Difference between revisions of "3012: The Future of Orion"

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Stars in the night sky change over time. Some, like {{w|Betelgeuse}}, a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}, is expected to go {{w|supernova}} between tens of[https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/] and a thousand[https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday/] years, and then disappear from the night sky. And all stars are moving relative to us and each other. This results in apparent movement in our sky, called {{w|proper motion}}, a function of a star's relative movement in three dimensions and its distance from us.
 
Stars in the night sky change over time. Some, like {{w|Betelgeuse}}, a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}, is expected to go {{w|supernova}} between tens of[https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/] and a thousand[https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday/] years, and then disappear from the night sky. And all stars are moving relative to us and each other. This results in apparent movement in our 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 at least creating a new {{w|Asterism (astronomy)|asterism}}, from one which depicts a hunter to another matching the {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]. 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 0.2 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse the depicted angular distance of 0.84 arc 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 distance traversed by the stars was calculated relative to the distance between Orion's two outermost belt stars, {{w|Alnitak}} and {{w|Mintaka}}, which are shown becoming 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.
+
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 the {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]. 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 0.2 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse the depicted angular distance of 0.84 arc 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 distance traversed by the stars was calculated relative to the distance between Orion's two outermost belt stars, {{w|Alnitak}} and {{w|Mintaka}}, which are shown becoming 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 no official constellations currently depicting dinosaurs. The process of recognizing constellations started around 3000 BC for the northern hemisphere, continued with the investigations like those of {{w|Ptolemy}} (in the 2nd century AD) who used Greek mythology for visible 'southern' constellations and was more or less set in stone after voyages to the southern hemisphere by European navigators, like {{w|Johann Bayer}}, in the early 17th century. The first fossil to be later identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676, and the term "dinosaur" was not introduced until 1842 to describe them. As the {{w|International Astronomical Union}} did not establish the current official list of constellations until 1922, though, they could have recognized a dinosaur constellation had one been proposed and widely accepted. There is, however, a constellation of another large, fearsome reptile, albeit mythological -- a {{w|Draco (constellation)|dragon}} (one of Ptolemy's) -- and {{w|Lacerta}} ("the lizard") was defined in 1687.  
 
There are no official constellations currently depicting dinosaurs. The process of recognizing constellations started around 3000 BC for the northern hemisphere, continued with the investigations like those of {{w|Ptolemy}} (in the 2nd century AD) who used Greek mythology for visible 'southern' constellations and was more or less set in stone after voyages to the southern hemisphere by European navigators, like {{w|Johann Bayer}}, in the early 17th century. The first fossil to be later identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676, and the term "dinosaur" was not introduced until 1842 to describe them. As the {{w|International Astronomical Union}} did not establish the current official list of constellations until 1922, though, they could have recognized a dinosaur constellation had one been proposed and widely accepted. There is, however, a constellation of another large, fearsome reptile, albeit mythological -- a {{w|Draco (constellation)|dragon}} (one of Ptolemy's) -- and {{w|Lacerta}} ("the lizard") was defined in 1687.  

Revision as of 08:51, 17 November 2024

The Future of Orion
Dinosaur Cosmics
Title text: Dinosaur Cosmics

    Explanation

    Ambox warning blue construction.svg This is one of 52 incomplete explanations:
    Created by a TYRANNOSTARUS REX - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

    Stars in the night sky change over time. Some, like Betelgeuse, a star in the constellation Orion, is expected to go supernova between tens of[1] and a thousand[2] years, and then disappear from the night sky. And all stars are moving relative to us and each other. This results in apparent movement in our sky, called 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 constellation (or creating a new asterism) from one which depicts a hunter to another matching the Tyrannosaurus from Ryan North's Dinosaur Comics. The proper motion of χ¹ Orionis shown near the top at the end of Orion's arm (and the back of the dinosaur's head) is 0.2 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse the depicted angular distance of 0.84 arc degrees in about 15,000 years. 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, 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 distance traversed by the stars was calculated relative to the distance between Orion's two outermost belt stars, Alnitak and Mintaka, which are shown becoming 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 no official constellations currently depicting dinosaurs. The process of recognizing constellations started around 3000 BC for the northern hemisphere, continued with the investigations like those of Ptolemy (in the 2nd century AD) who used Greek mythology for visible 'southern' constellations and was more or less set in stone after voyages to the southern hemisphere by European navigators, like Johann Bayer, in the early 17th century. The first fossil to be later identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676, and the term "dinosaur" was not introduced until 1842 to describe them. As the International Astronomical Union did not establish the current official list of constellations until 1922, though, they could have recognized a dinosaur constellation had one been proposed and widely accepted. There is, however, a constellation of another large, fearsome reptile, albeit mythological -- a dragon (one of Ptolemy's) -- and Lacerta ("the lizard") was defined in 1687.

