Revision as of 12:42, 2 September 2020

Starshade

The New Worlds Mission is already trying to get funding for this, but NASA sponsored their proposal, so it will be hard to catch the telescope people by surprise with it.

Title text: The New Worlds Mission is already trying to get funding for this, but NASA sponsored their proposal, so it will be hard to catch the telescope people by surprise with it.

Explanation

Megan and Ponytail are talking about space telescopes in general. Megan says that these telescopes could see exoplanets better by using an occulting disk, in the form of free floating opaque discs, that could block out light from the exoplanets' (or exoplanet's) star thus enabling the telescopes to see the weak light from the planets when the glare of the star has been diminished.

She continues by explaining that the scientists behind the new James Webb Space Telescope, at the time of the comic scheduled to launch in 2018, thought about including such a disk, but that it was cut for budget reasons. Ponytail asks if it has to be their own disk, and then she decides to kickstart a fund raiser in order to build a so called starshade (hence the title. See more about the starshade below). Megan asks her to at least warn the scientist if she makes the shade, but just replies "whatever". Ponytail is referring to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, but there is no actual project for a Starshade for Webb (or for New Worlds Mission, see title text explanation).

The final panel shows the NASA control center in 2018 when the Webb telescope is being calibrated. It turns out that Ponytail succeeded and did indeed not warn the scientists. Cueball is surprised by the disc -- and possibly by what the disc might have printed on it, given its crowdfunded origins -- but Hairbun immediately notices exoplanets, implying that Ponytail's plan worked.

Note that the telescope has partners from 20 countries and is being operated not only by NASA but also by European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).

The best known space telescope is the Hubble Space Telescope which was launched back in 1990. The Webb telescope is seen as a successor instrument to Hubble and, because its instruments are mainly working in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, also as a successor to Spitzer Space Telescope launched in 2003. Apart from better instruments and being larger, another improvement over Hubble is that it will be located near the L2 Earth–Sun lagrangian point, and thus it's not in orbit around Earth. This means that it can keep focusing on a specific point for longer times, where Hubble can only see a given point for about half an hour before moving behind Earth again. When operating in the infrared range as the Webb telescope does (from middle infrared to red and orange visible light) it is important to be outside the atmosphere (or at least on very high mountains). Another important feature is to keep the temperature constant and very cool. Since the telescope is always in the light of the sun, this can only be achieved by using a large sunshield protection.

In the title text the New Worlds Mission is mentioned. The mission is to find exoplanets (hence the name New Worlds), by applying a starshade to block the light of distant stars, so that the planets around the stars become visible. All discovered exoplanets so far have been found indirectly and not by direct visual confirmation. (Starshade points to this mission when searching for it on Wikipedia.) The title text explains that NASA actually sponsored this mission's proposal to build a starshade for the Webb telescope. Thus the title text concludes that the surprise shown in the comic is not likely to occur in real life. A case of simplified language is used at the end when the scientist are called telescope people. NASA stopped this sponsoring in 2008, and New Worlds Mission has been looking for additional financing since 2010.

It seems clear that Randall would like to point attention to the New Worlds Mission, maybe hoping for increased funding for the project so a starshade could be a reality already for the Webb telescope. That Randall is interested in exoplanets has been demonstrated many times in xkcd.

Note that two of the Webb telescopes instruments, the NIRCam and the MIRI, feature starlight-blocking coronagraphs for observation of faint targets such as exoplanets, so the telescope has ways to improve the visibility of these planets. However, Randall (and the New Worlds Mission) believe that a starshade would be better suited for this task.

The starshade, proposed by the New Worlds Mission, is a spacecraft designed to work in tandem with space telescopes, not necessarily the Webb telescope. It is a large occulter that blocks a star's light. One problem with this concept is that light coming from the target star would diffract around the disc and constructively interfere along the central axis. Thus the starlight would still be easily visible, making planet detection impossible. In order to avoid this problem, the starshade is a proposed sunflower-shaped coronagraph disc. The "petals" of the "sunflower" shape are designed to eliminate this diffraction making exoplanet observation possible. The starshade would fly 72,000 km (45,000 mi) in front of a space telescope (between the telescope and a target star) in order to work. There is a great video demonstrating the starshade on its Wikipedia page.

