22Feb/1225
Orion Nebula
by Jeff
Image text: Also on the agenda: what's with his hips?
So, this one is a bit confusing because the title says "Orion Nebula", but in the comic they are talking about the constellation Orion. However, the sword/dong (dong is an American slang word for penis) itself contains the Orion Nebula, which is a diffuse nebula situated south of the three stars that compose Orion's Belt. It is seen as the middle "star" in the sword/dong of Orion. The star appears fuzzy to sharp-eyed observers, and the nebulosity is obvious through binoculars or a small telescope.
The image text is a quip about how small the hips are in Orion the constellation compared to the rest of its body.
February 22nd, 2012
I thought the hips thing was that it seems to be in movement, like he’s dancing to a Bee Gees song.
February 22nd, 2012
I just assumed he was referring to how they seem asymmetrical. ‘dancing’ could be an explanation to that.
February 22nd, 2012
The title may also be a reference to the nebulosity (fuzziness, uncertainty) of whether it’s “really” a sword or a penis.
February 22nd, 2012
And on an unrelated note, I see xkcd is now only 4 strips away from that “big round number milestone”.
http://xkcd.com/1000/
http://www.explainxkcd.com/2012/01/06/1000-comics/
February 22nd, 2012
Why does the speaker have three arms in he middle panel? Is that common in Astrophysicists? I am a biologist, and am fascinated at this discovery of a new subspecies
February 22nd, 2012
Perhaps one of those lines was intended to be a microphone?
February 22nd, 2012
Or it could indicate movement, as the speaker raises his arm from the podium.
February 23rd, 2012
maybe it’s his, ‘Nebula’?…if that’s what we’re calling them now.
February 22nd, 2012
One of the “stars” that make up the sword/dong is a nebula, and is called the Orion Nebula, hence the title of the strip.
February 24th, 2012
The above post is the only correct title explanation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula
February 22nd, 2012
The “we’re no strangers to controversy” is probably in reference to demoting Pluto from the status of “planet” back in 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto#2006:_IAU_classification
February 23rd, 2012
My guess is that “we’re no strangers to controversy, and we will not shy away from the tough issues” is a joke on Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley:
We’re no strangers to love,
You know the truth, and so do I
February 22nd, 2012
I wanted to know whether there was any significance to the number “279″ of this IAU Symposium. In fact, the International Astronomical Union does conduct a long-running symposium series, with each installment generally identified only by a number. IAUS 279 does in fact exist, with the topic “Death of Massive Stars: Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursts”, which doesn’t seem very relevant to this comic. I think R chose the number simply because IAUS 279 is the next symposium that hasn’t happened yet (it is scheduled for next month).
http://www.iau.org/science/events/992/
February 22nd, 2012
then they just got a new agenda
February 25th, 2012
Well… the death of a star generally causes a nebula. Or am I wrong on that term?
February 22nd, 2012
The Orion sword is really a dong, according to Greek mythology!
Ireus, the father of Orion hosted Hermes, Zeus and Poseidon in his house for a night. The gods wanted do make a gift to Ireus and they asked him if there was something he wanted.
The old Ireus answered that he wanted a son, so the gods toke a skin of a bovine, they pissed on them, and they put it under a rock. Nine months later Orion was born by the pissed skin.
The name “Urion” means “the pissed one”.
The myth is an allegory for human procreation, so it’s obvious that the constellation has a dong!
February 22nd, 2012
Young Orion: “Dad? How was I born?”
Ireus: “Piss off!”
February 22nd, 2012
this one is my favorite
February 23rd, 2012
i belive sword is also slang for penis
February 23rd, 2012
In Italian the 50% of masculine nouns can be used as a slang for penis, but i think it’s the same in all languages of the world XD
February 23rd, 2012
Did I just get Rick Rolled, in my own head? I feel so violated.
February 23rd, 2012
That should’ve been a reply to an0n.
February 24th, 2012
Not the best thing to say in a thread about Orion’s fuzzy thing.
February 24th, 2012
In Germany (I have no idea where else) there is a sex shop company by the name of Orion. So that is why, or at least I hope it is not because of Dotter Faust’s explanation…
April 15th, 2012
If the sword is a penis then the nebula is … eeeewwwwwwww!