    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.

    Transcript

    Ambox warning green construction.svg This is one of 27 incomplete transcripts:
    Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!
    Orion Today:
    [Star map of Orion constellation 2024]
    Predicted Changes:
    [Scribbled on]: Star movement
    [Scribbled on]: Star Death (Betelgeuse)
    [Star map's predicted changes over next couple centuries]
    Orion in the future:
    [Scribbled on]: Suggested lines
    [New lines are drawn overlaying the future changes]
    [Dinosaur Comics dinosaur overlayed]

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    Discussion

    this is my second first comment. -P?sych??otic?pot??at???o (talk) 17:47, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

    This is my first second comment. 162.158.63.8 17:56, 15 November 2024 (UTC)
    I plead the third. 172.69.136.188 19:57, 15 November 2024 (UTC)
    you mean the fifth????? Caliban (talk) 20:18, 16 November 2024 (UTC)
    Probably not. I believe it's a perfectly legitimate request. If not because of the muddy boots, then because of the MRE wrappers they leave around (or don't put in the right recycling bin). 172.68.205.92 21:51, 16 November 2024 (UTC)
    This is my French: comment?172.69.194.226 13:26, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

    okay we need to destroy the stars, any suggestions? Caliban (talk) 19:02, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

    Don't worry, the insects should take care of it. (If the rocks don't do it first) Trogdor147 (talk) 20:23, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

    Maybe add a reference to #1020? 172.71.147.100 19:43, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

    now instead of a hunter with a dong, its a dinosaur with diarrhea! guess who (if you want to | what i have done) 19:47, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

    "There are no dinosaur constellations, because dinosaur fossils had not yet been discovered when constellations were first being named in around 3000 BCE." Faulty logic, compare: "There are no microscope constellations, because microscopes had not yet been discovered when constellations were first being named in around 3000 BCE." 162.158.154.221 20:03, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

    link. Besides, weren't legends about dragons blamed on people finding dinosaur bones? -- Hkmaly (talk) 21:48, 15 November 2024 (UTC)
    Besides, Microscopium isn't even 300 years old, much less 5000 108.162.245.113

    Has anyone figured out how far in the future Randall has projected the new star positions? 172.69.135.5 21:04, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

    There ARE dinosaur constellations, nine of them in factp 108.162.245.113

    Meh, dinosaurs. Where are the zombie constellations? 172.69.109.77 08:54, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

    My favorite part is that the dinosaur sill has a dong Apollo11 (talk) 20:04, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

    If dinosaurs had penises, they would have usually been retracted within their cloaca (Alnilam) so North's T. rex is either excited to get with a female, or Orion's sword could instead be excrement being expelled. 172.70.207.184 08:14, 17 November 2024 (UTC)
    It's funny because one of the first attempts to depict dinosaurs in their natural environment - the painting "Duria Antiquior" - had pooping dinosaurs. It was apparently both a reference to coprolites as well as simple scatological humour. --172.71.164.73 08:35, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

    Dinosaur Comics nearly always uses the same art in every strip, with the T-Rex in the same six poses. But the pose used in this XKCD strip isn't one of them. --172.71.254.101 18:05, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

    Yes-and-no. It seems to be a pretty much perfect (or even exact, I haven't dug down into it at the pixel level to check it's not just a very good Randall-redrawn version) mirror image of the 'panel 6' pose. 172.70.58.5 19:33, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

    When I was a kindergartner my parents had a mini wet bar inside a 1.5+ foot diameter star globe. I remember thinking how much higher quality my own drawings for class were than the really terrible stick figures formed by the lines of the constellations, and how poorly they matched their intended subjects. I still think about that when I see stick figure comics like XKCD. But as an adult I realize that their purpose wasn't art, it was mnemonic help for navigators, just like everyone in the northern hemisphere growing up away from city lights learns the big dipper instead of the Ursa bears, because it's easier to remember for finding the north star.

    So, what I'm getting at is, maybe it would be a good idea to replace a bad constellation with the winner of a competition (including with the status quo) for something better every century or so. I'm not sure we really need to take proper motion into account for that though. 108.162.245.132 02:56, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

    that competition gives the risk of a constellation named 'Starry McStarface.' 172.71.195.49 (talk) 00:22, 19 November 2024 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
    I would vote for that over Fornax the furnace or Caelum the chisel. 172.68.23.92 10:21, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

    Should there be a Dinosaur Comics category? This one, 145, 1452, 1350, 2712, 2765, a few featuring Ryan North... 108.162.241.175 17:48, 20 November 2024 (UTC) The future of Orion: Released before the game totally finished, with lots of bugs, only one DLC. 799571388 (talk) 07:59, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

    Just dropping in to take credit for the (yet unused?!) portmanteau "Dinosaurion". 104.32.72.95 19:36, 28 October 2025 (UTC)
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