Difference between revisions of "Talk:1828: ISS Solar Transit"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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I disagree with the description that's posted. The joke is that Cueball is not trying to take a picture of the sun - he is trying to take a picture of the ISS while it passes in front of the sun. So it is true that the object being photographed (the ISS) is in direct sunlight, just as the label says. The problem with the label is that it's incomplete: in context, it really means something like, "The object being photographed is in lighting equivalent to direct sunlight falling on the surface of the planet Earth with no intervening filters." The ISS (and the moon, as mentioned in the title text) are being directly struck by sunlight but do not fit the rest of the implied context of the label.
 
I disagree with the description that's posted. The joke is that Cueball is not trying to take a picture of the sun - he is trying to take a picture of the ISS while it passes in front of the sun. So it is true that the object being photographed (the ISS) is in direct sunlight, just as the label says. The problem with the label is that it's incomplete: in context, it really means something like, "The object being photographed is in lighting equivalent to direct sunlight falling on the surface of the planet Earth with no intervening filters." The ISS (and the moon, as mentioned in the title text) are being directly struck by sunlight but do not fit the rest of the implied context of the label.
 
: So shouldn't it then use the 'Shade' option for the ISS? ;) -- Denny
 
: So shouldn't it then use the 'Shade' option for the ISS? ;) -- Denny
:Technically, he's trying to take a picture of the shadow of the ISS, since he's not looking for the reflected sunlight. Also, isn't that kind of the joke, here?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.51|162.158.74.51]] 22:48, 24 April 2017 (UTC)
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:Technically, he's trying to take a picture of the shadow of the ISS, since he's not looking for the reflected sunlight. Since the Sun is incandescent, that filter would also apply, but only for the background, not the object in question. Also, isn't that kind of the joke, here?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.51|162.158.74.51]] 22:48, 24 April 2017 (UTC)

Revision as of 22:54, 24 April 2017

The staging of this comic is really confusing... Top to bottom, right to left is just a weird order. It took me a little while to figure out that the solid white space in the top row is actually a double high, and not a solid white beat panel. I was thinking that the picture was completely whited out. Andyd273 (talk) 15:37, 24 April 2017 (UTC)


The comic reads left-to-right, not right-to-left... Raj-a-Kiit (talk) 16:45, 24 April 2017 (UTC)


I disagree with the description that's posted. The joke is that Cueball is not trying to take a picture of the sun - he is trying to take a picture of the ISS while it passes in front of the sun. So it is true that the object being photographed (the ISS) is in direct sunlight, just as the label says. The problem with the label is that it's incomplete: in context, it really means something like, "The object being photographed is in lighting equivalent to direct sunlight falling on the surface of the planet Earth with no intervening filters." The ISS (and the moon, as mentioned in the title text) are being directly struck by sunlight but do not fit the rest of the implied context of the label.

So shouldn't it then use the 'Shade' option for the ISS? ;) -- Denny
Technically, he's trying to take a picture of the shadow of the ISS, since he's not looking for the reflected sunlight. Since the Sun is incandescent, that filter would also apply, but only for the background, not the object in question. Also, isn't that kind of the joke, here?162.158.74.51 22:48, 24 April 2017 (UTC)