2550: Webb - Revision history

B for brain: /* Explanation / That sentence both is unnecessary (the comic has nothing to do with 2012) & misleading (2012 was not* predicted as the end of the world by the mayans, people just misread them running out of stone – see CGP Grey's video on the topic).

2025-01-26T12:23:24Z

‎Explanation: That sentence both is unnecessary (the comic has nothing to do with 2012) & misleading (2012 was *not* predicted as the end of the world by the mayans, people just misread them running out of stone – see CGP Grey's video on the topic).

172.69.134.92: /* Explanation */

2024-07-31T01:53:44Z

‎Explanation

172.70.85.217: /* Transcript */

2024-01-04T18:39:25Z

‎Transcript

Kynde: /* Transcript */

2024-01-04T13:48:04Z

‎Transcript

JLZ0kTC5 at 10:06, 20 November 2022

2022-11-20T10:06:02Z

Kynde at 10:05, 16 July 2022

2022-07-16T10:05:56Z

Davidy22: Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Jacky720

2022-05-21T02:56:12Z

Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Jacky720

Show changes

Explain xkcd server admin at 21:37, 20 May 2022

2022-05-20T21:37:15Z

Show changes

Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T23:48:10Z

Show changes

Ex Kay Cee Dee at 23:48, 4 May 2022

2022-05-04T23:48:06Z

Show changes

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:23, 26 January 2025
Line 16:		Line 16:

	Cueball's question could be interpreted two ways: Cueball doesn't know about JWST, so he is asking why this advent calendar ends before Christmas (and possibly fearing this calendar is similar to the one in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]]); or Cueball does know about JWST and its history of delays, so he is asking why the calendar ends on 22 when there is no certainty in that launch date (and also implying that he expects it to be delayed). [Note: two weeks after the comic was posted, the JWST was again delayed, this time to no earlier than Christmas Eve (and later finally to Christmas Day itself), making the expectation accurate. This would also make a traditional advent calendar serve equally well, were it not for the hexagon design.]		Cueball's question could be interpreted two ways: Cueball doesn't know about JWST, so he is asking why this advent calendar ends before Christmas (and possibly fearing this calendar is similar to the one in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]]); or Cueball does know about JWST and its history of delays, so he is asking why the calendar ends on 22 when there is no certainty in that launch date (and also implying that he expects it to be delayed). [Note: two weeks after the comic was posted, the JWST was again delayed, this time to no earlier than Christmas Eve (and later finally to Christmas Day itself), making the expectation accurate. This would also make a traditional advent calendar serve equally well, were it not for the hexagon design.]
−
−	~~December 22 is also the day after the northern hemisphere winter solstice. The end of the world was famously predicted for the winter solstice in [[998: 2012\|2012]].~~

	The title text references the fact that chocolates in advent calendars are often molded into different shapes, and the fact that the later numbers have a "pamphlet on managing anxiety" is probably supposed to quell the impeding fear that the launch could be delayed further or go wrong. The telescope's launch was initially planned for 2007, but due to various redesigns, financial issues, accidents, flaws, and the {{w\|COVID-19 pandemic}}, the launch date was pushed back to 2011, then 2013, 2018, 2020, May 2021, October 2021, and finally to the current launch date in December 2021. It may also allude to post-launch concerns; even if the launch goes well, there will still be nervousness about the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ihVeEoUdo\| complex 160-day process] in which the JWST reaches its intended {{w\|James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Mission\|observation point}} 930,000 miles from Earth, many subsystems are unfolded/deployed, and the instrument passes its final calibrations. There is effectively no way to rescue/repair this expensive piece of equipment should anything be amiss, unlike the {{w\|Hubble Space Telescope}}, which was visited five times by {{w\|Space Shuttles}} to remedy and enhance various features. (There exist issues with even Hubble that cannot currently be considered repairable without the Shuttles or any proven replacement, and the JWST will be located far beyond Hubble's operational orbit in a place much more difficult to get to.)		The title text references the fact that chocolates in advent calendars are often molded into different shapes, and the fact that the later numbers have a "pamphlet on managing anxiety" is probably supposed to quell the impeding fear that the launch could be delayed further or go wrong. The telescope's launch was initially planned for 2007, but due to various redesigns, financial issues, accidents, flaws, and the {{w\|COVID-19 pandemic}}, the launch date was pushed back to 2011, then 2013, 2018, 2020, May 2021, October 2021, and finally to the current launch date in December 2021. It may also allude to post-launch concerns; even if the launch goes well, there will still be nervousness about the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ihVeEoUdo\| complex 160-day process] in which the JWST reaches its intended {{w\|James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Mission\|observation point}} 930,000 miles from Earth, many subsystems are unfolded/deployed, and the instrument passes its final calibrations. There is effectively no way to rescue/repair this expensive piece of equipment should anything be amiss, unlike the {{w\|Hubble Space Telescope}}, which was visited five times by {{w\|Space Shuttles}} to remedy and enhance various features. (There exist issues with even Hubble that cannot currently be considered repairable without the Shuttles or any proven replacement, and the JWST will be located far beyond Hubble's operational orbit in a place much more difficult to get to.)