The idea of an occulting telescope was used in 975: Occulting Telescope, where it turns out the purpose is to just block all star light, not to see exoplanets.

Transcript

[Megan and Ponytail are walking.]

Megan: Space telescopes could see exoplanets better if they used free-floating opaque discs to block the stars' glare.

[They stop walking in this zoom in on their heads. Ponytail has turned towards Megan.]

Megan: They thought about including one with the Webb telescope, but cut it to save money.

Ponytail: Well... does it have to be their disc?

[In this frame-less panel Megan is left standing as Ponytail turns and walks away.]

Megan: What do you mean?

Ponytail: Like, if I Kickstart a starshade for them?

Megan: Um. Would you at least warn them?

Ponytail: Eh. Whatever.

[Cueball and Hairbun, both wearing headsets, are sitting on one legged stools on either side of a slim desk with two computers screens on top of it. Each are looking at their own screens while typing on a keyboard in front of them. Hairbun is pointing at her screen. A small frame is overlaid on the top of the panels frame with a caption:]

NASA, 2018:

Cueball: Initiating Webb calibrat-

Cueball: Aaaaa! What the hell is that!?

Hairbun: Hey, look, exoplanets!

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Discussion

I would like to note that in the last frame the microphone booms on the headsets are on the right side, rather than on the left, which would have been more common. Stackexchange discussion 173.245.48.83 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Wauw that is not important here ;-) --Kynde (talk) 12:24, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Does "kickstart" refer to Kickstarter? --JakubNarebski (talk) 14:15, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Pretty clearly, but it might be good to make that explicit, and point out that either there is no such Kickstarter project yet, or (less likely) link to the project.

—FlashSheridan (talk) 14:59, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Have mentioned this in the explanation. Not sure it is a reference to that. She does not call is kickstarter... --Kynde (talk) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

May be related to 975: Occulting Telescope (https://xkcd.com/975/). 108.162.245.120 17:08, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Definitely worth referring too. Thanks and done. --Kynde (talk) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

The reaction in the last panel seems rather extreme. I wonder if perhaps this was a custom starshade resembling the final image at the bottom of this page: https://what-if.xkcd.com/136/ 108.162.216.67siliconwolf

The James Webb Telescope already has measures to shade the stars! http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/nircam.html: "NIRCam is equipped with coronagraphs, instruments that allow astronomers to take pictures of very faint objects around a central bright object, like stellar systems. NIRCam's coronagraphs work by blocking a brighter object's light, making it possible to view the dimmer object nearby - just like shielding the sun from your eyes with an upraised hand can allow you to focus on the view in front of you. With the coronagraphs, astronomers hope to determine the characteristics of planets orbiting nearby stars." - Sebastian --162.158.83.168 18:26, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

From a NASA report: "JWST/Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) coronagraphy should be capable of detecting companions at contrasts of 10−6 at separations beyond 1.5 arcsec, capturing objects like our own Jupiter in 4.5 μm thermal emission if they are orbiting the nearest M stars. The uncertain luminosity evolution of young giant planets clouds the picture somewhat (Marley et al. 2007), but it appears that the some of the more massive planets orbiting nearby (d < 20 pc), young (age < 1 Gyr), low-mass (M < 1.0 Msun) stars could be in view by 2024." - it talks about detecting, not imaging, objects like Jupter. - Sebastian --162.158.83.168 18:57, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Included in the explanation. --Kynde (talk) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Perhaps it should be mentioned in the article that the James Webb is a near infrared and middle infrared telescope (+ orange visible light). For good infrared images one needs high mountains or space. Nasa has an article why infrared is good for examining (the spectra of) exoplanets: http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2013/10/24/maggies-blog-why-infrared-exoplanet-edition/ - Sebastian --162.158.83.168 18:33, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

Included in the explanation. --Kynde (talk) 19:53, 7 September 2016 (UTC)

I made it so it's not incomplete anymore. Also, the comic isn't random, because it's 2016 and it's scheduled to launch in less than two years (because 2016 is almost over). I also added a citation to the Wikipedia article for the James Webb Telescope with links to the "budget issues" revealed in the comic. I hope this clears up a few things. :) -- JayRulesXKCD (talk) 7:41, 9 September 2016 (EDT)

