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| Planetary Science |
 Title text: The research was overseen by the Institutional Review Board, which is what I named my surfboard. |
Explanation
This comic is presented as a scientific article in which astronomers claim to have discovered "signs of liquid water on the surface of a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone" -- however, as the accompanying photos (four people on a beach, of whom two are sitting under an umbrella and one is making sand castles) show, the planet in question is Earth. This would not be considered a noteworthy discovery.[citation needed] Finding other planets that have liquid water is a notable result, as water is necessary to support life, so a planet with water could possibly have life on it. However, we already know about life on Earth existing, so this article is hardly useful or practical.
There is value in using Earth as an example of a planet in a habitable zone, such as testing life-detection experiments in remote inhospitable environments or as a proxy for future astronomical observations, but not in-situ photographic investigation. Maybe the astronomers should have brought their spectrometer on vacation.
An institutional review board is a committee of researchers which ensures that research carried out at their institution is ethical. In the title text, this is referenced to be the literal name of a surfboard, which is a board used for the recreational activity of surfing, not serious academic activities. Presumably one of the researchers used this as an excuse to post their pictures of a surfing holiday. Of course, 'the Institutional Review Board' is a very strange name for a surfboard,[citation needed] and its only purpose would be for this (somewhat bad) excuse.
Transcript
- [A journal entry is shown, with 3 sections of blurred text, and 2 pictures - On on the top-right showing Jill and Kidball playing at the beach - Jill running, Cueball building a sandcastle, while Cueball and Megan under an umbrella watching them, and another at the bottom-left showing the sea running alongside the beach.]
- [Title of journal article:] Evidence of liquid water on the surface of a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone
- [caption below text:] Planetary science journals have asked astronomers to please stop submitting their vacation photos.
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