https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Micmicmexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-15T14:11:44ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2469:_Astronomy_Status_Board&diff=2127542469: Astronomy Status Board2021-05-29T04:17:14Z<p>Micmicm: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2469<br />
| date = May 28, 2021<br />
| title = Astronomy Status Board<br />
| image = astronomy_status_board.png<br />
| titletext = Junior astronomers hate getting put on board update duty, but someone's gotta make sure that stuff is still up there.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a JUNIOR ASTRONOMER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Ponytail is staring at the sky on a telescope while Cueball is operating a checklist, visible on a screen.<br />
<br />
Since they are junior astronomers, they appear to have been tasked with simply verifying whether normal celestial objects are still present in the sky.<br />
<br />
This is likely a reference to the many "status boards" for online services ([https://portal.office.com/ServiceStatus example], [https://status.cloud.google.com/ another example]). The joke is that it would be funny if there was a status board to check that all the celestial bodies are still there, even though anyone could just look at the sky to verify for themselves without referencing such a status board.<br />
<br />
One of the proposed outcomes of the ultimate fate of the universe is the {{w|Big Rip}}. If it's correct, all the items on the status board will eventually move from Still There to Gone, beginning with the most distant galaxies and proceeding to the the objects in our own solar system (although there will be hardly any time for the board to show Gone for the closest, especially the Moon). This scenario is dramatized in the short story "{{w|Last Contact}}" by Stephen Baxter.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Text above panel:]<br />
:Astronomy Status Board:<br />
<br />
:Panel: Astronomy Status Board<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>Micmicmhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2469:_Astronomy_Status_Board&diff=2127532469: Astronomy Status Board2021-05-29T04:13:21Z<p>Micmicm: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2469<br />
| date = May 28, 2021<br />
| title = Astronomy Status Board<br />
| image = astronomy_status_board.png<br />
| titletext = Junior astronomers hate getting put on board update duty, but someone's gotta make sure that stuff is still up there.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a JUNIOR ASTRONOMER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Ponytail is staring at the sky on a telescope while Cueball is operating a checklist, visible on a screen.<br />
<br />
Since they are junior astronomers, they appear to have been tasked with simply verifying whether normal celestial objects are still present in the sky.<br />
<br />
This is likely a reference to the many "status boards" for online services ([https://portal.office.com/ServiceStatus example], [https://status.cloud.google.com/ another example]). The joke is that it would be funny if there was a status board to check that all the celestial bodies are still there, even though anyone could just look at the sky to verify for themselves without referencing such a status board.<br />
<br />
One of the proposed outcomes of the ultimate fate of the universe is the {{w|Big Rip}}. If it's correct, all the items on the status board will eventually move from Still There to Gone, beginning with the most distant galaxies and proceeding to the the objects in our own solar system (although there will be hardly any time for the board to show Gone for the closest, especially the Moon). This scenario is dramatized in the short story "{{w|Last Contact}}" by Stephen Baxter.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[Text above pane]<br />
Astronomy Status Board<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>Micmicm