Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

ainz-sama619 t1_itpoch9 wrote

tldr, scientists have no idea what a marshmallow is

32

Stealfur t1_itpukyb wrote

These are probably the same scientist that say "we found earth like plants!"

Mean while the plant they found has 3 times earth's gravity, has a liquid nitrogen ocean, 200 hour days, and rains glass every 3 hours. But hey, it's in a spot that could theoretically have water. EARTH-LIKE!

24

patrickSwayzeNU t1_itq5rns wrote

Youā€™re missing context.

Earth like as in, we can live there, no.

Can carbon based life exist there is a completely different question.

3

Stealfur t1_itq6p77 wrote

No I'm not missing context. That is exactly my point. Scientists are calling a planet marshmallow-like despite being not really what a layman's would define as a marshmallow. Just like how define planets as Earth-like despite the fact that a layman's would not call such an inhospitable place "earth-like."

Their definitions do not match up with are pre-conceved expectations because their metric for classification is different from ours.

7

rckrusekontrol t1_itsb629 wrote

Okay, but could we describe the Earth as ā€œcake-likeā€ cause then Iā€™m good with relating celestial bodies to desserts

2

DontWorryImADr t1_itscqg9 wrote

Frankly, this is more often the issue of the publishing than the academic source.

What sounds more likely? That an astronomer is so cloistered as to forget what a marshmallow is like? Or that they brought up a new discovery (lowest density, similar to marshmallow vs slightly less than water like Saturn) and the journalist jazzed it up to catch attention?

2

Snule t1_itpvhom wrote

Razor hail! Not so good for your life expectancy!

2