Editing 1551: Pluto
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| titletext = After decades of increasingly confused arguing, Pluto is reclassified as a "dwarf Pluto." | | titletext = After decades of increasingly confused arguing, Pluto is reclassified as a "dwarf Pluto." | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | + | When the image is clicked the corresponding [http://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizons-spacecraft-displays-pluto-s-big-heart-0 NASA post] opens up. | |
+ | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Many parts are not correct and many details are missing.}} | ||
− | + | This comic was posted on Tuesday, July 14th 2015, in honor of the {{w|New Horizons}} deep space probe making its flyby at {{w|Pluto}}, thus breaking the typical Monday/Wednesday/Friday cycle for the [[xkcd]] comics. [[Randall]] has taken one of the probes images of Pluto, and outlined humorous examples of {{w|Pareidolia|pareidolia}} on top of it. | |
− | This comic was posted on Tuesday, July | ||
− | [ | + | It can be compared to preliminary descriptions by geologists, e.g. [http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/07140911-new-horizons-best-look-at.html?referrer=http://t.co/ExQJ6cKS1Q New Horizons' best look at Pluto before close approach | The Planetary Society]. |
− | + | The comic probably winks at {{w|Percival_Lowell|Percival Lowell}} whose observatory photographed Pluto in 1915 "known" as Planet X. Unfortunately Percival Lowell is most famous for are his drawings of the {{w|Martian_canal|Canals on Mars}} which are widely misunderstood as channels based on wrong translations from Italian to other languages. | |
− | The | + | The title text refers to the debate as to whether Pluto should be classified as a full or dwarf planet. This debate was particularly brought into the public eye, and came to be seen as a matter of controversy, following the 2006 {{w|IAU definition of planet}}. The text may imagine that this debate winds on, with definitions being created and revised until a ridiculous state is reached whereby Pluto has a special class of celestial body named after it called a 'Pluto', but fails to fulfil the arbitrary criteria set up for it, and hence is called a 'dwarf Pluto'. |
− | + | There actually exist the terms {{w|Plutoid}} and {{w|Plutino}}, that relate directly to groups that Pluto belongs to, but see those pages for details of their use and usage. | |
− | ===Details on | + | ===Details on Randalls discoveries=== |
;Candy shell | ;Candy shell | ||
− | Suggests Pluto is a confection, like [http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Minmus Minmus] | + | Suggests Pluto is a confection, like [http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Minmus Minmus]. |
;JPEG plumes | ;JPEG plumes | ||
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;Bullet holes | ;Bullet holes | ||
− | A string of small round features which Randall suggests | + | A string of small round features which Randall suggests were the result of Pluto getting shot repeatedly, probably by meteorites. |
;New Netherlands | ;New Netherlands | ||
− | Reference to | + | Reference to [[1519: Venus]] and also a [[what if?]] about draining the Earth's oceans onto Mars. In [https://what-if.xkcd.com/54/ that What If?], the Netherlands issued forth from the portal that drained the oceans to claim Mars as New Netherlands. Presumably something similar happened on Pluto. |
;Disputed territory | ;Disputed territory | ||
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A generic map hazard. | A generic map hazard. | ||
− | ;Full text of {{w|Pareidolia | + | ;Full text of the Wikipedia article on pareidolia |
− | + | {{w|Pareidolia}} is the human brain's tendency to see patterns where they don't exist. While probably a reference to Pluto's heart, the joke is also recursive: You'd be seeing the text of a Wikipedia article explaining to you that you couldn't actually be seeing the text of a Wikipedia article. | |
;Tadpole | ;Tadpole | ||
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;Kuiper Belt loops | ;Kuiper Belt loops | ||
− | The {{w|Kuiper belt}} is a region in our solar system that contains an unknown amount of icy bodies, one known is Pluto. Randall jokingly refers to Kuiper Belt as the same kind of belt that's used to fasten clothing and identifies features on Pluto's surface as loops for the belt. | + | The {{w|Kuiper belt}} is a region in our solar system that contains an unknown amount of icy bodies, one known is Pluto. Randall jokingly refers to Kuiper Belt as the same kind of belt that's used to fasten clothing, and identifies features on Pluto's surface as loops for the belt. |
;Serenity | ;Serenity | ||
− | An outline of the ''Firefly''-class spaceship ''Serenity'', which was the titular vessel from the 2002 TV series ''{{w | + | An outline of the ''Firefly''-class spaceship ''Serenity'', which was the titular vessel from the 2002 TV series ''{{w|Firefly}}''. One of a number of pareidolic features Randall has outlined. |
;Dinosaur | ;Dinosaur | ||
