# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 103
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2043 "2023-03-15T22:14:38Z")
That’s what the comic shows. 1/8" for Mercury, 1" for Venus… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2044 "2023-03-15T22:19:08Z")
D’oh! Shows how much I pay attention to details… SQUIRREL ! Thanks T-Man Jupiter will be a trip hazard. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2045 "2023-03-15T22:23:20Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Jupiter will be a trip hazard. Yup, you might bump into it on a trip to Saturn. But I’m not really sure what density Randall is assuming, presumably the mean density? That must still make it all gassy. Probably you could stick your hand through it. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2046 "2023-03-15T22:23:39Z")
> **Randall Munroe** > I don’t know why NASA keeps rejecting my proposals to improve the solar system. He’s talking to the wrong people–the Army Corps of Engineers handles this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2047 "2023-03-15T22:25:35Z")
I’m curious why he chose to flatten Mars to less than a millimeter while leaving Jupiter at 18". As you say, it’s a definite tripping hazard. Why not spread Jupiter’s width over a larger radius? Is he using each planet’s distance from the Sun as its maximum radius? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2048 "2023-03-15T22:29:21Z")
I think he’s putting each in a band from its own orbit, to the orbit of the next planet in (or to the surface of the Sun, for Mercury). ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2049 "2023-03-15T22:30:10Z")
Ok, mean densities (which I’m guessing are what Randall assumed) are (in g/cm^3) Earth 5.5 Mars 3.9 Jupiter 1.3 Saturn 0.7 So you could certainly squish down the gas giants considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2050 "2023-03-15T22:41:03Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Probably you could stick your hand through it. According to [this,](https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/695699/view/structure-of-jupiter-illustration) it looks like there might be a dusting of gas but the majority of the rest of it is liquid. Wear your galoshes! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2051 "2023-03-15T23:52:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think he’s putting each in a band from its own orbit, to the orbit of the next planet in (or to the surface of the Sun, for Mercury). Either that, or the real orbit is in the exact middle of each flattened planet’s disc. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2052 "2023-03-16T00:54:56Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I’m curious why he chose to flatten Mars to less than a millimeter while leaving Jupiter at 18". It’s dictated by the size of each planet and the amount of area it has to cover when flattened to cover the space from its orbit to the next orbit inward (or to the solar surface in the case of Mercury). Mars is flattened the thinnest because it’s the second smallest and is spread over a much bigger area than the only smaller planet (Mercury). ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2053 "2023-03-16T01:18:59Z")
That makes sense, but I think it’s just poor planning and design. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2054 "2023-03-16T08:14:46Z")
Munroe vastly eases measurement; just smear until nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2055 "2023-03-16T10:16:22Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I think it’s just poor planning and design. Well, that’s why NASA rejected the idea. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2056 "2023-03-16T12:51:13Z")
It’s good that Pluto was kicked out of the club, or it would be a thin smear across Neptune and extending out a few AU. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2057 "2023-03-17T20:58:32Z")
> **[March Madness](https://xkcd.com/2751/)** > > My bracket has 76 trombones led by John Philip Sousa facing off against thousands of emperor penguins led by Morgan Freeman. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2058 "2023-03-17T21:02:38Z")
I was wondering how you pick anything against the Imperial March, but the March of the Ents might give the Empire a good battle. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2059 "2023-03-17T21:07:36Z")
Do the Ents have the same plot armor as the Ewoks? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2060 "2023-03-17T23:21:56Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > Do the Ents have the same plot armor as the Ewoks? Nah. The Ent Beechbone was killed assaulting Isengard (in the book, not in the film). ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2061 "2023-03-17T23:30:53Z")
Well, _one_ Ewok died on Endor. I think it’s still an open question. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2062 "2023-03-17T23:44:16Z")
Ewoks can kill foolish stormtroopers but Ents could tear open the base doors with their bare hands. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=102) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=104)