It does at first appear that an astronomer rapt in abstraction,
while he gazes on a star, must feel read more

It does at first appear that an astronomer rapt in abstraction,
while he gazes on a star, must feel more exquisite than a farmer
who in conducting his team.
- Isaac D'Israeli,

My lord, they say five moons were seen to-night--
Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about
read more

My lord, they say five moons were seen to-night--
Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about
The other four in wondrous motion.

And God made two great lights, great for their use
To man, the greater to have rule by day,
read more

And God made two great lights, great for their use
To man, the greater to have rule by day,
The less by night, altern.

Physicists and astronomers see their own implications in the world being round, but to me it means that only one-third read more

Physicists and astronomers see their own implications in the world being round, but to me it means that only one-third of the world is asleep at any given time and the other two-thirds is up to something.

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother

When thou cam'st first,
Thou strok'st me and made much of me; wouldst give me
Water with read more

When thou cam'st first,
Thou strok'st me and made much of me; wouldst give me
Water with berries in't; and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night; and then I loved thee
And showed thee all the qualities o' th' isle,
The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile.

Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we this way and not some other? What does it read more

Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we this way and not some other? What does it mean to be human? Are we capable, if need be, of fundamental change, or do the dead hands of forgotten ancestors impel us in some direction, indiscriminately for good or ill, and beyond our control? Can we alter our character? Can we improve our societies? Can we leave our children a world better than the one that was left to us? Can we free them from the demons that torment us and haunt our civilization? In the long run, are we wise enough to know what changes to make? Can we be trusted with our own future?

Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.

Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.

Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another

Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another