#astronomy

Before we invented civilization our ancestors lived mainly in the open out under the sky. Before we devised artificial lights and atmospheric pollution and modern forms of nocturnal entertainment we watched the stars. There were practical calendar reasons of course but there was more to it than that. Even today the most jaded city dweller can be unexpectedly moved upon encountering a clear night sky studded with thousands of twinkling stars. When it happens to me after all these years it still takes my breath away. ↗

— Carl Sagan

#exploration #night-sky #nocturnal #skywatcher #space

Most people today still believe, perhaps unconsciously, in the heliocentric universe every newspaper in the land has a section on astrology, yet few have anything at all on astronomy. ↗

— Hannes Alfven

#astrology #astronomy #believe #every #few

At the base of the immense pillar, tiny Babylon was in shadow. Then the darkness climbed the tower, like a canopy unfurling upward. It moved slowly enough that Hillalum felt he could count the moments passing, but then it grew faster as it approached, until it raced past them faster than he could blink, and they were in twilight... For the first time, he knew night for what it was: the shadow of the earth itself, cast against the sky. ↗

— Ted Chiang

#beautiful #nature #tower-of-babylon #beauty

Astronomy's much more fun when you're not an astronomer. ↗

— Brian May

#astronomy #fun #more #much #you

My amateur interest in astronomy brought out the term 'magnitude,' which is used for the brightness of a star. ↗

— Charles Francis Richter

#astronomy #brightness #brought #interest #magnitude

This is very similar to astronomy where different magnitudes are assigned to the brightness of an astronomical object, depending on the range of wavelengths being measured. ↗

— Charles Francis Richter

#astronomical #astronomy #being #brightness #depending

I liked math - that was my favorite subject - and I was very interested in astronomy and in physical science. ↗

— Sally Ride

#favorite #i #interested #liked #math

This sight... is by far the noblest astronomy affords. ↗

— Edmond Halley

#astronomy #far #noblest #sight

We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. ↗

— Tombstone epitaph of two amateur astronomers

#death #finality #hope #love #stars

Our existence in this place, this microscopic corner of the cosmos, is fleeting. With utter disregard for our wants and needs, nature plays out its grand acts on scales of space and time that are truly hard to grasp. Perhaps all we can look to for real solace is our endless capacity to ask questions and seek answers about the place we find ourselves in. ↗

— Caleb Scharf

#nature