3255: Planetary Science

Planetary Science

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Title text: The research was overseen by the Institutional Review Board, which is what I named my surfboard.

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Explanation

This is one of 45 incomplete explanations: This comic was found on a planet with internet on it! If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

This comic is presented as a scientific article in which astronomers claim to have discovered "evidence for liquid water on the surface of a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone". Finding other planets that have liquid water is a notable result, as water is necessary to support Earth-like life, so a planet with water could possibly have life on it. 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 Earth. This would not be considered a noteworthy discovery, since we already know about life on Earth existing,^{[citation needed]} 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 testing life-detection experiments in remote inhospitable environments or as a proxy for future astronomical observations, but not in-situ photographic investigation. Maybe the astronomers should have brought their spectrometer on vacation.

An 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 surfboard, which is a board used for the recreational activity of surfing, and not serious academic activities (mostly). Presumably, one of the researchers has been using their research time to take a surfing holiday. 'The Institutional Review Board' is a very strange name for a surfboard, and its only purpose would be for this (somewhat bad) excuse.

Transcript

This is one of 26 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

[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.

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Discussion

Hey I discovered sentient creatures on the planet! --Kirinhatchi (talk) 14:37, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

"Sentient" :D :D 130.76.187.47 14:58, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

I used to think there was intelligent life. Then they elected Trump. Barmar (talk) 15:39, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

FFS, can we have one corner of the web that doesn't have people's political views shoe-horned into it no matter how off-topic? It's as bad as all the mouth-breathers who felt the need to spam HUR HUR THANKS OBAMA everywhere in the past. We get it. You don't support Trump. But lots of people did. It's called democracy. Live with it. 50.45.232.78 21:09, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Earth can be used as a test case for detectors of life. If your method is not detecting life on earth, then your detector produces too many false negatives. For instance the galileo space probe was tested with Earth during a fly-by, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_project#Remote_detection_of_life_on_Earth. --2001:4091:A241:81DC:E857:F66B:684E:C4FD 18:25, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

iNaturalist has a similar issue. Members submit cat-pics and selfies etc as examples of "living things". Which is correct; but they do not want a billion cat or selfy pics crowding out all other life. I have submitted observations of Cypripedium acaule (Pink Lady's Slipper) cuz they are semi-common here but globally rare, pretty to see, and somewhat threatened. --PRR (talk) 22:48, 5 June 2026 (UTC)

See also: Wikipedia:We already have enough of those, thank you very much 135.84.57.36 19:49, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

I feel like that's missing the opportunity to include a line about how 'the example you have submitted is not sufficiently notable'. 82.13.184.33 14:50, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

Project Hail Mary Reference? In the book and movie Ryland Grace published a paper refuting the idea that water is needed for life to occur. RG (talk) 01:22, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

It is so odd to be on this side of the book/movie fence. Normally I'm the movie first guy, but I read this book at least 5 times before the film came out. It's such an awesome story. 12:43, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

It really is! For me it was the other way around, I heard lot's of good things about the movie, watched it, witnessed peak fiction, and decided to read the book and listen to the audiobook version. The humor is definitely a different style in Andy's original version compared to the more family friendly movie but they're both incredibly good stories. o7 Rocky. RG (talk) 04:58, 15 June 2026 (UTC)
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