this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] Eranziel@lemmy.world 127 points 5 days ago (3 children)

The barycenter is sometimes outside the diameter of the sun. Not always, and I believe not even usually.

Yes, today I'm being that guy. Still a cool factoid.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 37 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I'm kinda stunned that it's EVER outside the sun.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club 7 points 4 days ago

Yeah, that's the first thing I checked reading the og post before I was about to write 'there is no was it's outside the sun!' ... its such a tiny supergassy mass.

[–] Zuriz@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago

Outside the sun? Typical Visiblist. The Alfvén surface would like to have a word. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfv%C3%A9n_surface

[–] setInner234@lemmy.ml 16 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Well, while we are being 'that guy', factoid is one of those words which has changed its meaning by being used wrongly for so long that the original meaning has all but vanished.

A factoid is technically supposed to be something resembling fact, but not actual fact. (The Greek suffix '-oid' normally being used for that purpose, like in paranoid, "like knowledge" or asteroid, "like a star").

The best thing about factoid, is that factoid is now a factoid. Because it resembles what it is not lol...

Anyway, nowadays, you are allowed to use it the way you did, at least in the descriptivist world view. The prescriptivists may disagree, however. And those people are often 'that guy' ;)

[–] TipsyMcGee@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Since definitions are not facts, the word factoid itself being a factoid is a factoid

[–] setInner234@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago
[–] davidgro@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'd say that the original statement not including "sometimes" does in fact make it the 'not a fact' type of factoid!

[–] setInner234@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago
[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

Well, now I want to know if there's a regular schedule to the Jupiter-Sun barycenter being in or outside of the Sun, and how we can schedule holidays around it.