This comic makes sense in context of 2016 launch date. As of 2021, JWST still has not launched. See 2014: JWST Delays and 2550: Webb for further Cueball commentary on the subject. --Tlynnec (talk) 00:29, 24 December 2021 (UTC)

"Ponytail may be referring to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, but it does not seem like there is any project (yet) for a Starshade for Webb (or for New Worlds Mission, see title text explanation)." I am absolutely flabbergasted that there is even a hint of a doubt expressed here, in the article, or in this discussion. This is 100%, without a doubt, unequivocably, unquestionably a reference to Kickstarter. "Kickstarter" and "Kickstart" are words that simply do not exist in the English language outside of the world of Kickstarter. The closest is where they clearly got their name, the kick starting of a motorcycle (which to the best of my knowledge is two words, or at least hyphenated). With the rising popularity of Kickstarter, people have coined the verb "Kickstart", meaning to start a Kickstarter campaign to fund the verb's object, which is how Ponytail is using it here. As for there not being such a Kickstarter project, OF COURSE THERE ISN'T! This is a comic! It's a joke! And Ponytail isn't a real person who can start one! Non-existant concepts have appeared throughout the history of XKCD! For example, the comic where Black Hat breaks into an Internet Troll's house to tell him off for being disgusting to nerd girls on the internet, he's followed by a girl with a weapon he names an EMP cannon. I seriously doubt such a portable weapon exists, yet there it is in the comic. Or the Rule 34 comic, where they started a WetRiffs website. Nobody started that, it didn't exist until Randall did afterwards for giggles because of his comic.

Doubt on this point is inappropriate, dilutes this site's credibility, and it should be removed. - NiceGuy1 108.162.218.172 06:01, 11 September 2016 (UTC) I finally signed up! This comment is mine. (Wow, I'm surprised that idiotic line is still in the explanation, that nobody ever fixed it. I'm all about caution in making statements, but this is ridiculous) NiceGuy1 (talk) 10:39, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

I think it’s Danish not Megan. Just LOOK AT THAT HAIR!! 172.69.22.145 (talk) 02:54, 28 August 2023 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Late, but Danish is distinguished by her actions, not by her hair. This character does not act like Danish in any way, even suggested to warn people about something confusing. Poxy6 (talk) 18:47, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

In retrospect, the 2018 date was way too optimistic. It's even a little embarrassing. 172.69.3.213 01:28, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

