Editing 1342: Ancient Stars
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Title-text could use some extra explanation.}} | |
+ | Cueball is making a common observation; many of the visible stars in the sky are so distant that it takes thousands years for light from that star to reach Earth. Unfortunately, the brightest star, Sirius, also happens to be one of the nearest at a mere 8.6 light-years (in other words, the light that is currently arriving from Sirius was emitted some time around August 2005). The previous US president, George W. Bush, was in office from 2000 to 2008; as Megan notes, this isn't terribly impressive. | ||
− | The title text references the fact that most people have a hard time imagining the large scale of astronomical numbers | + | The title-text references the fact that most normal people have a hard time imagining the large scale of astronomical numbers (for example, the distance between astronomical bodies or the size of a sun); they typically imagine them as many orders of magnitude smaller than they actually are. In this case, however, they instead overestimate both the number of stars and their distance by quite a bit. (It's frequently cited that about 5'000 - 10'000 stars are visible by the naked eye.) |
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− | In this case, however, | ||
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | + | :[Cueball pointing up into the night sky.] | |
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:Cueball: Just think - the light from that star was emitted thousands of years ago. It could be long gone. | :Cueball: Just think - the light from that star was emitted thousands of years ago. It could be long gone. | ||
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:Megan: That's Sirius. It's eight light-years away. | :Megan: That's Sirius. It's eight light-years away. | ||
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:Cueball: Oh. | :Cueball: Oh. | ||
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:Cueball: Just think - the light from that star was emitted in the previous presidential administration. | :Cueball: Just think - the light from that star was emitted in the previous presidential administration. | ||
− | :Megan: | + | :Megan: Mmm, doesn't pack quite the punch. |
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category:Astronomy]] | [[Category:Astronomy]] |