Emojis come in all shapes and sizes and each company offers its own take on their interpretation with varying accuracy. In the case of Saturn, a planetary scientist in the U.S. has made a call in a detailed Twitter thread on who has created the most accurate of the ringed planet’s emojis.
Dr James O’Donoghue is a planetary scientist at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and has published papers on Saturn’s rings, specifically. When it comes to Saturn, you expect him to know what he’s talking about.
He took to Twitter to let the world know who wins the Saturn emoji war in terms of accuracy ” something you probably didn’t know you needed.
I’m a planetary scientist with published papers specifically on Saturn’s atmosphere/rings, so thought it’d be fun to rank the “Ringed Planet” emojis????
First I’m gonna assume they’re trying to be SATURN ok, so I’ll be ranking their accuracy based on that. Results end of thread!???? pic.twitter.com/BVcI9EHNxf
— Dr James O’Donoghue (@physicsJ) February 26, 2020
At the bottom of the list is Twitter’s version of the planet, which is depicted as a cartoon-ish orange and yellow planet with an asymmetrical ring. This one’s no good, according to Dr O’Donoghue, and in fact, he considers it “offensive.”
Moving on to number five and we have Microsoft’s Saturn. Dr O’Donoghue points out it has a lack of detail, the rings aren’t wide enough and the colour scheme is disturbing. It essentially goes in the emoji trash too.
Fourth place went to Google because it had a more realistic look, but at the end of the day its tilt was too sharp. Likewise, Facebook’s third place entry was considered a noble attempt but was ultimately, too colourful and the rings were too close to the planet.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/12/saturns-rings-could-be-gone-in-just-100-million-years/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/eilsdwifyanppnqeltk8.jpg” title=”Saturn’s Rings Could Be Gone In Just 100 Million Years” excerpt=”With its extensive system of rings, Saturn is among the most beautiful planets in the Solar System. Sadly, it’s beauty may be fleeting, according to new research. Saturn’s rings are dissolving faster than scientists expected, according to the study, and they could be gone in 100 million to 300 million years”a cosmological blink of the eye.”]
Apple’s attempt landed it in second place with Dr O’Donoghue lamenting its success in “capturing the golden yellow shades of Saturn’s cloud tops.” It took out the win for atmosphere but it wasn’t enough to score the top position.
That honour went to Whatsapp’s creation, which Dr O’Donoghue says he was most impressed with calling it “fantastic”, with the most accurate tilt of them all.
“Saturn’s tilt & rings being so accurate that it was an easy choice: the rings are Saturn’s crown jewels!” Dr O’Donoghue said in a tweet.
Number 1 is Whatsapp! Apple was a close second, but I was so impressed by Whatsapp-Saturn’s tilt & rings being so accurate that it was an easy choice: the rings are Saturn’s crown jewels!
As I said this assumes they’re trying to match Saturn, may not be true. Thx for reading!???? pic.twitter.com/g0FOtID7Em
— Dr James O’Donoghue (@physicsJ) February 26, 2020
So, there you have it ” the verdict on who does Saturn justice is in, you can rest easy again.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/09/this-is-an-especially-good-picture-of-saturn/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/oqj9u1qsn3i0j18bak4i.jpg” title=”This Is An Especially Good Picture Of Saturn” excerpt=”I’ve seen many pictures of Saturn, some crisp and clear, some blurry, some big, some small. I think I have the authority to tell you that this new image from Hubble is an especially good one.”]