Editing 2849: Under the Stars

{{comic
| number    = 2849
| date      = November 1, 2023
| title     = Under the Stars
| image     = under_the_stars_2x.png
| imagesize = 672x258px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = If you live in Los Angeles (around 33°52'N, roughly the latitude of Hermosa Beach) the black hole in V404 Cygni passes over you each day. On Christmas Day it will be directly overhead around 2pm.
}}

==Explanation==
The phrase "under the stars" generally refers to being under a visible field of stars (either real stars visible at night, or representations of stars constructed by people, as in a dance hall). Megan points out that we're always under the stars, they're just obscured ("painted over") during the day by the brightness of the Sun and its interaction with the sky. Of course, this makes the 'under the stars' part of the remark redundant in the first place, because by this definition, sitting outside is always under the stars. Also, since the Sun is itself a star, regardless of whether the other stars exist when it's daytime or not, you would always be under at least ''a'' star. In fact, sitting inside is arguably under the stars as well, since the stars are still there, but just obscured by a roof or other construction. Poetically, though, it could be taken to mean that Megan simply loves to sit and ponder the very existence, vastness, etc. of the stars, even when she can't see them.

[[File:parallel V404 Cygni.png|300px|thumb|If you live on the blue line, the black hole in V404 Cygni is directly over you once a day. Zoomable version [https://rpubs.com/perelopez/Parallel_33_52_02_N here].]]
This is related to the concept of {{w|object permanence}}, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even though we can't physically sense them. When you close your eyes, the universe doesn't go away even though you can't see it; similarly, when the Sun is shining, the stars are still all there.

In the early days of xkcd, it was common for Randall to publish a comic that was not intentionally funny -- often also featuring Cueball and Megan -- so this is a bit of a return to form.

The title text mentions {{w|V404 Cygni}}, a binary system composed of a 9 solar masses black hole and a star smaller than the Sun. With a {{w|declination}} of +33° 52′ 02.0″, once every 23 hours and 56 minutes (366.24 times per year, compared to 365.24 solar days within the same timeframe), it 'passes over' any point of the rotating Earth with that latitude North, like Los Angeles, Atlanta or Beirut.

The night sky being "terrifying" is probably related to a quote from Blaise Pascal:

“I see the terrifying spaces of the universe that enclose me, and I find myself attached to a corner of this vast expanse, without knowing why I am more in this place than in another, nor why this little time that is given me to live is assigned me at this point more than another out of all the eternity that has preceded me and out of all that will follow me.” [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/339964-i-see-the-terrifying-spaces-of-the-universe-that-enclose]

This may also be a subtle reference to the novel {{w|Nightfall (Asimov novelette and novel)|Nightfall}} by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg which takes place on a planet that has so many suns they never have darkness and can never see the stars.  In that novel there is an eclipse which occurs roughly every 2050 years, which causes a complete psychological breakdown of everyone on the planet, as they all fear the dark and have no concept of the vastness of space.  In this comic the reference to every sky being full of stars being "terrifying" is very reminiscent of that novel (which was probably referring to Pascal's quote).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan and Cueball are sitting in a field under a clear blue sky and bright Sun.]

:Megan: I love sitting out under the stars.

:Cueball: ...It's daytime.
:Megan: Yeah, but the stars are all still up there.

:Megan: Constellations wheel overhead; they're just painted over with blue.
:Megan: Every sky is full of stars.

:Cueball: That's somehow terrifying.
:Megan: It's okay—just look at that sunny sky and tell yourself space isn't real.
:Megan: "Daytime" is us closing our eyes and pretending it makes infinity go away.

== Trivia ==
* The sun and grass are continuously drawn between frames, as if the frames are organized spatially instead of temporally.
* The idea of considering what celestial objects are directly above a given location has been visited before in the [http://what-if.xkcd.com/161/ Star Ownership] What if?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Time]]