Difference between revisions of "Talk:1297: Oort Cloud"

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(need cites for argument that they aren't comets or comet nuclei out there....)
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:The most false understanding is: A comet is a dirty snowball. In fact it's just a snowy rock, most of it is still rock, otherwise it would break up at a distance between Earth and Venus. And all the frozen gases are not only H<sub>2</sub>O. Furthermore a comet is a comet when we can see its shape, unless that tail is shown it's just a small object at our solar system, not more.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:17, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
 
:The most false understanding is: A comet is a dirty snowball. In fact it's just a snowy rock, most of it is still rock, otherwise it would break up at a distance between Earth and Venus. And all the frozen gases are not only H<sub>2</sub>O. Furthermore a comet is a comet when we can see its shape, unless that tail is shown it's just a small object at our solar system, not more.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:17, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
 
::The wikipedia references in the article talk of objects out in the Oort cloud as "comet nuclei".  Unless you can find better sources, that's what we should go with.  [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 14:56, 2 December 2013 (UTC)
 
::The wikipedia references in the article talk of objects out in the Oort cloud as "comet nuclei".  Unless you can find better sources, that's what we should go with.  [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 14:56, 2 December 2013 (UTC)
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My opinion on the time-frame discussion above.  You are discussing editorial elements included in the transcription that have no relationship to the original comic. Regardless of any implied passage of time the comic does not directly state a time-frame that passes and the transcript should only include information contained in the original comic. Any discussion of time-frame should take place in the explanation. The panels imply pauses of unspecific time. The transcript should read the same.

Revision as of 15:52, 2 December 2013

Reading the Wikipedia page on the Oort Cloud didn't help me understand the joke. I don't know if it has anything to do with comets, or the asteroids getting smashed up by them. 108.162.238.117 05:15, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

The asteroid becomes a cost after being severely burnt by the sun. It warns the other asteroid not to go over there. 108.162.221.55 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Which, the title text indicates, is a warning that's utterly ignored... (Also being "right back" indicates a slower perceived thought process. As is probably the case for anything out there in such cold(-ish) depths of space.) 141.101.99.229 11:05, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
What does "becomes a cost" mean? is that a slang expression? 12:02, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
I think it's supposed to be "comet". 173.245.52.228 14:09, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
No, I think he means ghost. All thats left is a faint image after all. 141.101.99.214 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

At least according to my freshman year science teacher, the Oort Cloud is just a theory, and hasn't been proven. Perhaps that should be made more clear? -- Wasda (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

@Wasda, A theory is something which is proven, if not its a hypothesis or a speculation. Mocking on "theories" is typical for laymen. 15:12, 30 November 2013 (UTC)~
Theory is the wrong term. Gravity is a theory. Evolution is a theory. The oort cloud is "hypothesized". Omega TalkContribs 06:21, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

What's here looks exactly in line with current comet theory: A comet is "perturbed" by interactions with other objects out there, and at that distance the sun is a very bright dot, no more. On return (chancy, based on both/either burning up or being in a no return hyperbolic orbit), what has come back is fragmented and with two tails. What I'm not seeing is the second level joke - it's in the movie "I'm going to check out x" form, but I don't get the specific quote. FractalgeekUK (talk) 13:55, 29 November 2013 (UTC)


According to http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/timeline-of-comet-ison-s-dangerous-journey, ISON's journey to earth from the Oort cloud started "At least a million years ago." So I'm going to edit "many thousand years later" to "several million years later". In other news, I recently played "Das Rad" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-7y3B8DjGw) for my kids and this comic really reminded me of that Oscar-nominated short. I hate lichen!  :-) Tovodeverett (talk) 15:10, 29 November 2013 (UTC)


What's with the "Several million years later" context in the transcription?!? The distances might be vast and all, but i doubt the timeframe is that long... -- 173.245.51.210

See the comment right above yours. Diszy (talk) 18:03, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

A comic I did predict yesterday

Uhhh, while I observed that close encounter of ISON at the sun yesterday live I was sure Randall would do a comic on this matter. And he did. That's just funny for me. --Dgbrt (talk) 21:28, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

When is a comet a comet?

Wikipedia says "A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, heats up and begins to outgas, displaying a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail." I see no clear suggestion on Wikipedia that a small Solar System body might change from being an asteroid to being a comet each time it passes by the sun and starts to outgas. It seems to me that SSSB's that contain ices and other volatiles that would outgas given enough heat are comets, but I haven't seen that question really addressed clearly by any authoritative sources. For now I'm switching the references to distant comets from "asteroid" to "comet nucleus", which is used on wikipedia and seems like a neutral term for an icy object that would show a cometary atmosphere and tail when close to the sun. Also, the oort cloud is hypothesized to have both a spherical and a disk-like structure, and is part of the solar system. Please discuss further related changes here. Thanks! Nealmcb (talk) 16:34, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

The most false understanding is: A comet is a dirty snowball. In fact it's just a snowy rock, most of it is still rock, otherwise it would break up at a distance between Earth and Venus. And all the frozen gases are not only H2O. Furthermore a comet is a comet when we can see its shape, unless that tail is shown it's just a small object at our solar system, not more.--Dgbrt (talk) 22:17, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
The wikipedia references in the article talk of objects out in the Oort cloud as "comet nuclei". Unless you can find better sources, that's what we should go with. Nealmcb (talk) 14:56, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

My opinion on the time-frame discussion above. You are discussing editorial elements included in the transcription that have no relationship to the original comic. Regardless of any implied passage of time the comic does not directly state a time-frame that passes and the transcript should only include information contained in the original comic. Any discussion of time-frame should take place in the explanation. The panels imply pauses of unspecific time. The transcript should read the same.