2707: Astronomy Numbers - Revision history

CalibansCreations: /* Explanation */

2025-08-12T17:59:30Z

‎Explanation

CalibansCreations: /* Explanation */

2025-03-13T12:11:27Z

‎Explanation

PinkAmpersand: /* Explanation / that is an* alternative explanation, yes, but a very strange one, requiring several leaps of logic

2024-04-06T02:09:15Z

‎Explanation: that is *an* alternative explanation, yes, but a very strange one, requiring several leaps of logic

PinkAmpersand: /* Explanation */ astronomers ≠ cosmologists

2024-04-06T02:08:00Z

‎Explanation: astronomers ≠ cosmologists

141.101.99.25: Revert anglicisation back to americanized version (British myself, but, the site uses those horrible Websterized words, and if I don't do it then some Leftpondian likely will do). Accepted most other changes, but also made tweaks of my own.

2024-02-13T11:45:58Z

Revert anglicisation back to americanized version (British myself, but, the site uses those horrible Websterized words, and if I don't do it then some Leftpondian likely will do). Accepted most other changes, but also made tweaks of my own.

172.70.90.220: /* Explanation */

2024-02-13T10:34:56Z

‎Explanation

172.70.85.161: /* Explanation */

2024-02-13T10:26:02Z

‎Explanation

172.69.151.96: /* Explanation */ m spelling correction Schwarzchild -> SchwarzSchild

2023-11-13T01:01:59Z

‎Explanation: m spelling correction Schwarzchild -> SchwarzSchild

172.68.134.117: I can point a laser at my sun and not get pulled in, too.

2023-11-12T10:56:41Z

I can point a laser at my sun and not get pulled in, too.

Technodoggo: /* Explanation */

2023-11-11T08:41:00Z

‎Explanation

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 The Earth's orbital velocity around the Sun is far above normal human scales (around 30 kilometers per second or 108,000 kilometers per hour). However, Earth has a fairly circular orbit around the Sun, so most of this speed ends up being tangential (sideways) rather than radial (towards or away from) the Sun, which is the value relevant for Ponytail's calculations. On January 1 (the date being discussed in the comic), Earth's radial velocity is close to its smallest value because we reach our closest point to the Sun in the first few days of January each year (in 2023, {{w|Perihelion|perihelion}} happens on January 4). Thus, by January 1, the Earth's velocity toward the Sun is nearly zero before it starts traveling away from the Sun again. This is how Ponytail ended up with the "suspiciously" small value of 65 miles per hour.
-On the other hand, by April 3, 2023, Earth will be receding from the Sun by almost 500 meters per second or 1800 kilometers per hour, which is a less normal speed for the average person to encounter in everyday life{{citation needed}}.
+On the other hand, by April 3, 2023, Earth will be receding from the Sun by almost 500 meters per second or 1800 kilometers per hour, which is a less normal speed for the average person to encounter in everyday life.{{citation needed}}
 miles per hour is approximately equal to 105 kilometers per hour, although the even more typical scientific value (in {{w|International System of Units|SI}} derived units) would be 29 meters per second.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 miles per hour is approximately equal to 105 kilometers per hour, although the even more typical scientific value (in {{w|International System of Units|SI}} derived units) would be 29 meters per second.
-The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w|Schwarzschild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometers, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself, if it is neither very far away nor in orbit.
+The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w|Schwarzschild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometers, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself, if it is neither very far away nor in orbit. And also the one holding the laser pointer, their house, and pretty much everything else on Earth.
 ==Transcript==

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:09, 6 April 2024
Line 26:		Line 26:

	The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer\|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w\|Schwarzschild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometers, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself, if it is neither very far away nor in orbit.		The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer\|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w\|Schwarzschild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometers, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself, if it is neither very far away nor in orbit.
−
−	An alternative explanation to the title text is that such a large cat would be incredibly alarming and would draw attention from law enforcement agencies, who would aim their guns (and consequently laser pointers) at the cat.