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@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
- It was going to be another long, boring evening at the office, Marie thought to herself as she finished up another report.
-As was often the case, she was one of the last ones there for the day, along with Alicia and Rich. And they were the only really good things about her job, she reflected. Especially Rich.
+[[Megan]] and [[Ponytail]] are talking about {{w|space telescopes}} in general. Megan says that these telescopes could see {{w|exoplanets}} better by using an {{w|occulting disk}}, in the form of free floating opaque discs, that could block out light from the exoplanets' (or exoplanet's) star thus enabling the telescopes to see the weak light from the planets when the glare of the star has been diminished.
-She saw Alicia brush a few stray wisps of blond hair from her face in a habitual gesture, then get up from her chair and head over to where Rich sat. She tapped on Marie's desk as she passed, giving her a wink and a smile. Marie looked up at her, then darted a glance at Rich before rolling her eyes: she hadn't had any more luck getting his attention than Alicia.
+She continues by explaining that the scientists behind the new {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}, at the time of the comic scheduled to launch in 2018, thought about including such a disk, but that it was cut for {{w|James_Webb_Space_Telescope|budget reasons}}. Ponytail asks if it has to be their own disk, and then she decides to kickstart a fund raiser in order to ''build'' a so called ''{{w|starshade}}'' (hence the title. See more about the starshade below). Megan asks her to at least warn the scientist if she makes the shade, but just replies ''"whatever"''. Ponytail is referring to the crowdfunding site {{w|Kickstarter}}, but there is no actual project for a Starshade for Webb (or for New Worlds Mission, see title text explanation).
-Both women knew that men found them attractive: Alicia was a natural blonde with smoky brown eyes and a figure that was the definition of voluptuous; Marie was a dark brunette with a more petite, athletic build and a face most men simply couldn't look away from. Except for Rich.
+The final panel shows the {{w|NASA}} control center in 2018 when the Webb telescope is being calibrated. It turns out that Ponytail succeeded and did indeed not warn the scientists. [[Cueball]] is surprised by the disc -- and possibly by what the disc might have printed on it, given its crowdfunded origins -- but [[Hairbun]] immediately  notices exoplanets, implying that Ponytail's plan worked.
-Marie and Alicia had started out as competitors in the office, both professionally and in pursuit of Rich's affection. But trying to break through his shell seemed to be impossible for either of them, and in an odd turn of fate they found themselves supporting each other in what had become both a game and an inside joke.
+'''Note''' that the telescope has {{w|James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Partnership|partners from 20 countries}} and is being operated not only by NASA but also by {{w|European Space Agency}} (ESA), {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} (CSA) and the {{w|Space Telescope Science Institute}} (STScI).
-The man seemed to be impervious--or oblivious!--to female charms. Marie smiled her encouragement, then turned her attention back to the report she was working on, watching Alicia's approach to Rich's desk out of the corner of her eye.
+The best known space telescope is the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} which was launched back in 1990. The Webb telescope is seen as  a successor instrument to Hubble and, because its instruments are mainly working in the {{w|infrared}} region of the electromagnetic spectrum, also as a successor to {{w|Spitzer Space Telescope}} launched in 2003. Apart from better instruments and being larger, another improvement over Hubble is that it will be located near the {{w|Lagrangian_point#L2|L2}} Earth–Sun {{w|lagrangian point}}, and thus it's not in orbit around Earth. This means that it can keep focusing on a specific point for longer times, where Hubble can only see a given point for about half an hour before moving behind Earth again. When operating in the infrared range as the Webb telescope does (from middle infrared to red and orange visible light) it is important to be outside the atmosphere (or at least on very high mountains). Another important feature is to keep the temperature constant and very cool. Since the telescope is always in the light of the sun, this can only be achieved by using a large {{w|James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Sunshield_protection|sunshield protection}}.
-Alicia tended to wear revealing, tight-fitting clothes, but was smart enough not to wear them too tight: she wanted to show off her figure, not look like she had squeezed herself into a sausage roll.
