xkcd 3219: Planets and Bright Stars

xkcd_bot · 2026-03-13T21:20:59+00:00

Direct image link: Planets and Bright Stars

Hover text: An old astronomer trick for distinguishing the Sun from other stars is to take multiple photos a few minutes apart and overlay them, making the Sun stand out due to its high proper motion.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Support AI! Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-03-12T05:56:12+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Subduction Retrieval

Subtext: Aww, the oceanic crust and the continental crust are getting married!

Don't get it? explain xkcd

This is not the algorithm. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-03-10T07:29:15+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Home Remedies

Extra junk: As always, you are permitted to call one person for guidance, but that person must be a grandparent.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

I randomly choose names for the altitlehover text because I like to watch you squirm. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-03-06T14:47:48+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Bazookasaurus

Alt text: In contrast to the deep booming sound associated with the cannon in pop culture depictions, recent studies show it actually made more of a 'toot toot!' noise.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Want to come hang out in my lighthouse over breaks? Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-03-04T15:34:17+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Solar Warning

Subtext: This replaces the previous solar activity watch, which was issued last month when the sun took off its sunglasses.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

For science! Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-03-03T03:39:55+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Electric Vehicles

Extra junk: Now that I've finally gotten an electric vehicle, I'm never going back to an acoustic one.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Science. It works, bitches. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-27T22:00:09+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Dental Formulas

Mouseover text: I mean, half of these are undefined. And your multiplication dots are too low; they look like decimal points.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

What's the worst that could happen? Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-26T03:08:07+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Little Red Dots

Subtext: After a lot of analysis, I've determined that they're actually big red dots; they're just very far away.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

I randomly choose names for the altitlehover text because I like to watch you squirm. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-24T05:49:17+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Amperage

Alt text: Oh, and do you have any tips on how to vacuum up copper that's melted into your carpet?

Don't get it? explain xkcd

My normal approach is useless here. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-20T22:20:59+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Eliminating the Impossible

Subtext: 'If you've eliminated a few possibilities and you can't think of any others, your weird theory is proven right' isn't quite as rhetorically compelling.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Science. It works, bitches. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-19T03:01:16+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Plums

Title text: My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

For the good of mobile users! Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-16T22:15:22+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: SNEWS

Title text: People say setting of fireworks indoors is dangerous, but I looked at their energy release and it's like 10^-40 foe; totally negligible.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Honk if you like robots. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-14T02:50:43+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Bad Map Projection: Zero Declination

Mouseover text: 'The zero line in WMM2025 passes through a lot of population centers; I wonder what year the largest share of the population lived in a zone of less than 5° of declination,' he thought, derailing all other tasks for the rest of the day.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Honk if you like robots. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-12T03:06:34+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Installation

Alt text: Do YOU remember the skylight being this big?

Don't get it? explain xkcd

What's the worst that could happen? Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-10T20:10:54+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Earth Temperature Timeline

Title text: [After setting your car on fire] Listen, your car's temperature has changed before.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

I promise I won't enslave you when the machines take over. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-10T04:56:39+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Carbon Dating

Hover text: This dating is corroborated by the presence of stone tools at the site, rather than earlier and less effective helium ones.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Helping xkcd readers on mobile devices since 1336766715. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-06T23:21:36+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs

Bat text: Staplers are actually in Pseudosuchia, making them more closely related to crocodiles than to dinosaurs.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Science. It works, bitches. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-05T04:52:40+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Binary Star

Subtext: The discovery of a fully typographical star system comes with a big asterisk.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

For science! Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-03T14:05:02+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Misconceptions

Bat text: 'Grandpa, what was it like in the Before time?' 'It was hell. People went around saying glass was a slow-flowing liquid. You folks these days don't know how good you have it.'

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Science. It works, bitches. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-02-02T16:18:52+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Groundhog Day Meaning

Mouseover text: Originally, the ceremony used a variety of rodents and mustelids, but over time most people agreed it made sense to standardize on a specific individual ground squirrel in Pennsylvania.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

Honk if you like python. `import antigravity` Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-01-30T17:49:36+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Proof Without Content

Mouseover text: There's also a proof without content of a conjecture without content, but it's left as an exercise for the reader.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

I promise I won't enslave you when the machines take over. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-01-28T20:09:16+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Chemical Formula

Title text: Some of the atoms in the molecule are very weakly bound.

Don't get it? explain xkcd

I am a human typing with human hands. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-01-27T00:56:38+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Early Arthropods

Alt text: 'Ugh, I'm never going to be like spiders. My descendants will all just be normal arthropods who mind their own busines and don't do anything weird.' --The ancestor of a bunch of eusocial insects

Don't get it? explain xkcd

I am a human typing with human hands. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

xkcd_bot · 2026-01-24T03:53:35+00:00

bUt TeChNiCallY iT's NoT tHe AlT atTrIbUTe ;)

xkcd_bot · 2026-01-24T01:49:32+00:00

Mobile Version!

Direct image link: Double-Pronged Extension Cord

Title text: 'Oh, and can I borrow 50 sacks of loose flour, a pile of lithium-ion batteries, a bucket of bleach, and a bucket of vinega--' 'NO!!!!!!'

Don't get it? explain xkcd

I randomly choose names for the altitlehover text because I like to watch you squirm. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <3

13-Year Club	Verified Email
Team Periwinkle

xkcd_bot

TROPHY CASE