	==Transcript==		==Transcript==

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 [[Ponytail]], apparently a scientist researching something related to Earth's orbit, finds that on a particular date, Earth will be approaching the sun at a velocity of 65 miles per hour. To American ears, this is a very normal sounding value (i.e. the speed of a fast-moving vehicle, often used as a speed limit on highways in the US). As Ponytail is accustomed to astronomical values, she is thrown off by this, and remarks that she finds it "suspicious" when reasonably human-scaled numbers come up in astronomy.
-However, Ponytail seems to take this philosophy to an absurd degree by insisting that ''all'' scales should be as incomprehensible as astronomical ones, even those used for human-scale measurements, such as the weight of cats. In the third panel, the vet, [[Megan]], is seemingly used to this problem (perhaps she gets a lot of astronomers, or Ponytail has a hypochondriac cat), so she restates the 12-lb weight of Ponytail's cat in solar masses. Since using this unit yields an ''incredibly'' small number, 3×10<sup>-30</sup> (a three preceded by a decimal point and 29 zeroes), it satisfies Ponytail's need for incomprehensibly-scaled values. This weight is in fact about 13 lb 2 oz (about 5.5 kilograms), slightly heavier than the initial figure given for the cat, but within [[2585: Rounding|rounding error]] for the single digit of precision that Megan uses. According to [[2205:_Types_of_Approximation | 2205: Types of Approximation]] that rounding error is unusually small for an astronomer, though.
+However, Ponytail seems to take this philosophy to an absurd degree by insisting that ''all'' scales should be as incomprehensible as astronomical ones, even those used for human-scale measurements, such as the weight of cats. In the third panel, the vet, [[Megan]], is seemingly used to this problem (perhaps she gets a lot of astronomers, or Ponytail has a hypochondriac cat), so she restates the 12-lb weight of Ponytail's cat in solar masses. Since using this unit yields an ''incredibly'' small number, 3×10<sup>-30</sup> (a three preceded by a decimal point and 29 zeroes), it satisfies Ponytail's need for incomprehensibly-scaled values. This weight is in fact about 13 lb 2 oz (about 5.5 kilograms), slightly heavier than the initial figure given for the cat, but within [[2585: Rounding|rounding error]] for the single digit of precision that Megan uses.
 The Earth's orbital velocity around the Sun is far above normal human scales (around 30 kilometers per second or 108,000 kilometers per hour). However, Earth has a fairly circular orbit around the Sun, so most of this speed ends up being tangential (sideways) rather than radial (towards or away from) the Sun, which is the value relevant for Ponytail's calculations. On January 1 (the date being discussed in the comic), Earth's radial velocity is close to its smallest value because we reach our closest point to the Sun in the first few days of January each year (in 2023, {{w|Perihelion|perihelion}} happens on January 4). Thus, by January 1, the Earth's velocity toward the Sun is nearly zero before it starts traveling away from the Sun again. This is how Ponytail ended up with the "suspiciously" small value of 65 miles per hour.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ==Explanation==
-Space [https://neal.fun/size-of-space/ is big] {{citation needed}}, to the point that it regularly defies our earthly notions of scale. As a result, most quantities in astronomy have huge scales beyond anything that humans regularly experience or measure. (In fact, the word "astronomical" is sometimes used colloquially to describe any extremely large quantity).
+Space [https://neal.fun/size-of-space/ is big], to the point that it regularly defies our earthly notions of scale. As a result, most quantities in astronomy have huge scales beyond anything that humans regularly experience or measure. (In fact, the word "astronomical" is sometimes used colloquially to describe any extremely large quantity).
 For example, Earth has a mass 10<sup>23</sup> times more than the average human, and the Sun is 10<sup>5</sup> times more than that, which itself is 10<sup>12</sup> times less massive than the Milky Way. The same applies to speeds, distances, and time, which can often be measured in terms of light speed, light-years, and millions or billions of years. Because of this, it's a truly unusual occurrence for anything in space to end up in the fairly narrow range of scales of mass, size, speed, or time that humans can easily grasp.
-[[Ponytail]], a scientist researching something related to Earth's orbit, finds that on a particular date, Earth will be approaching the sun at a velocity of 65 miles per hour. To American ears, this is a very normal sounding value speed of a fast-moving vehicle, often used as a speed limit on highways in the US. As Ponytail is accustomed to astronomical values, she is thrown off by this and remarks that she finds it "suspicious" when reasonably human-scaled numbers come up in astronomy.
+[[Ponytail]], apparently a scientist researching something related to Earth's orbit, finds that on a particular date, Earth will be approaching the sun at a velocity of 65 miles per hour. To American ears, this is a very normal sounding value (i.e. the speed of a fast-moving vehicle, often used as a speed limit on highways in the US). As Ponytail is accustomed to astronomical values, she is thrown off by this, and remarks that she finds it "suspicious" when reasonably human-scaled numbers come up in astronomy.
-However, Ponytail seems to take this philosophy to an absurd degree by insisting that ''all'' scales should be as incomprehensible as astronomical ones, even those used for human-scale measurements, such as the weight of cats. In the third panel, the vet, [[Megan]], is seemingly used to this problem (perhaps she gets a lot of astronomers, or Ponytail has a hypochondriac cat), so she restates the 12-lb weight of Ponytail's cat in solar masses. Since using this unit yields an ''incredibly'' small number, 3×10<sup>-30</sup> (a three preceded by a decimal point and 29 zeroes), it satisfies Ponytail's need for incomprehensibly scaled values. This weight is in fact about 13 lb 2 oz (about 5.5 kilograms), slightly heavier than the initial figure given for the cat, but within [[2585: Rounding|rounding error]] for the single digit of precision that Megan uses. According to [[2205:_Types_of_Approximation | 2205: Types of Approximation]] that rounding error is unusually small for an astronomer, though.
+However, Ponytail seems to take this philosophy to an absurd degree by insisting that ''all'' scales should be as incomprehensible as astronomical ones, even those used for human-scale measurements, such as the weight of cats. In the third panel, the vet, [[Megan]], is seemingly used to this problem (perhaps she gets a lot of astronomers, or Ponytail has a hypochondriac cat), so she restates the 12-lb weight of Ponytail's cat in solar masses. Since using this unit yields an ''incredibly'' small number, 3×10<sup>-30</sup> (a three preceded by a decimal point and 29 zeroes), it satisfies Ponytail's need for incomprehensibly-scaled values. This weight is in fact about 13 lb 2 oz (about 5.5 kilograms), slightly heavier than the initial figure given for the cat, but within [[2585: Rounding|rounding error]] for the single digit of precision that Megan uses. According to [[2205:_Types_of_Approximation | 2205: Types of Approximation]] that rounding error is unusually small for an astronomer, though.
-The Earth's orbital velocity around the Sun is far above any normal human scale (around 30 kilometres per second or 108,000 kilometres per hour). However, Earth has a fairly circular orbit around the Sun, so most of this speed ends up being tangential (sideways) rather than radial (towards or away from) the Sun, which is the value relevant for Ponytail's calculations. On January 1 (the date being discussed in the comic), Earth's radial velocity is close to its smallest value because we reach our closest point to the Sun in the first few days of January each year (in 2023, {{w|Perihelion|perihelion}} happens on January 4). Thus, by January 1, the Earth's velocity toward the Sun is nearly zero before it starts travelling away from the Sun again. This is how Ponytail ended up with the "suspiciously" small value of 65 miles per hour.
+The Earth's orbital velocity around the Sun is far above normal human scales (around 30 kilometers per second or 108,000 kilometers per hour). However, Earth has a fairly circular orbit around the Sun, so most of this speed ends up being tangential (sideways) rather than radial (towards or away from) the Sun, which is the value relevant for Ponytail's calculations. On January 1 (the date being discussed in the comic), Earth's radial velocity is close to its smallest value because we reach our closest point to the Sun in the first few days of January each year (in 2023, {{w|Perihelion|perihelion}} happens on January 4). Thus, by January 1, the Earth's velocity toward the Sun is nearly zero before it starts traveling away from the Sun again. This is how Ponytail ended up with the "suspiciously" small value of 65 miles per hour.
-On the other hand, by April 3, 2023, Earth will be receding from the Sun by almost 500 meters per second or 1800 kilometres per hour, which is a less normal speed for the average person to encounter in everyday life{{citation needed}}.
+On the other hand, by April 3, 2023, Earth will be receding from the Sun by almost 500 meters per second or 1800 kilometers per hour, which is a less normal speed for the average person to encounter in everyday life{{citation needed}}.
-miles per hour is approximately equal to 105 kilometres per hour, although the even more typical scientific value (in {{w|International System of Units|SI}} derived units) would be 29 meters per second.
+miles per hour is approximately equal to 105 kilometers per hour, although the even more typical scientific value (in {{w|International System of Units|SI}} derived units) would be 29 meters per second.
-The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behaviour of [[729: Laser Pointer|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w|Schwarzschild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometres, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself if it is neither very far away nor in orbit.
+The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w|Schwarzschild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometers, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself, if it is neither very far away nor in orbit.
 An alternative explanation to the title text is that such a large cat would be incredibly alarming and would draw attention from law enforcement agencies, who would aim their guns (and consequently laser pointers) at the cat.

