66: Abusive Astronomy

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Abusive Astronomy
Medium: Pencil on paper
Title text: Medium: Pencil on paper

Explanation

Transcript

Identifying star clusters:
[Image of a star cluster.]
This is the Pleiades, asshole.
Orion's Belt:
[Image of a Orion's Belt.]
Only a moron couldn't find it.
This is the Big Dipper:
[Image of the Big Dipper.]
What the hell is wrong with you?


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Discussion

Actually, I don't quite get it. Since it's one of the early xkcd strips, it is somewhat different from the latter ones. I would suppose he is making fun on how it is impossible to guess what the constellations are, as they just look like a bunch of stars clumped together (definitely not like a belt). 35.13.220.113 03:52, 25 October 2012 (UTC) NariOX

The first one looks like a certain male part, the second looks like a pencil, I can't figure out the last one though...

Constellations are NOT "formally known as asterisms." They are defined area of the celestial sphere. Asterisms are star formations that are part of constellations (e.g. Orion's Belt) or can span multiple constellations (e.g. the Summer Triangle and Winter Hexagon.) Constellations are more formally called, um, constellations. Subwoofer (talk) 22:23, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

I have been stargazing quite a lot in the last year and I can tell that those constellations are rather simple to recognize in the night sky; especially the Orion's belt, only someone completely inept wouldn't be able to find it, in the Northern Hemisphere. 108.162.219.59 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Never knew about the confusion with Pleiades, always though it was between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. -- Flewk (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Big Dipper is a Ladle. For taking drinks, perhaps, from the drinking gourd. Referenced from abolitionist movement times. http://pathways.thinkport.org/secrets/gourd1.cfm ((GlitchedOut))