2971: Celestial Event - Revision history

Natg19: /* Transcript */ aurora

2026-01-23T20:14:13Z

‎Transcript: aurora

Mathmaster at 23:34, 29 August 2025

2025-08-29T23:34:26Z

172.69.94.66: /* Explanation */

2024-08-30T15:53:11Z

‎Explanation

172.68.110.189: /* Explanation */

2024-08-21T17:06:30Z

‎Explanation

172.70.160.248: The panel does not cover the screen, and this accurately describes the words less than reading the literal transcripted wording does.

2024-08-21T10:20:32Z

The panel does *not* cover the screen, and this accurately describes the words less than reading the literal transcripted wording does.

I HAVE NO NAME at 04:30, 21 August 2024

2024-08-21T04:30:55Z

I HAVE NO NAME at 04:25, 21 August 2024

2024-08-21T04:25:02Z

108.162.245.47: /* Explanation */ unnecessary hyphen

2024-08-15T20:58:15Z

‎Explanation: unnecessary hyphen

172.70.211.83: /* Explanation */ match order

2024-08-15T18:39:26Z

‎Explanation: match order

162.158.42.82: /* Explanation */ s/data/computations

2024-08-15T09:08:47Z

‎Explanation: s/data/computations

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:14, 23 January 2026
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	[[Category:Time]]		[[Category:Time]]
	[[Category:Animals]]		[[Category:Animals]]
		+	[[Category:Aurora]]

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 ==Transcript==
-{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
+[big panel]
 :<u>Approximate frequency in my area</u>
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 :17-year cicada emergence: 2 months every 17 years
+[below there is an equation]
 opening bracket

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:53, 30 August 2024
Line 10:		Line 10:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	~~{{incomplete\|Created by a CURSED SHOP THAT APPEARS EVERY FOUR POINT THREE BILLION YEARS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}~~
−
	This comic highlights the extreme rarity of witnessing multiple special events—{{w\|aurora}}s, {{w\|Great_Comet\|great comets}}, {{w\|Solar_eclipse#Total_eclipse\|total solar eclipses}}, and {{w\|Periodical cicadas\|17-year cicada emergences}}—all occurring simultaneously in the same location. It calculates that such an event would happen only once every 4.3 billion years, a time span comparable to the age of the Earth. The comic was posted shortly after some people reported seeing auroras in conjunction with the {{w\|Perseids meteor shower}}.[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-2024-perseid-meteor-shower-and-northern-lights-overlapped-in-a-rare-cosmic-display-see-photos-of-the-dazzling-event/ar-AA1oJKKC] [[Randall]] also includes a 50% chance of clear skies, which further reduces the odds of witnessing all events together. The comic exaggerates the difficulty of this happening, emphasizing that these conditions align less often than Earth's lifespan, suggesting such a celestial spectacle might only occur once before Earth becomes uninhabitable.		This comic highlights the extreme rarity of witnessing multiple special events—{{w\|aurora}}s, {{w\|Great_Comet\|great comets}}, {{w\|Solar_eclipse#Total_eclipse\|total solar eclipses}}, and {{w\|Periodical cicadas\|17-year cicada emergences}}—all occurring simultaneously in the same location. It calculates that such an event would happen only once every 4.3 billion years, a time span comparable to the age of the Earth. The comic was posted shortly after some people reported seeing auroras in conjunction with the {{w\|Perseids meteor shower}}.[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-2024-perseid-meteor-shower-and-northern-lights-overlapped-in-a-rare-cosmic-display-see-photos-of-the-dazzling-event/ar-AA1oJKKC] [[Randall]] also includes a 50% chance of clear skies, which further reduces the odds of witnessing all events together. The comic exaggerates the difficulty of this happening, emphasizing that these conditions align less often than Earth's lifespan, suggesting such a celestial spectacle might only occur once before Earth becomes uninhabitable.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 This comic highlights the extreme rarity of witnessing multiple special events—{{w|aurora}}s, {{w|Great_Comet|great comets}}, {{w|Solar_eclipse#Total_eclipse|total solar eclipses}}, and {{w|Periodical cicadas|17-year cicada emergences}}—all occurring simultaneously in the same location. It calculates that such an event would happen only once every 4.3 billion years, a time span comparable to the age of the Earth. The comic was posted shortly after some people reported seeing auroras in conjunction with the {{w|Perseids meteor shower}}.[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-2024-perseid-meteor-shower-and-northern-lights-overlapped-in-a-rare-cosmic-display-see-photos-of-the-dazzling-event/ar-AA1oJKKC] [[Randall]] also includes a 50% chance of clear skies, which further reduces the odds of witnessing all events together. The comic exaggerates the difficulty of this happening, emphasizing that these conditions align less often than Earth's lifespan, suggesting such a celestial spectacle might only occur once before Earth becomes uninhabitable.
-The calculation assumes that these events occur independently and that their probabilities remain constant over time, leading to the improbable result. However, this is a simplification, as factors like orbital mechanics and atmospheric conditions are not entirely random, whereas others, such as the amount of cloud cover and the existence of cicadas, may change unpredictably over time. Randall estimates that total solar eclipses occur once every 350 years at a given location, a value close to the 320 year interval for his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, based on [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-index.html NASA's computations.]
+The calculation assumes that these events occur independently and that their probabilities remain constant over time, leading to the improbable result. However, this is a simplification, as factors like orbital mechanics and atmospheric conditions are not entirely random, whereas others, such as the amount of cloud cover and the existence of cicadas, may change unpredictably over time. Randall estimates that total solar eclipses occur once every 350 years at a given location, a value close to the 320 year interval for his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, based on [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-index.html NASA's computations.] Another problem is that the lunar orbit is slowly expanding, and thus total solar eclipses will cease to be possible at some point in the future.
 The title text humorously suggests using 13-year cicadas instead of 17-year ones to improve the odds, reducing the interval to 3.29 billion years. This idea, along with the possibility of weather manipulation, reflects Randall's satirical take on humanity's desire to control or predict natural phenomena, even when the timescales involved are beyond human comprehension. Earth's oceans may evaporate in about a billion years [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131216142310.htm], adding a layer of urgency and humor to the idea of witnessing this "super-event" before life on Earth ceases to exist.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
 :<u>Approximate frequency in my area</u>
 :Active northern lights: 20 days per solar cycle

