfway up the rightmost color band.]]
-The {{w|Pale Blue Dot}} is a picture of the Earth taken in the year 1990 by the {{w|Voyager 1}} space probe at a distance about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles). It was part of the {{w|Family Portrait (Voyager)|Family Portrait}}, a series of images of the entire {{w|Solar System}} from beyond it.
+The {{w|Pale Blue Dot}} is a picture of the Earth taken in the year 1990 by the {{w|Voyager 1}} space probe at a distance about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles, or 40 times the {{w|astronomical unit|Earth-Sun distance}}). It was part of the {{w|Family Portrait (Voyager)|Family Portrait}}, a series of images of the entire {{w|Solar System}} from beyond it.
 The picture was taken at the request of {{w|Carl Sagan}}, a well known space scientist at that time. In 1994 Sagan wrote the book "{{w|Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space}}" inspired by this picture. In the book, Sagan waxed eloquent about the picture in a widely quoted passage. The complete passage can be found in [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Pale_Blue_Dot:_A_Vision_of_the_Human_Future_in_Space_.281994.29 Wikiquote], and you can hear Carl Sagan himself reciting it in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g this YouTube video].
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 [[Cueball]] quotes from a condensed version of this passage until he is interrupted by several {{w|heckler}}s who begin  an argument over which speck in the picture is actually the Earth. Then, when Cueball cries out in exasperation that it doesn't matter, one heckler takes it the wrong way and points out that he just said that the picture doesn't matter. This pokes fun at the fact that the Pale Blue Dot picture has very little to no visual attractiveness, apart from the intellectual interest relying on the viewer's knowledge that the central speck is actually our home planet, Earth, seen from a very great distance.
-Another Heckler says that the photo is a "lens cap". This is a reference to the missions where the lens cap was not removed and the resulting photos were black.
+Another heckler says that the photo is a "lens cap". This is a reference to {{w|Venera#Venera_9_to_12|space missions where lens cap(s) failed to release}} and the resulting photos were black.
 The first two sentences of the title text are also a quotation from Sagan's paean to the Pale Blue Dot picture, but then the text veers humorously into non-scientific mysticism that starkly contrasts with the attitude and intent of the original work.
-The title text evokes {{w|Cosmicism}}, a philosophy developed and exemplified by the fictional {{w|Cthulhu Mythos}}. This Mythos is expounded in fantasy/horror works of H.P. Lovecraft and, later, August Derleth, and features a cosmology in which humanity is depicted as inconsequential within a greater existence that is unknowable and frightening. Cosmicism asserts that humanity is doomed to death and destruction through the workings of vastly more powerful supernatural forces way beyond our understanding. There are many instances in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft of factions that embrace the destruction of humanity and actively work towards bringing about that end through the invocation of the unknowable and powerful forces that supporters of Cosmicism believe surround everything.
+The title text evokes {{w|Cosmicism}}, a philosophy developed and exemplified by the fictional {{w|Cthulhu Mythos}}. This Mythos is expounded in fantasy/horror works of H.P. Lovecraft and, later, August Derleth, and features a cosmology in which humanity is depicted as inconsequential within a greater existence that is unknowable and frightening. Cosmicism asserts that humanity is doomed to death and destruction through the workings of vastly more powerful supernatural forces far beyond our understanding. There are many instances in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft of factions that embrace the destruction of humanity and actively work towards bringing about that end through the invocation of the unknowable and powerful forces that supporters of Cosmicism believe surround everything.
-The text also references {{w|Ba'al}}, originally a Semitic deity that members of other religions have since associated with demonic or otherwise evil forces. The name Ba'al, and other variants of the same, has been included in many other fictional works often as a villain or antagonist – for example, the fictional System Lord {{w|Ba'al (Stargate)#Ba.27al|Ba'al}} from the television show {{w|Stargate}}. The title text supplants all of the supernatural forces associated with Cosmicism in the works of other authors with Ba'al. Cueball, who continues his discourse in the title text, may be acting as a Cosmicist and is calling on a Congress, to which he is speaking, to fund the space exploration program as a means to join with Ba'al, the Eater of Souls. The fact that a Ba'al cultist would be speaking in front of a government body in such a manner is absurd{{Citation needed}} and thus hilarious.
+The text also references {{w|Ba'al}}, originally a Semitic deity that members of other religions have since associated with demonic or otherwise evil forces. The name Ba'al, and other variants of the same, has been included in many other fictional works, often as a villain or antagonist – for example, the fictional System Lord {{w|Ba'al (Stargate)#Ba.27al|Ba'al}} from the television show {{w|Stargate}}. The title text uses Ba'al to supplant all of the supernatural forces associated with Cosmicism in the works of other authors. Cueball, who continues his discourse in the title text, may be acting as a Cosmicist and is calling on a Congress, to which he is speaking, to fund the space exploration program as a means to join with Ba'al, the Eater of Souls. The fact that a Ba'al cultist would be speaking in front of a government body in such a manner is comically absurd{{Citation needed}}.
 Ba'al, the Eater of Souls (sometimes as Ba'al the soul eater) has been mentioned later in [[1419: On the Phone]] and [[1638: Backslashes]].