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ==Explanation==
-This comic depicts an {{w|advent calendar}} geared toward astronomers anticipating the launch of the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}.
+This comic depicts a special {{w|advent calendar}}: instead of celebrating the Christian {{w|Advent}} by counting down to {{w|Christmas|December 25th}}, it instead celebrates the launch of the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}} by counting down to December 22nd.
 At the time this comic was published, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was scheduled to be launched on the 22nd of December, 2021 (after [[2014: JWST Delays|many prior delays]]). Christmas would indeed have come early for astronomers if the launch had been successful and on time. By December 14, the launch date had been pushed back again to "no earlier than December 24", as NASA was working on resolving a communications issue between the observatory and its launch vehicle system. This was followed by another delay announced on December 21, when the launch date was pushed back to December 25, due to weather concerns. It was {{w|Ariane flight VA256|successfully launched}} from Kourou in French Guiana on December 25 at 09:20 FGT (12:20 UTC, 07:20 {{w|UTC−05:00|EST}}), as hoped for in this comic: [[2559: December 25th Launch]].

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 :Cueball: But why does it end at 22?
 :[The order of the numbers in the advent calendar are as this:]
-22  10
+     22      10
-15  19  17
+     15      19      17
-  7     13   8
+      7    [none]    13       8
-16   6  20
+     16       6      20
-  21  12
+     21      12
 :[Caption below the panel:]

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 :Cueball: The hexagons are nice.
 :Cueball: But why does it end at 22?
-:Numbers:
+:[The order of the numbers in the advent calendar are as this:]
   22  10
   15  19  17
-   7 none 13   8
+   7     13   8
   16   6  20
   21  12

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[Cueball and Ponytail are looking at an advent calendar hanging on a wall in front of them. The advent calendar is loosely tiled with 18 smaller hexagons, numbered from 5 to 22 in no clear order or pattern. They are regularly arranged into a larger hexagonal shape and of the five rows, there are three in the top and bottom ones, as also with each diagonal edge. There are four in each of the other rows, offset symmetrically, with a gap where a fifth could have been in the centre of the middle row.]
+:[Cueball and Ponytail are looking at an advent calendar hanging on a wall in front of them. The advent calendar is loosely tiled with 18 smaller hexagons, numbered from 5 to 22 in no clear order or pattern. They are regularly arranged into a larger hexagonal shape and of the five rows, there are three in the top and bottom ones, as also with each diagonal edge. There are four in each of the other rows, offset symmetrically, with a gap where a fifth could have been in the center of the middle row.]
 :Cueball: The hexagons are nice.
 :Cueball: But why does it end at 22?

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 [[Category:Calendar]]
 [[Category:Telescopes]]
 [[Category:Astronomy]]
 [[Category:Food]] <!-- chocolate title text-->

2550: Webb - Revision history

B for brain: /* Explanation */ That sentence both is unnecessary (the comic has nothing to do with 2012) & misleading (2012 was *not* predicted as the end of the world by the mayans, people just misread them running out of stone – see CGP Grey's video on the topic).

172.69.134.92: /* Explanation */

172.70.85.217: /* Transcript */

Kynde: /* Transcript */

JLZ0kTC5 at 10:06, 20 November 2022

Kynde at 10:05, 16 July 2022

Davidy22: Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Jacky720

Explain xkcd server admin at 21:37, 20 May 2022

Jacky720: rv

Ex Kay Cee Dee at 23:48, 4 May 2022

B for brain: /* Explanation / That sentence both is unnecessary (the comic has nothing to do with 2012) & misleading (2012 was not* predicted as the end of the world by the mayans, people just misread them running out of stone – see CGP Grey's video on the topic).