+In the title text the {{w|New Worlds Mission}} is mentioned. The mission is to find exoplanets (hence the name New Worlds), by applying a starshade to block the light of distant stars, so that the planets around the stars become visible. All discovered exoplanets so far have been found indirectly and not by direct visual confirmation. (Starshade points to this mission when searching for it on Wikipedia.) The title text explains that NASA actually sponsored this mission's proposal to build a starshade for the Webb telescope. Thus the title text concludes that the surprise shown in the comic is not likely to occur in real life. A case of simplified language is used at the end when the scientist are called ''telescope people''. NASA stopped this sponsoring in 2008, and New Worlds Mission  has been looking for additional financing since 2010.
- Marie had to admit that Alicia looked damn good. Today she was wearing a cream-colored silk blouse that hugged her torso and provided enough cleavage from her ample breasts to be enticing, but not too much to offend the office prudes, and a black leather knee-length skirt that followed the curves of her hips and thighs perfectly. Below that, she wore black hose and some sleek black heels that accentuated the walk, that sexy swaying motion that Alicia really had a knack for when she was turning on the charm.
-For all the good it was going to do her, Marie thought with a trace of satisfaction. Even though Alicia was a friend now and a fellow player in this little game, she wasn't exactly praying that Alicia would be the one to get through to Rich! That thought made her wonder again just why they were so determined to get this guy.
+It seems clear that [[Randall]] would like to point attention to the New Worlds Mission, maybe hoping for increased funding for the project so a starshade could be a reality already for the Webb telescope. That Randall is interested in exoplanets has been [[:Category:Exoplanets|demonstrated many times]] in xkcd.
-He was good-looking, sure, but couldn't exactly claim to be the pinnacle of the male of the species. He was fully six feet tall and had a body that filled out his suit nicely. His dark brown hair was lush and nicely cut, but outwardly unexceptional. Perhaps the single really captivating thing about his appearance was his eyes, which behind his glasses were an unusual blue-green, appearing to change color with his mood.
+'''Note''' that two of the Webb telescopes {{w|James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Scientific_instruments|instruments}}, the NIRCam and the MIRI, feature starlight-blocking {{w|Coronagraph|coronagraphs}} for observation of faint targets such as exoplanets, so the telescope has ways to improve the visibility of these planets. However, Randall (and the New Worlds Mission) believe that a starshade would be better suited for this task.
-No, the most captivating thing about him wasn't his body, it was what was inside. He was actually an incredibly nice guy who had figured out how to be a man without being a jerk. And for some reason she couldn't put her finger on, she found him really sexy.
+The starshade, proposed by the New Worlds Mission, is a spacecraft designed to work in tandem with space telescopes, not necessarily the Webb telescope. It is a large occulter that blocks a star's light. One problem with this concept is that light coming from the target star would diffract around the disc and constructively interfere along the central axis. Thus the starlight would still be easily visible, making planet detection impossible. In order to avoid this problem, the starshade is a proposed sunflower-shaped coronagraph disc. The "petals" of the "sunflower" shape are designed to eliminate this diffraction making exoplanet observation possible. The starshade would fly 72,000 km (45,000 mi) in front of a space telescope (between the telescope and a target star) in order to work. There is a great video demonstrating the starshade on its {{w|New Worlds Mission|Wikipedia page}}.
-She'd talked to Alicia about it at great length, and both of them agreed that one of the things that also made him attractive was, paradoxically enough, the fact that he seemed to be so impervious to their advances. It was maddening, and both women considered it a challenge they couldn't pass up.
+The idea of an occulting telescope was used in [[975: Occulting Telescope]], where it turns out the purpose is to just block all star light, not to see exoplanets.
-They were pretty sure that he wasn't gay, and Marie had even asked him once straight out if he was, but he had only laughed and shook his head.
+==Transcript==
+:[Megan and Ponytail are walking.]
+:Megan: Space telescopes could see exoplanets better if they used free-floating opaque discs to block the stars' glare.
-"Here's this one, Rich," Alicia said as she sidled up next to him, handing him the report with one hand, while resting the other on the back of his chair. Marie had to give Alicia credit for subtle moves: she noticed that two of her fingers on the hand resting on his chair were brushing against Rich's back, just enough that he would be sure to feel the contact.
+:[They stop walking in this zoom in on their heads. Ponytail has turned towards Megan.]
+:Megan: They thought about including one with the Webb telescope, but cut it to save money.
+:Ponytail: Well... does it have to be ''their'' disc?
-In a less subtle move, her breasts hung right in front of him as she leaned over to put the report on his desk. He looked up from the project he was working on, looking her in the eye and giving her a smile without even glancing at her cleavage.
+:[In this frame-less panel Megan is left standing as Ponytail turns and walks away.]
+:Megan: What do you mean?
+:Ponytail: Like, if I Kickstart a starshade for them?
