Editing 3255: Planetary Science

{{comic
| number    = 3255
| date      = June 5, 2026
| title     = Planetary Science
| image     = planetary_science_2x.png
| imagesize = 277x388px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = The research was overseen by the Institutional Review Board, which is what I named my surfboard.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is presented as a scientific article in which astronomers claim to have discovered "evidence for liquid water on the surface of a {{w|terrestrial planet}} in the {{w|habitable zone}}". Finding other planets that have liquid water is a notable result, as water is considered necessary to support life, or at least Earth-like life on sufficiently Earth-like (i.e. terrestrial) planets that allow sufficient liquid water to exist. So a terrestrial planet with liquid water would be far more likely to have some form of recognisable life on it, compared to one that does not, and especially compared to a location that is increasingly unlike even being terrestrial. (Alternative forms of life may exist, with other environmental cues replacing the need for liquid water or even a more general terrestrial nature. But we are somewhat limited to expectations that match more the directly observable nature of life.)

However, the accompanying photos (four people on a beach, two sitting under an umbrella and one making sand castles) suggest that the planet in question is {{w|Earth}}. This would not be considered a noteworthy discovery, since we already know about the existence of life on Earth, and the 'evidence' for the liquid water also evidences (at least in the apparent form of highly conspicuous vacationing visitors) the presence of life, so this article is hardly useful or practical.

There is value in using Earth as an example of a planet in a habitable zone, such as [https://www.nasa.gov/universe/atacama-rover-astrobiology-drilling-studies-arads/ testing life-detection experiments in remote inhospitable environments] or [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-would-we-know-theres-life-on-earth-this-bold-experiment-found-out/ as a proxy for future astronomical observations], but not in-situ photographic investigation. Maybe the astronomers should have brought their {{w|spectrometer}} on vacation.

An {{w|institutional review board}} is a committee of researchers which ensures that research carried out at their institution is ethical. In the title text, this is claimed to be the literal name of a {{w|surfboard}}, which is a board used for the recreational activity of {{w|surfing}}, and not serious academic activities ([https://www.cornwall.ac.uk/courses/fdsc-surf-science-degree/ mostly]). Presumably, one of the researchers has been using their research time to take a surfing holiday, and is trying to justify it by misleadingly claiming that the Institutional Review Board was involved. 'The Institutional Review Board' is a very strange name for a surfboard, and the only purpose for calling it this would seem to be for this (somewhat bad) excuse.

The comic may also be a reference to the Movie/Book "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir (The former releasing a few months before the comics release). In it, the protaginist (a microbiologist by the name of Ryland Grace), releases a paper refuting the idea that water is nessecary for life, and in it, calls people names and gives the section titles (by standards of scientific papers) some vulgar words. Which is of course not taken to kindly by his peers as it's not standard practice to call someone an idiot in a scientific paper.{{Citation needed}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[An article from a journal is shown.]
:[Title of journal article:] Evidence for Liquid Water on the Surface of a Terrestrial Planet in the Habitable Zone
:[Below the title are four lines of blurred text presumably representing the name of the author or authors and their affiliations. Below that, the text of the article is blurred, displayed in two columns. There are three sections of blurred text each with a blurred boldface heading. Two pictures are included amid the blurred text. The picture in the left column shows the sea running alongside a beach. The picture in the right column shows Jill and Kidball playing at the beach, with Jill running and Kidball building a sandcastle, while Cueball and Megan are sitting under a beach umbrella watching them.]
:[Caption below the article:]
:Planetary science journals have asked astronomers to please stop submitting their vacation photos.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring children]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Kidball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]