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 [[Category:Astronomy]]
 [[Category:Space probes]]
 [[Category:Ba'al, the Soul Eater]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:14, 24 October 2024
Line 46:		Line 46:
	[[Category:Astronomy]]		[[Category:Astronomy]]
	[[Category:Space probes]]		[[Category:Space probes]]
		+	[[Category:Ba'al, the Soul Eater]]

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 The title text evokes {{w|Cosmicism}}, a philosophy developed and exemplified by the fictional {{w|Cthulhu Mythos}}. This Mythos is expounded in fantasy/horror works of H.P. Lovecraft and, later, August Derleth, and features a cosmology in which humanity is depicted as inconsequential within a greater existence that is unknowable and frightening. Cosmicism asserts that humanity is doomed to death and destruction through the workings of vastly more powerful supernatural forces way beyond our understanding. There are many instances in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft of factions that embrace the destruction of humanity and actively work towards bringing about that end through the invocation of the unknowable and powerful forces that supporters of Cosmicism believe surround everything.
-The text also references {{w|Ba'al}}, originally a Semitic deity that has been since associated with demonic or otherwise evil forces. The name Ba'al, and other variants of the same, has been included in many other fictional works often as a villain or antagonist – for example, the fictional System Lord {{w|Ba'al (Stargate)#Ba.27al|Ba'al}} from the television show {{w|Stargate}}. The title text supplants all of the supernatural forces associated with Cosmicism in the works of other authors with Ba'al. Cueball, who continues his discourse in the title text, may be acting as a Cosmicist and is calling on a Congress, to which he is speaking, to fund the space exploration program as a means to join with Ba'al, the Eater of Souls. The fact that a Ba'al cultist would be speaking in front of a government body in such a manner is absurd{{Citation needed}} and thus hilarious.
+The text also references {{w|Ba'al}}, originally a Semitic deity that members of other religions have since associated with demonic or otherwise evil forces. The name Ba'al, and other variants of the same, has been included in many other fictional works often as a villain or antagonist – for example, the fictional System Lord {{w|Ba'al (Stargate)#Ba.27al|Ba'al}} from the television show {{w|Stargate}}. The title text supplants all of the supernatural forces associated with Cosmicism in the works of other authors with Ba'al. Cueball, who continues his discourse in the title text, may be acting as a Cosmicist and is calling on a Congress, to which he is speaking, to fund the space exploration program as a means to join with Ba'al, the Eater of Souls. The fact that a Ba'al cultist would be speaking in front of a government body in such a manner is absurd{{Citation needed}} and thus hilarious.
 Ba'al, the Eater of Souls (sometimes as Ba'al the soul eater) has been mentioned later in [[1419: On the Phone]] and [[1638: Backslashes]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:59, 14 March 2024
Line 23:		Line 23:

	Ba'al, the Eater of Souls (sometimes as Ba'al the soul eater) has been mentioned later in [[1419: On the Phone]] and [[1638: Backslashes]].		Ba'al, the Eater of Souls (sometimes as Ba'al the soul eater) has been mentioned later in [[1419: On the Phone]] and [[1638: Backslashes]].
		+
		+	The actual Carl Sagan (or perhaps a hapless namesake) was later seen reciting the words in [[2906: Earth]]. In that case he seems to be mostly uninterupted, though his audience may have just run out of objections and recriminations by the time he resorts to the rhetorical flourish.

	==Transcript==		==Transcript==

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:22, 6 February 2023
Line 13:		Line 13:

	[[Cueball]] quotes from a condensed version of this passage until he is interrupted by several {{w\|heckler}}s who begin an argument over which speck in the picture is actually the Earth. Then, when Cueball cries out in exasperation that it doesn't matter, one heckler takes it the wrong way and points out that he just said that the picture doesn't matter. This pokes fun at the fact that the Pale Blue Dot picture has very little to no visual attractiveness, apart from the intellectual interest relying on the viewer's knowledge that the central speck is actually our home planet, Earth, seen from a very great distance.		[[Cueball]] quotes from a condensed version of this passage until he is interrupted by several {{w\|heckler}}s who begin an argument over which speck in the picture is actually the Earth. Then, when Cueball cries out in exasperation that it doesn't matter, one heckler takes it the wrong way and points out that he just said that the picture doesn't matter. This pokes fun at the fact that the Pale Blue Dot picture has very little to no visual attractiveness, apart from the intellectual interest relying on the viewer's knowledge that the central speck is actually our home planet, Earth, seen from a very great distance.
		+
		+	Another Heckler says that the photo is a "lens cap". This is a reference to the missions where the lens cap was not removed and the resulting photos were black.

	The first two sentences of the title text are also a quotation from Sagan's paean to the Pale Blue Dot picture, but then the text veers humorously into non-scientific mysticism that starkly contrasts with the attitude and intent of the original work.		The first two sentences of the title text are also a quotation from Sagan's paean to the Pale Blue Dot picture, but then the text veers humorously into non-scientific mysticism that starkly contrasts with the attitude and intent of the original work.

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[Cueball stands in front of a large gray picture of the ''Pale Blue Dot''. (There is no evidence that there is any blue in this comic). He holds up a stick with one hand towards it. He is interrupted by several hecklers from off-panel.]
+:[Cueball stands in front of a pull-down projection screen, upon which is displayed a large gray picture of the ''Pale Blue Dot''. (There is no evidence that there is any blue in this comic). He holds up a stick with one hand towards it. He is interrupted by several hecklers from off-panel.]
 :Cueball: Consider this Pale Blue Dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. Everyone you love, every human being who ever was, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived out their lives on this mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. All our-
 :Heckler 1 (off panel): I think that's a stuck pixel. We're the speck on the left.