2931: Chasing

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Chasing

Title text: Certain hybrid events can only happen in certain locations where all the conditions are present; chasers flock to the area in and around Kansas known as tumbleweed-colliding-with-possum alley.

Explanation

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Transcript

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[An X Y axis graph]

[Y axis label:]

Exciting to see in person

[X axis label:]

Possible to chase in a convoy of vehicles coordinating over radio and using instruments and data to find optimal viewing locations?

[X and Y axis values (from bottom left):]

No

Yes

[Top left quarter:]

The Grand Canyon

Meteors

Rainbow

Comets

Niagara Falls

Sunsets

The Moon

Tourist attractions

Unusual clouds

[Top right quarter:]

Aurora

Tornadoes

Whales

Your favorite band's shows

Icebergs

Rare birds

Hot air balloons

[Bottom left quarter:]

Tourist traps

Regular clouds

Sand traps

Fog

Rain

The International Date Line

Gnats

[Bottom right quarter:]

Regular birds

Radiosondes

Neighborhood possums

Regular balloons

Ice cream trucks

Tumbleweeds

Speed traps

Other chasers

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Discussion

Weather permitting, the aurora borealis may be visible from northern US tonight. I wonder if that inspired this comic. There's also a new "Twister" sequel coming out this summer, which is about tornado chasers. Barmar (talk) 21:14, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

Sadly, given last month's event, "Total Solar Eclipse" is not on the chart. With the changing clouds over Texas on eclipse day, many were driving around figuring out where best to watch from. I would put it at the top of the chart and almost fully to the right. 172.68.34.61 21:41, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

I'm astonished that solar eclipses aren't in this comic or the title text. Zowayix (talk) 22:42, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, I would replace Tornados with that TSE. Tornados might be exciting in person, and people might be chasing them, but they are more terrifying than exciting. 172.70.246.187 08:11, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

I feel like Randall is selling Ice Cream Trucks short. Doctorhook (talk) 02:56, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

I strongly disagree with this chart, about the possibility of chasing the Grand Canyon & the international dateline. Owing to length & downhill grade of the former, & timing sensitive nature of the latter.

ProphetZarquon (talk) 03:02, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

What 'timing sensitive nature' of the latter? Apart from historic changes, and lacking any further proposed ones, you're just talking about a discontinuity effect that happens continuously.

Unless you mean timing it for an hour (or maybe two, or more, depending upon less straightforward TZ-abuttal??) every day, you can perhaps step/paddle back and forth between "very late night" on one date and "very early in the morning" on the next-but-one date. 172.69.195.62 09:39, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

Uhhh, isn't it an activity to take donkeys down into the Grand Canyon? That feels not all that different than the convoy thing - pretty sure it IS similarly done in groups, and that it's indeed to see the place better... :) And that radios would be advisable. And I've never even been anywhere near there! NiceGuy1 (talk) 06:11, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

I would moreso call that exploring than chasing. 172.69.214.72 13:55, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

Seems to have completely missed the eclipse chasers all over the US recently :D 172.70.246.187 08:08, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

You could say "they've been eclipsed"... (Which is what they all want!) 172.69.195.62 09:39, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

I believe I read about a plan to chase the interstellar object 'Oumuamua, which would be like chasing a comet but even more so. --162.158.38.70 20:17, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

Speaking as someone who lives where there are none of the former and many of the latter, seeing a possum would be much more exciting than seeing a hot air balloon.172.70.90.29 09:21, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

Ok, not hot-air, but: https://projectpossum.org/research/balloon-nlc-imagery/ 172.70.163.120 10:51, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

For the whale explanation, don't scientists chase whales as well?--Calpurnia Tate (talk) 00:34, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Which reminds me... should Sea Shepherd be mentioned in "Chasing other chasers" as some sort of actual example? Because that's quite literally what they do... Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 06:47, 17 May 2024 (UTC)

Number of Apollo astronauts

Are we counting unique individuals or total visits? There were six landings with two astronauts each, but someone went twice? 162.158.186.249 (talk) 20:48, 11 May 2024 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Nobody doubled up. 6x2=12. (Some went on up to three separate 'walks'/drives away from their craft, but no-one landed twice.) 162.158.74.49 21:59, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

Arguably the crews of Apollos 8, 10, and 13 also visited the Moon; As did the Command Module Pilots on the six missions with landings. These guys all got 99.9+% of the way there, and while they didn't touch it, nor did the twelve guys who landed (none of whom were brave enough to take their gloves off while outside the LEM).

In this extended group of lunar visitors, there were some double ups, e.g. Jim Lovell, who was on Apollos 8 and 13. 172.68.210.3 22:55, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

You could also say that many of them got 100.1-% of the way there, when they orbited around the far side. 172.70.211.99 00:35, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

In total, 24 people went to the moon on 9 trips (Apollo missions 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17), with 12 men actually landing, walking and driving around, and leaving (Apollo missions 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17). There were 3 people who flew there twice, but nobody landed more than once, yet. Nutster (talk) 18:44, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

I so much want to include Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. 172.69.71.130 14:46, 12 May 2024 (UTC)