− | Nobody can see a dinosaur unless Randall did this painting on Pluto's surface. And a complex comic needs at least one dinosaur. | + | Nobody can see a dinosaur unless Randall did do this painting on Pluto's surface. And a complex comic needs at least one dinosaur. |
;The good part | ;The good part | ||
− | A | + | A random, arbitrary selection of Pluto that is somehow better than the rest of Pluto. Only Randall knows why. |
;Moon bud | ;Moon bud | ||
− | This could be interpreted as a moon growing/emerging out of | + | This could be interpreted as a moon growing/emerging out of pluto, as a bud is "a compact knob-like growth". A round growth is seen at the location marked, resembling a small, emerging moon. |
;Ghost | ;Ghost | ||
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Suggests Pluto had dinosaurs and lost them the same way Earth did. | Suggests Pluto had dinosaurs and lost them the same way Earth did. | ||
− | ; | + | ;Heart |
− | + | One of a number of pareidolic features Randall has outlined, and the only one (currently) also informally named as such by NASA. | |
;Coronary artery disease | ;Coronary artery disease | ||
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;Cracks (beginning to hatch) | ;Cracks (beginning to hatch) | ||
− | Implying that Pluto is some manner of | + | Implying that Pluto is some manner of giant egg. Possibly a reference to the ''Doctor Who'' episode ''Kill the Moon'', in which the Moon is revealed to be an egg from which a monster is hatching. A 2014 article from ''The Onion'', [http://www.theonion.com/article/moon-finally-hatches-36414 "Moon Finally Hatches,"] makes the same joke. Also possibly a reference to ''The Light Fantastic'', a ''Discworld'' novel in which similar objects are revealed to be the eggs of the world turtle. A similar idea appeared in Jack Williamson's 1934 short story "Born of the Sun". |
;Plug (inflating/deflating) | ;Plug (inflating/deflating) | ||
− | + | Balls often have a "plug" or opening to insert a needle to inflate or deflate them. | |
;Scars from predator attacks | ;Scars from predator attacks | ||
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;Debate Hole - Where we're putting all the people still arguing about Pluto's planet status | ;Debate Hole - Where we're putting all the people still arguing about Pluto's planet status | ||
− | Pluto was reclassified as a {{w|dwarf planet}} rather than a {{w|planet}} following the latter term's controversial {{w | + | Pluto was reclassified as a {{w|dwarf planet}} rather than a {{w|planet}} following the latter term's controversial {{w|redefinition in 2006}} by the {{w|International Astronomical Union}}. Arguments about the classification continue to pop up. The same argument is referenced in the title text. The name implies a proposal to put all the people still arguing about it in this hole on Pluto. This proposal further implies that the continued debate is very annoying by 2015, except perhaps to the debaters themselves. |
;Area missed during ironing | ;Area missed during ironing | ||
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;Probably Benign | ;Probably Benign | ||
− | A {{w|neoplasm}} or tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue. Randall is suggesting that the abnormal region near the heart has been evaluated by a doctor and determined to be {{w|Benign tumor|benign}}. | + | A {{w|neoplasm}} or tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue. Randall is suggesting that the abnormal region near the heart has been evaluated by a doctor and determined to be {{w|Benign tumor|benign}}. |
;Chocolate frosting | ;Chocolate frosting | ||
− | Suggests the discrepancy in color over Pluto's surface may be a function of what cake frosting was used where. This | + | Suggests the discrepancy in color over Pluto's surface may be a function of what cake frosting was used where. This are is the so-called "whale's tail" (http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/find-heart-whale-new-horizons-picture-pluto-n388816). |
;Vanilla frosting | ;Vanilla frosting | ||
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;Border of pride lands | ;Border of pride lands | ||
− | A reference to the Disney animated feature ''The Lion King.'' In the movie, the Pridelands is the bright and prosperous region ruled by the Lion King while a dark territory beyond its border is controlled by hyenas. | + | A reference to the Disney animated feature ''The Lion King.'' In the movie, the Pridelands is the bright and prosperous region ruled by the Lion King while a dark territory beyond its border is controlled by hyenas. |
;Hyena country | ;Hyena country | ||
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:Cracks (beginning to hatch) | :Cracks (beginning to hatch) | ||
:Plug (inflating/deflating) | :Plug (inflating/deflating) | ||
− | : | + | :HEART |
::Mount Mons | ::Mount Mons | ||
::Coronary artery disease | ::Coronary artery disease | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
− | + | [[Category:Space]] | |
+ | [[Category:Astronomy]] | ||
[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] | ||
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