+:Megan: Um. Would you at least ''warn'' them?
+:Ponytail: Eh. Whatever.
-"Thanks, Alicia," he said, picking up the report and adding it to one of the piles arranged on his desk. "That's the last one for this batch." Glancing back up at her, he added, "You do great work, you know that?"
+:[Cueball and Hairbun, both wearing headsets, are sitting on one legged stools on either side of a slim desk with two computers screens on top of it. Each are looking at their own screens while typing on a keyboard in front of them. Hairbun is pointing at her screen. A small frame is overlaid on the top of the panels frame with a caption:]
+:NASA, 2018:
+:Cueball: Initiating Webb calibrat-
+:Cueball: ''Aaaaa''! What the hell is ''that!?''
+:Hairbun: Hey, look, exoplanets!
-Alicia smiled, but she knew that Rich's complement was totally sincere and devoid of any sexual undertones. She almost sighed in frustration. "Thanks Rich," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you look pretty tired, you know." And he did: there were rings forming under his eyes, and they were a bit bloodshot.
+{{comic discussion}}
-Deciding to toss subtlety to the wind, she put on her best bedroom eyes and asked, "Why don't you let me take you home and take care of you?"
-Rich gave her a mischievous grin as he shook his head. "For some reason, I doubt I'd be getting much rest!"
-From her desk, Marie noted that Rich never so much as glanced at Alicia's breasts, like almost all men did. He was maddening, she thought. Show some reaction, will you? But he didn't. Standing up and stretching a bit, Rich told them that he was taking the reports up to his boss's office, and would be back in a few minutes.
-"Do you two want anything?" he asked.
-Now there's a loaded question, Marie thought. "No thanks," she said. "I should have my last report done by the time you get back, though." Rich feigned a groan and turned toward Alicia, who seemed to be doing her best to invade his personal space without blatantly groping him.
-"I'll just take you," she said softly, and again he only grinned and shook his head. Picking up the foot-thick stack of reports, he headed out the door.
- "What is it with him?" Alicia said, burning with frustration. "I'd like him to--just once--really notice me!"
-"I know the feeling," Marie replied drily. "Maybe he's a member of a secret monk's society or something. Or maybe he's an alien?"
-"I feel like I could stand right here in front of him, naked, and he'd just look at me with that stupid grin of his and turn away. It makes me want to tear his face off." Then she laughed. "That would be kind of counterproductive, wouldn't it?"
-The two were silent for a moment. Then Marie noticed a funny look, a naughty grin, creeping onto Alicia's face.
-"What are you thinking?" she asked. "You aren't really going to..."
-"Well, I was thinking...No, no, never mind," Alicia said quickly, turning back to her desk.
-"Now wait a minute!" Marie told her, coming over. "Don't play that game with me, girl. You've got an idea, spill it!"
-"Okay, but you have to promise not to laugh or think I'm weird," Alicia said seriously.
-"I promise. Now give."
-"Well, there was this guy I dated a while back who...This is a bit embarrassing..." Marie put her hands on her hips and gave Alicia the look. "Okay, okay," Alicia conceded. "He said that one of the biggest turn-ons for a lot of men in their fantasies is a threesome with a couple of women. And, well..."
-She hesitated again, and Marie glared at her. "Well, we did it, once, with another woman he knew."
-Marie was surprised, but not really shocked. She knew Alicia was a lot more experienced sexually than she was. She had certainly fantasized enough about being with two men at once, so why not the other way around? And she found that, at least talking about it with Alicia, she didn't feel uncomfortable. In fact, she felt a tingle of excitement run through her.
-"How was it?" she asked quietly, moving a bit closer to her friend.
-"It was...interesting," Alicia said, averting her eyes in obvious embarrassment. But there was also an obvious trace of recalled pleasure. "Or, rather, it had some interesting possibilities. But the other woman was more interested in impressing him than she was in, well, taking care of me. It was fun, but not nearly as fun as I think it could have been with the right people."
-"Okaaaay," Marie replied. "So, just what did you have in mind?" She'd never actually entertained the thought of being with another man and a woman, but it was an intriguing possibility, in a very naughty kind of way.
-"Well, what if Rich were to come back and find the two of us, um, 'involved' on the couch in the conference room?" She couldn't quite bring herself to look Marie in the eye. "And, because he's so damned focused when he starts working, maybe we could leave him a little trail of clothing behind us. Just to make it so obvious that even he couldn't overlook it!"
-Marie didn't answer right away, and she watched as Alicia quickly got very embarrassed, thinking she'd just made a huge blunder.
-"I...I'm sorry," Alicia stammered.
-"Why should you be sorry?" Marie said quietly, stepping closer. "I'm interested." She touched Alicia's hand, and her friend looked up at her, that naughty grin creeping back onto her face.
-"Well, then I guess we should start getting these clothes off," Alicia said, her voice suddenly husky. "Rich is going to be back soon."
