TV Signals Approach Taurus Constellation

DEEP SPACE: Based on a plethora of “what ifs,” telecasts of World War II coverage would just now be hitting the eye of the bull, Aldebaran. This, according to Electromagnetic Leak, a highly accessible rendering from one “Abstruse Goose,” humble science comic at large on the Web.

In Leak, Goose illustrates the travel of TV signals in space with which American shows are at progressive intervals of five light years. The eye of the constellation Taurus is around 65 light-years away, thus Goose reasons that WWII broadcasts would be reaching the area, assuming there’s anything left of the signals. Coincidentally, Aldebaran, a big orange star 44 times bigger than the sun, is associated with various forms of mysticism, including Tempelhofgesselschaft, a form of neo-Nazi esoteric Gnosticism expecting a space fleet from the star.

In the meantime, “The Lone Ranger,” the first Emmy Awards telecast and “Howdy Doody” are on the wave behind the WWII-era broadcasts. Closer to earth, “The Dukes of Hazzard” are approaching Pollux, and “SpongeBob SquarePants” has already passed Sirius.

The full TV signal star map is available at AbstruseGoose.com.

--Deborah D. McAdams

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