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<noinclude>:''"2017", this comic's number, redirects here. For the comic named "2017", see [[1779: 2017]].''</noinclude>
 
 
{{comic
 
{{comic
 
| number    = 2017
 
| number    = 2017
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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This is the second comic in the [[:Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]] series: The first was [[1644: Stargazing]], two and a half years earlier. It was followed by [[2274: Stargazing 3]] one and a half years later.
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{{incomplete|More on 3rd panel with planet and a satellite. More on last sentence and the entire title text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
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This is the second comic in the [[:Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]] series: The first was [[1644: Stargazing]], two and a half years earlier.
  
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This comic continues with [[Megan]] as a TV host mixing accurate astronomical information with trivialities, as well as utterly bizarre statements. (See this [[1644: Stargazing#Relevant TV-shows|section]] from the original Stargazing comic about the host and also the [[1644: Stargazing#Trivia|trivia]], from the original comic, regarding the gender of the host).  
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This comic continues with the male TV host mixing accurate astronomical information with trivialities, as well as utterly bizarre statements. In the first panel, the host voices surprise that the stars are visible again after disappearing during daylight. (See the explanation of the first comic in the series, for why this is certainly a male host, as the comics are probably spoofing {{w|Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox}} who is one of the hosts on {{w|Stargazing Live}}. As can be seen he would end up looking like [[Megan]] in xkcd style).
  
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In the first panel, the host voices surprise that the stars are visible again after disappearing during daylight.  
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The host mentions three stars in a constellation which he says is called The Triangle. This presumably refers to the {{w|Triangulum}} constellation. He then goes on to point out three other stars forming a triangle and concludes that one can form lots of triangles by connecting groups of three stars. In Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, any set of three points which do not form a line will form a triangle, so to say that there are a "lotta triangles" is both trivial and an understatement.
  
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The host mentions three stars in a constellation which she says is called The Triangle, likely referring to the constellation {{w|Triangulum}}, which is in fact just three main stars in a narrow triangle. However, this may also simply be intended to show the host's lack of knowledge of constellations, since she then goes on to point out three other stars forming a triangle and concludes that one can form lots of triangles by connecting groups of three stars. In Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, any set of three non-collinear points will form a triangle, so to say that there are a "lotta triangles" is both trivial and an understatement.{{Citation needed}} (There are about 125 billion triangles visible in the night sky with around 9096 visible stars.)
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Then he points out a planet and a satellite.  
  
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Then she points to planets, calling them dots known as "fool's stars" (like fool's gold). Planets such as Venus and Jupiter are often mistaken as stars, and the word itself is derived from the Greek, ''planētēs'' or "wanderer." She also notes that lacking interstellar transportation, humanity will likely only reach the planets within our solar system. However, she then makes the seemingly ludicrous assertion that humans will turn these planets into interplanetary landfills, which might be a comment on how humans have used the Earth. See [[2633: Astronomer Hotline]] where an astronomer calls fireflies "ground stars" and other names.
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The host eventually goes off on a tangent when someone from the audience points out something blinking in the sky. The host says it is a plane, and tells them what is inside it. The host continues, "don't bother trying to catch that one." This could be understood as he means it's too hard to point the telescope at it properly because it is moving too fast. It turns out, however, he means this literally, revealing that at one point during his studies he apparently used the reflective mirror of a telescope to shine light directly at airplanes, which caused the {{w|Federal Aviation Administration}} (FAA) to close down the observatory.
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The host also notices a dot of "space trash": An artificial satellite. Since the nascent Space Age, the Earth's orbit has gradually accumulated artificial materials that include satellites, spent rockets, and space stations. There are concerns such debris accumulation will increasingly imperil current and future space projects. However, the host claims there is an app that can tell you "whose fault it is," presumably a satellite-tracking smartphone app such as [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skyview-satellite-guide-find/id694309958?mt=8 SkyView] which can inform you who launched a given satellite and thus whose "fault" that particular bit of space-junk might be.
 
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The host eventually goes off on a tangent when someone from the audience points out something blinking in the sky. The host says it is a plane, and tells them what is inside it. The host continues, "don't bother trying to catch that one." This could be understood as she means it's too hard to point the telescope at it properly because it is moving too fast. In the title text, however, she means this literally, revealing that at one point during her studies she apparently used the reflective mirror of a telescope to shine light directly at airplanes, which caused the {{w|Federal Aviation Administration}} (FAA) to close down the observatory. She claims it was worth getting shut down by the FAA because she completed her thesis for her graduate degree. "Got a thesis out of it" is a phrase typically used by a scholar after discussing a research project, as a way of indicating that it was actually the main research they had conducted as a student in graduate school. Conducting research and writing it up in a thesis is one of the major hurdles toward earning a graduate degree (masters or doctorate).
 
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In the title text, she clarifies that as she was exiting the observatory, she literally "got", as in "stole", someone else's thesis paper and multiple doctorates (presumably framed degrees), either to fraudulently claim them as her own accomplishments, or perhaps just because she wanted to steal stuff. Usually "got a thesis" is shorthand for the process of "writing a lengthy thesis paper and having it be accepted as a requirement for graduation", however in this case she simply swiped someone else's document. The revelations that she's extremely unqualified (and unethical) would explain her many bizarre statements.
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[In a dark panel, Megan is a TV host standing in front of a group of 5 people: two Cueballs, Ponytail, Hairbun and a Megan-like woman.]
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:[In a dark panel, a male TV host is standing in front of a group of 5 people: two Cueballs, Ponytail, Hairbun and Megan.]
 
:Host: Welcome back to stargazing.
 
:Host: Welcome back to stargazing.
 
:Host: When the stars disappeared this morning, I figured I had to find a new job, but they're ''back!'' This ''rules!''
 
:Host: When the stars disappeared this morning, I figured I had to find a new job, but they're ''back!'' This ''rules!''
  
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:[A frame-less white panel in which the host points to the upper right with the Megan-like woman, Ponytail and Cueball looking in that direction.]
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:[A frame-less white panel in which the host points to the upper right with Megan, ponytail and Cueball looking in that direction.]
 
:Host: Those three stars form a constellation called the triangle.
 
:Host: Those three stars form a constellation called the triangle.
 
:Host: Those three are another triangle.
 
:Host: Those three are another triangle.
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:Host: Learned that the hard way in grad school.
 
:Host: Learned that the hard way in grad school.
 
:Host: Got a thesis out of it, at least.
 
:Host: Got a thesis out of it, at least.
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{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
  
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[[Category:Stargazing]]
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[[Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]]
 
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Stargazing]]
 
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Stargazing]]
 
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
 
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] <!-- Although the host is not Megan, she is still in the comic, as one of the audience in the 2nd frame! -->
 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
 
[[Category:Astronomy]]
 
[[Category:Astronomy]]
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[[Category:Scientific research]]
 

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