2970: Meteor Shower PSA
| Meteor Shower PSA |
 Title text: If you hold the meteor too long, it may imprint on you and form a contact binary, making reintroduction to space difficult. |
Explanation
This comic is a public service announcement (PSA) regarding what to do in case you discover a meteorite from the upcoming Perseid meteor shower, which occurred the weekend after this comic appeared. (See here regarding 1723: Meteorite Identification).
In the first panel of the comic, Cueball finds a meteorite on the ground, likely from the Perseids meteor shower. He then tries to throw it back into space, which is obviously impossible. However, the comic marks this action as wrong (with an X) not because it’s impossible, but for a different reason. The PSA in the next panel (marked as correct with a check mark) suggests that instead of throwing it, Cueball should contact an observatory and deliver the meteorite to them. There, astronomers like Ponytail can care for it, possibly releasing it back into space during the next launch.
This idea mixes up the concept of meteoroids with baby animals that have been separated from their parents and need rehabilitation—like baby birds that have fallen from their nests (though usually from trees rather than the sky). The advice for finding a wild animal, especially a baby one, is generally to leave it alone because its parents are likely nearby and taking care of it. If the animal is sick, injured, or orphaned, it's best to contact a wildlife rehabilitator who can properly care for it and return it to the wild. However, this advice does not apply to meteors.[citation needed]
If you find a recently fallen meteorite or a fragment of one, avoid touching it, as it may be extremely cold. Though the meteor’s surface is heated by the atmosphere during its descent, the interior remains as cold as space, and the surface will rapidly cool if it hasn't already. The coldness depends on the meteorite’s size, fragmentation, and how long it has been on the ground—unless it was large enough to generate additional heat from the impact. Experts prefer you not handle meteorites directly, as this can contaminate the specimen, making it less valuable for scientific study. In rare cases, such as with more dangerous examples, the meteorite could even contaminate you!
Technically, Randall uses the term "meteor" incorrectly. A "meteor" refers to the streak of light seen when a meteoroid enters the atmosphere. If a piece survives and lands on the ground, it's called a "meteorite" (although some refer to it as magma). This might be intentional to fit the "lost baby bird" analogy, as, like baby birds (except for those from ground-nesting species), a true meteor should never be found on the ground.
The title text humorously suggests that handling the meteor for too long might result in forming a contact binary, which is when two space rocks stick together. While this term is also used for binary star systems, it’s unlikely that a person and a rock would form one.[citation needed] In rehabilitating young animals, preventing imprinting—where the animal forms a psychological attachment to its caregiver—is important because the animal needs to be able to survive in the wild without human help.
Transcript
- [A two panel comic with the panels next to each other.]
- [In the left side of the first panel, Cueball spots a meteorite on the ground. It lies a bit buried in the earth between tufts of grass. On the right side, he's shown throwing the rock into the air, with small lines indicating the flight of the meteorite. There's an "X" above him. Above this there is the following text:]
- This meteor shower weekend, remember: If you find a meteor on the ground, don't try to return it to the sky yourself.
- [In the left side of the second panel, Cueball is holding the meteorite in one hand and talking on his cellphone in his other hand, there's a check mark above him. In the middle of the panel Cueball is holding the meteorite out in both hands handing it to Ponytail who is also holding both hand out to receive it. To the right in the panel a rocket is blasting upwards with fire coming out beneath it and a plume of smoke showing its ascending path. Above this there is the following text:]
- Instead, contact an observatory where astronomical rehabbers will care for it, and hopefully release it back into the wild with the next space launch.
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Pretty sure the term "contact binary" in this instance is referring to the small solar system body variety (a peanut asteroid) rather than a contact binary star, but I can't think of a way to explain that in the explanation.RegularSizedGuy (talk) 06:11, 10 August 2024 (UTC)
- Are there any known examples of a contact binary star? Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 11:24, 12 August 2024 (UTC)
Amongst other things, if you ever see a space-rock fall, and land, don't be tempted to just pick it up. It will probably be extremely cold, for a while. And you don't want to leave your sticky fingerprints on it (or, maybe, its sticky fingerprints on you). If you have a handy (clean) container then perhaps you could scoop it up to stop it from getting lost/soiled where it lies, unless you get more immediate advice directly from experts who might be very interested. (Depends upon who you talk to, and when, but there may be some standing advice that you can follow, if you're not lucky enough to already be an expert in the subject out looking for a particular find.) 172.71.26.87 14:09, 10 August 2024 (UTC)
It seems to me that the "more dangerous examples" should link to something along the lines of SF stories in which infectious material came to Earth via meteorite. The "Green Rocks" link is more about how sci-fi (term used advisedly) alien substances (including meteorites) can have any magic powers the plot needs. I'm trying to come up with examples, but all that's coming to mind immediately is Walter M. Miller Jr.'s "Dark Benediction". BunsenH (talk) 01:07, 11 August 2024 (UTC)
- I (as that editor, and of the prior comment here) had the same difficulty. Even a wikiwalk (or, indeed, a tvtropeswalk) didn't seem to give what I thought was there. I mention the Venom symbiote, above (a near-example; most cases of it, in various continuities, seem to have it being brought to Earth... if it 'fell in the open' it was part of a sample-return mission crashing and burning), and there are a number of other "mysterious rock falls which 'infects' the locals who find it and touch it" (much parodied and repeated) but I could not find the unambiguous ur-example or whatever 'famously made it famous' in any real sense.
- Green Rocks does have a lot of (obvious) memetic overlap with Smallville and similar treatments around that continuity/canon. (I was mostly worrying that in that case, Clarke aside, pretty much everyone who got 'green rocked' at least at first found the effects beneficial ...it's where they took that, and/or hidden psychological compulsions, that might have been their ultimate downfall. Or at least quickly found themselves uniquely isolated from society due to unwanted death-prognistication skills/whatever.)
- It was just a bit of a chuck-it-in, really. Had also been looking at non-meteoric examples. Such as if a soviet satellite's RTG landed, 'intact', you might be wise not to just hold it, or the fictional nuclear weapon discovered by farmers in Sum Of All Fears, or the non-fictional (but not 'loaded') real-life equivalent that luckily wasn't as dangerous as a true Broken Arrow would have been.
- So make of it what you want. I tried to keep the Explanation aside short and sweet, rather than overly explain the joke, but doubtless someone else can refine it (or excise it) in ways that I never found able to. 172.70.163.121 12:11, 11 August 2024 (UTC)
- Andromeda Strain? JohnHawkinson (talk) 02:24, 12 August 2024 (UTC)
The bit in the explanation stating that animals might abandon their young if it smells of humans should be removed. That's a myth. --172.71.22.155 03:22, 11 August 2024 (UTC)
With regard to the "More dangerous examples" suggestion/request may I recommend the short story 'Meteor' by John Wyndham? 172.69.60.136 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