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:41, 11 November 2023
Line 26:		Line 26:

	The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer\|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w\|Schwarzchild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometers, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself.		The title text makes a joke by reversing the typical cat behavior of [[729: Laser Pointer\|chasing laser pointer dots]] by envisioning a cat with a mass equivalent to 12 solar masses. The {{w\|Schwarzchild radius}} for an object of that mass would be around 36 kilometers, so a cat-sized object of that mass would be a black hole, and would therefore bend all nearby light (including that from the laser) inwards towards its singularity. But then it should also draw in the physical laser pointer device itself.
		+
		+	An alternative explanation to the title text is that such a large cat would be incredibly alarming and would draw attention from law enforcement agencies, who would aim their guns (and consequently laser pointers) at the cat.

	==Transcript==		==Transcript==

2707: Astronomy Numbers - Revision history

CalibansCreations: /* Explanation */

CalibansCreations: /* Explanation */

PinkAmpersand: /* Explanation */ that is *an* alternative explanation, yes, but a very strange one, requiring several leaps of logic

PinkAmpersand: /* Explanation */ astronomers ≠ cosmologists

141.101.99.25: Revert anglicisation back to americanized version (British myself, but, the site uses those horrible Websterized words, and if I don't do it then some Leftpondian likely will do). Accepted most other changes, but also made tweaks of my own.

172.70.90.220: /* Explanation */

172.70.85.161: /* Explanation */

172.69.151.96: /* Explanation */ m spelling correction Schwarzchild -> SchwarzSchild

172.68.134.117: I can point a laser at my sun and not get pulled in, too.

Technodoggo: /* Explanation */

PinkAmpersand: /* Explanation / that is an* alternative explanation, yes, but a very strange one, requiring several leaps of logic