Editing 2762: Diffraction Spikes
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | {{ | + | {{incomplete|Created by a LENTICULAR ABOMINATION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
− | + | {{w|Diffraction spike|Diffraction spikes}} are visual artifacts that appear to extend from light sources, mostly when viewed through a reflector telescope. In telescopes, they are often caused by the support struts of the secondary mirror in the telescope. They've become especially well known lately because they're quite prominent in images from the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}; its bigger spikes are due to the edges of the hexagonal mirror sections, not the struts. | |
− | The | + | The comic feigns that these artifacts are real (from the planet's perspective) spikes extending from all stars, presumably excluding Sol (but see {{w|Asteroid belt}}). The spikes have sufficient energy and coherence to slice planets that intersect them, rather than merely bludgeon or vaporize them. Per the title text, the spikes are also sufficiently luminous to disrupt seasonal (and perhaps even diurnal) patterns of light distribution on planets that come close enough to them. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
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− | :[ | + | :[On a black square background, there is a white circle, representing a star, with a diameter one-fourth the length of the background perimeter. Its center is approximately one radius left of the center of the square. Six solid white lines intersect the center of the circle, and extend into the background. Those portions of the lines that are in the background are drawn as narrow triangles; the portions within the circle (white on white) are invisible. The lines represent the rays of a diffraction pattern. The "star" drawing is bilaterally symmetrical along any of the six lines. The longest line, with the length of each ray equal to the diameter of the circle, is oriented at approximately 15/195 degrees from the vertical (left and right boundaries of the background). The second, very short, is at approximately 20 degrees. The third, fourth, and fifth, with the emergent parts approximately one radius long (the fourth slightly longer) are oriented at about 35, 50, and 80 degrees respectively. The sixth, short like the second, is at approximately 95 degrees.] |
:[Near the apex of the longest line (diffraction pattern ray) at 15 degrees, there is a dashed white line, curved as if part of the circumference of a circle with radius three times that of the "star" circle, and describing approximately twenty degrees of arc. This line represents the orbit of an exoplanet circling the star. At its intersection with the diffraction pattern ray, indicated by a small white circle, the dashed line bifurcates. At the rightmost ends of the dashed lines, there are two circles, one light gray with an irregular, darker gray pattern at the center, the other white. These represent a planet that has been sliced into two equal portions by the diffraction ray. A few white specks surrounding the circles represent debris from the cutting. The word SLICE is written in white capital letters immediately to the right of the point of intersection.] | :[Near the apex of the longest line (diffraction pattern ray) at 15 degrees, there is a dashed white line, curved as if part of the circumference of a circle with radius three times that of the "star" circle, and describing approximately twenty degrees of arc. This line represents the orbit of an exoplanet circling the star. At its intersection with the diffraction pattern ray, indicated by a small white circle, the dashed line bifurcates. At the rightmost ends of the dashed lines, there are two circles, one light gray with an irregular, darker gray pattern at the center, the other white. These represent a planet that has been sliced into two equal portions by the diffraction ray. A few white specks surrounding the circles represent debris from the cutting. The word SLICE is written in white capital letters immediately to the right of the point of intersection.] | ||
+ | :[Caption below panel:] | ||
+ | :Bad news for exoplanets: it turns out those diffraction spikes are real. | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
[[Category:Space]] | [[Category:Space]] | ||
[[Category:Photography]] | [[Category:Photography]] | ||
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[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]] | [[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]] |