Solar Warning
This replaces the previous solar activity watch, which was issued last month when the sun took off its sunglasses.
This replaces the previous solar activity watch, which was issued last month when the sun took off its sunglasses.
Children's drawings and cartoon representations may stereotypically personify objects that are not living, including planets and stars. Often, the Sun is drawn with a smiling face or other expression. Cartoonized representations are also often used as an easily-recognized and interpreted schema for reporting and prediction services, such as weather forecasts.
This comic pretends this smile is an actual feature of the real Sun. However, the Sun cannot smile as it does not have a mouth.[citation needed] Apparently, the emotion that the Sun is expressing can give an indication of solar weather, including events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. They are caused by the Sun’s magnetic field getting into a knot, which can be a metaphor for uneasiness. The Sun changing its expression has triggered this official announcement of a warning. Similar warnings are produced by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center because such solar activity can affect communications, power grids, satellites, etc.
The title text indicates that the prior change that provoked a warning was the removal of the Sun's sunglasses. The Sun wearing sunglasses is a further (possibly paradoxical) element of personification often added to images of the Sun. Randall has previously referred to the Sun's sunglasses in comics including 1733: Solar Spectrum and the What If? articles Into the Sun and Black Hole Moon. (Note that in normal weather forecasting, a watch indicates that activity is possible. However, a warning means that activity is confirmed.)
The removal of eyewear is used in the "Deal With It" visual meme and as part of various other tropes that reflect a change in attitude. Another interpretation could be that it is referencing the video game Minesweeper, in which the Sun puts on sunglasses when the game is won and takes them back off when the game is reset (i.e., there is more danger).