-She started to unbutton her blouse, but Marie stopped her. "If we're going to do this right, then I think we should undress each other. After all, we shouldn't be shy about that if we're talking about making love in a few minutes, now should we?"
-Then she began to unbutton Alicia's blouse with trembling fingers. She expected there to be a loud alarm bell going off in her head telling her that she was crazy as hell for pulling a stunt like this, but she wasn't trembling from fear or uncertainty now: it was anticipation. Alicia stood still, her dark brown eyes locked with Marie's hazel ones as Marie slowly undid the buttons on Alicia's blouse.
-Marie noticed how hard her friend's nipples had become, and could feel her own pressing tightly against the lace of her bra, along with a sudden rush of heat between her legs.
-"Jesus," Alicia breathed, leaning her head back and closing her eyes as Marie undid the last button and then slowly peeled off her blouse. Marie moved up close and reached around to undo Alicia's bra, and Alicia shuddered as the bra fell to the floor.
-"God, they're beautiful," Marie breathed.
-"I'd rather have yours," Alicia whispered, her eyes now gazing at Marie's chest. Gingerly at first, then with growing assuredness, she ran her hands over Marie's breasts, then gently twisted her friend's nipples through her dark green dress that showed more than just a hint of cleavage. Marie gasped at the touch.
-"Yours may not be as big as mine, but they're perfect." She cupped them in her hands and gently kneaded them as she moved her lips close to Marie's. "Perfect."
-When their lips touched, a bolt of heat surged through Marie's body, and she pulled Alicia closer. Her tongue touched her friend's, and then she felt Alicia's hand in her hair, drawing her head closer, the kiss growing more passionate. Then Alicia's hands began to work feverishly at the zipper along Marie's back, and they broke the kiss as the dress slipped to the floor.
-"I thought you said something about making a trail for him to follow," Marie managed as she turned Alicia around and practically ripped open the zipper on her leather skirt, then knelt down to yank it off. Alicia was using garters to hold up her hose and, as Marie had suspected, wasn't wearing any panties.
-As Alicia turned back toward her, Marie could smell Alicia's musk and got a good look at her pussy and its neatly trimmed triangle of blonde hair. There was a telltale trace of wetness glistening there that captivated her attention.
-But then it was Alicia's turn. She pulled Marie to her feet and twirled her around to face away from her. In a smooth motion she undid Marie's bra and let it drop to the floor. Then she tugged off Marie's shoes and pulled off her pantyhose. Standing close behind behind Marie, Alicia reached around to knead and pinch Marie's nipples.
-Marie opened her mouth in a sigh that ended in a gasp as Alicia nipped her shoulder, then her neck, then turned Marie's head to kiss her again, hard. Marie's pussy was more than wet by now, and she could feel the wetness making its way down the inside of her thighs.
-"The couch," she gasped. Alicia led her into the adjoining conference room and laid her down on the couch, then straddled her so Marie could suck on her nipples. Marie took the left nipple into her mouth first and greedily began to suck on it while her hand pinched, pulled, and twisted the other one. Above her, Alicia groaned and grabbed a handful of Marie's hair, using it to pull her even tighter against her breasts.
-"Have you ever tasted your own pussy?" Alicia managed to breathe. Marie only shook her head as she moved her mouth to Alicia's other nipple. After another moment of frenzied sucking, Alicia suddenly pushed herself away, moving to one side of Marie.
-"Spread your legs," Alicia ordered. Her whole body trembling, Marie spread her thighs wide, waiting for what might come next.
-Alicia held up her index and middle fingers of her right hand, and said, "One for you, one for me."
-Then she leaned over and kissed Marie's breasts, while running her hand slowly down her belly to the soft mound of brunette hair covering her pussy. Marie's body was trembling as Alicia ran her fingers over Marie's soaked pussy lips, then--with her thumb gently massaging Marie's clit--she slipped those two fingers deep into Marie's cunt.
-"Oh, God, Alicia..." Marie gasped as she frantically worked her hips against her friend's hand, an orgasmic surge already building inside her.
-"Not yet," Alicia whispered as she slowly withdrew her fingers. She put the middle finger in her mouth and slowly licked it clean. Then she offered her middle finger to Marie, who sucked it in eagerly, her tongue swirling around it, sampling the taste of her own body.
-"Now me," Alicia said, as she took one of Marie's hands and guided it to her own pussy. Parting her legs, Alicia watched as Marie slid two fingers into her cunt. Marie, her body wracked with lust, pushed her fingers in as far as they could go and then began to wiggle them around.
-"Taste me," Alicia begged, moving to pull Marie's hand away. But Marie was past that.
-Rolling Alicia onto her back and pushing her legs open even wider, Marie slid down her friend's body--pausing for a long minute to suck and bite her nipples one last time on the way down--and then knelt on the floor between Alicia's legs, her fingers still buried in her lover's cunt.
