Editing 2550: Webb
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by the JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
This comic depicts an {{w|advent calendar}} geared toward astronomers anticipating the launch of the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}. | This comic depicts an {{w|advent calendar}} geared toward astronomers anticipating the launch of the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}. | ||
− | + | The James Webb Space Telescope is (currently, but after [[2014: JWST Delays|many prior delays]]) scheduled to be launched on the 22nd of December. Christmas will indeed come early for astronomers should the launch be successful. | |
− | A normal advent calendar marks the days until Christmas by allowing | + | A normal advent calendar marks the days until Christmas by allowing 'doors' to be opened, or other means of revealing some treat/picture. This is often from the 1st of the month until the 'big reveal' on the 25th, though other schemes may exist for cultural reasons. |
− | + | This particular calendar features 18 hexagonal features, deliberately similar to the 18 gold-beryllium mirrors that will (hopefully!) fold out to form the JWST's compound reflector. The Hubble Space Telescope's mirror panels, along with those on the the yet to launch James Webb Space Telescope, are hexagonal. These on the calendar are intended to be sequentially accessed over several days The final day is the 22nd (thus the first is on the 5th, two days after this comic's publication date), the last of which should then coincide with 'The Big Day', albeit that even if the launch goes well there will still be nervousness about reaching its intended observation point, unfolding/deploying successfully and passing its final calibrations without problems. Especially as there are effectively no means to rescue/repair this expensive piece of equipment should anything be discovered to be amiss. Unlike the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}}, which was visited a number of times by the Space Shuttles to remedy and enhance various features. (There are now issues with the HST that cannot currently be considered repairable, without the Shuttles or any proven replacement, and the Webb is to be located far beyond Hubble's operational orbit anyway.) | |
− | December | + | The telescope's launch was initially planned for 2007, but due to various redesigns, financial issues, accidents, flaws and the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, the launch date was pushed back to 2011, then 2013, 2018, 2020, May 2021, October 2021, and finally to the current launch date in December 2021. This is alluded to in the title text with the mention of the anxiety pamphlets – many people following the development of the telescope hope dearly that there will be no more setbacks. |
− | The title text references the fact that chocolates in advent calendars are often | + | The title text references the fact that chocolates in advent calendars are often moulded into different shapes, and the fact that the later numbers have a "pamphlet on managing anxiety" is probably supposed to quell the impeding fear that the launch would be delayed. |
− | The | + | Alternate explanation: The {{w|winter solstice}} occurs around Dec 22. Advent calendars typically start at December 1st, even though those advent calendars can start a few days on either side of that date in different years. Even though this year's solstice falls on the 21st, not the 22nd, a generic astronomers' advent calendar would include the 22nd day. It would probably exclude the 23rd day, like traditional advent calendars exclude late November. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
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+ | :[Cueball and Ponytail are looking at an advent calendar. The advent calendar is in a hexagon shape, with 18 smaller hexagons with numbers ranging from 5-22 written on them.] | ||
+ | :Cueball: The hexagons are nice. But why does it end at 22? | ||
:[Caption below the panel:] | :[Caption below the panel:] | ||
:Astronomer Advent Calendar | :Astronomer Advent Calendar | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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