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 :<u>Approximate frequency in my area</u>
-[ panel covers screen. the panel says: Approximate frequency in my area]
+[the panel covers the screen. This panel says: Approximate frequency in my area, and under it is the frequency of how often each event happens.]
 :Active northern lights: 20 days per solar cycle

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 {{incomplete|Created by a CURSED SHOP THAT APPEARS EVERY FOUR POINT THREE BILLION YEARS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
-This comic highlights the extreme rarity of witnessing multiple special events—{{w|aurora}}s, {{w|Solar_eclipse#Total_eclipse|total solar eclipses}}, {{w|Great_Comet|great comets}}, and {{w|Periodical cicadas|17-year cicada emergences}}—all occurring simultaneously in the same location. It calculates that such an event would happen only once every 4.3 billion years, a time span comparable to the age of the Earth. The comic was posted shortly after some people reported seeing auroras in conjunction with the {{w|Perseids meteor shower}}.[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-2024-perseid-meteor-shower-and-northern-lights-overlapped-in-a-rare-cosmic-display-see-photos-of-the-dazzling-event/ar-AA1oJKKC] [[Randall]] also includes a 50% chance of clear skies, which further reduces the odds of witnessing all events together. The comic exaggerates the difficulty of this happening, emphasizing that these conditions align less often than Earth's lifespan, suggesting such a celestial spectacle might only occur once before Earth becomes uninhabitable.
+This comic highlights the extreme rarity of witnessing multiple special events—{{w|aurora}}s, {{w|Great_Comet|great comets}}, {{w|Solar_eclipse#Total_eclipse|total solar eclipses}}, and {{w|Periodical cicadas|17-year cicada emergences}}—all occurring simultaneously in the same location. It calculates that such an event would happen only once every 4.3 billion years, a time span comparable to the age of the Earth. The comic was posted shortly after some people reported seeing auroras in conjunction with the {{w|Perseids meteor shower}}.[https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-2024-perseid-meteor-shower-and-northern-lights-overlapped-in-a-rare-cosmic-display-see-photos-of-the-dazzling-event/ar-AA1oJKKC] [[Randall]] also includes a 50% chance of clear skies, which further reduces the odds of witnessing all events together. The comic exaggerates the difficulty of this happening, emphasizing that these conditions align less often than Earth's lifespan, suggesting such a celestial spectacle might only occur once before Earth becomes uninhabitable.
 The calculation assumes that these events occur independently and that their probabilities remain constant over time, leading to the improbable result. However, this is a simplification, as factors like orbital mechanics and atmospheric conditions are not entirely random, whereas others, such as the amount of cloud cover and the existence of cicadas, may change unpredictably over time. Randall estimates that total solar eclipses occur once every 350 years at a given location, a value close to the 320-year interval for his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, based on [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-index.html NASA's computations.]