-Marie began to work them in and out in a steadily faster rhythm, her eyes all the while locked on Alicia's. Then, without any further hesitation, she lowered her head to her friend's pussy and began to lick, then suck, on her clit. Alicia's body bucked, arching her back up off the couch as Marie's tongue started working her clit, and she grabbed the back of her legs to lift them higher and spread them wider, driving her hips against Marie's tongue and feverishly pumping fingers.
-"Oh...God!" Alicia cried as her body shook. She threw her head back, her eyes closed and mouth wide open in a spasm of pleasure as the first in a series of orgasms surged through her. Marie watched her friend's contortions, and could feel her cunt convulsing around her frantically pumping fingers.
-It only made her want to ram them in harder and faster to drive Alicia completely crazy. Finally, Alicia's hands groped down to grab Marie's.
-"Enough," she croaked. "Enough." Her body slumped down, and she pulled Marie up to her, kissing her roughly on the mouth.
-"God, that was so incredible," she whispered as they broke the kiss. But then Marie saw Alicia's eyes dart toward the door, and she turned to see Rich standing in the doorway, mouth agape.
-"Uhhh..." he managed. "I'll just...leave you two alone." Quickly turning around, he sputtered, "It's past time for me to go, anyway, so--"
+[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
+[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
-"No!" both women ordered simultaneously.
+[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
+[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
-Marie got up from atop Alicia and grabbed Rich, pulling him down to kiss him hard on the lips, while Alicia quickly knelt in front of him and started to undo his belt and pants.
+[[Category:Astronomy]]
+[[Category:Exoplanets]]
-"We've had enough of your ignoring us, Rich," Alicia muttered as the belt came undone and she unzipped his fly. "You're ours, now."
+[[Category:Telescopes]]
-Rich didn't have much of a chance, not that he offered anything more than the most feeble protest, they noticed. The two women pulled him to the floor, Marie now unbuttoning his shirt while Alicia wrestled with his pants. And when she pulled off his underwear, she sighed, "There are still miracles, Marie!"
-Marie looked up from her efforts to get Rich's T-shirt off, his head pinned under her belly, to see what Alicia was talking about. She saw, with widening eyes, that not only did Rich have a sexy body, but he was quite well endowed, too.
-Alicia held in her hand a beautiful cock that was a full eight inches long. Stroking it gently, she looked up at Marie, "I already had a chance to come. You first."
-Not wasting any time, Marie moved to straddle Rich's hips. Alicia held his cock upright and guided it into Marie's pussy as she lowered herself with a groan.
-"Oh my God," Marie muttered as she began to move up and down. She felt Rich clamp his hands to her hips as he began to thrust into her, matching her rhythm.
-With the priming she had from making love to Alicia, it only took her seconds to have her first orgasm, and it never really ended: like ocean waves, cresting and ebbing, it seemed to go on and on. Satisfied that Marie was taken care of, Alicia knelt down on all fours over Rich, dangling her breasts over his face.
-Obviously resigned to the situation and fully prepared to make the most of it, he sucked first one, then the other of her nipples into his mouth, sucking, flicking, and gingerly biting them in a way that quickly started driving her crazy with pleasure. Nearing another orgasm, she pulled away and then straddled his face, facing Marie as Rich's tongue started working its magic on her clit.
-The women kissed as they both rocked against the man beneath them, and suddenly Alicia was hit with another orgasm. Not long after, Rich's thrusting became more frantic, and his tongue seemed to lose its rhythm against Alicia's clit. Both women were just climbing to the top of another orgasm as Marie felt his cock swell inside her.
-"A few more seconds, Rich," she whimpered. "Not yet...not yet...oh, now, baby, now!"
-With that, Rich arched his back and thrust the full length of his cock into Marie's cunt as he came, and through her own orgasm she felt his cock spasm, adding more heat to her already burning core. And she also sensed Alicia's shuddering, signaling yet another orgasm for her as Rich cried out his own pleasure between Alicia's legs.
-Spent now, Alicia crawled off of Rich and lay next to him, while Marie simply slumped forward onto his chest. Both women kissed him, then each other, before laying lay their heads on his shoulders.
-"You've been such an asshole, Rich, ignoring us," Alicia whispered as she stroked his arm.
-"Yeah," Marie added, nipping him in the chest, "a complete jerk."
-Rich, gently cradling both women in his arms, shook his head dazedly and murmured, "I guess it's a good thing for me that I was."
-After dealing with the retribution of tickling and pinching that Marie and Alicia gave him, he said, "Come on, ladies, it's time to get out of here. If you want, you're both more than welcome to come home with me."
-And, looking forward to what else the night and coming days might bring, they did.
-==Transcript==
-{{incomplete transcript}}
-{{comic discussion}}