On Astronomy (1950-1974)

"The most interesting feature of this science astronomy (and of all science) is our eager ignorance." (Harlow Shapley, "Astronomy", Scientific American Vol. 183 (3), 1950) 

"It is not only the smallest features of the Universe that are controlled by the laws of physics. The behavior of matter on the very large scale that concerns us in astronomy is also determined by physics. The heavenly bodies dance like puppets on strings. If we are to understand why they dance as they do, it is necessary to find out how the strings are manipulated." (Fred Hoyle, "Frontiers of Astronomy", 1955)

"The astronomer seems at first sight to be the most helpless of all scientists. He cannot experiment with the Universe. It is a significant matter of nomenclature that whereas we speak of experimental work in other sciences we speak of observational work in astronomy." (Fred Hoyle, "Frontiers of Astronomy", 1955)

"The pursuit of the good and evil are now linked in astronomy as in almost all science.... The fate of human civilization will depend on whether the rockets of the future carry the astronomer's telescope or a hydrogen bomb." (Bernard Lovell, "The Individual and the Universe", 1959) 

"Astronomy differs from most sciences in that we cannot do experiments; the astronomer must build up from his existing observations a picture or "model" of the Universe, and then look for further effects which should be observable if his model is correct." (Martin Ryle, "Radio Astronomy and Cosmology", Proceedings of the Royal Institution Vol. 38 (173), 1961

"They are to astronomy what atoms are to physics. Each galaxy is a stellar system somewhat like our Milky Way, and isolated from its neighbors by nearly empty space. In popular terms, each galaxy is a separate universe unto itself." (Allan Sandage, "The Hubble Atlas of Galaxies", 1961) 

"Physics can teach us only what the laws of nature are today. It is only Astronomy that can teach us what the initial conditions for these laws are." (Eugene P Wigner, "The Case for Astronomy", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Vol. 8 (1), 1964)

"No one can date that remote epoch when astronomy 'began' - we can say only that the fascination of the heaven is as old as man’s ability to think; as ancient as his capacity to wonder and to dream. And in company with most of the special enchantments of human life, the unique appeal of astronomy is incommunicable; easily understood through direct experience, but not to be precisely defined or explained. Nor should any explanation be thought necessary. The area of astronomy is both intellectual and aesthetic; it combines the thrill of exploration and discovery, the fun of sight-seeing, and the sheer pleasure of firsthand acquaintance with incredibly wonderful and beautiful things." (Robert Jr Burnham, "Burnham’s Celestial Handbook", 1966)

"Throughout science there is a constant alternation between periods when a particular subject is in a state of order, with all known data falling neatly into their places, and a state of puzzlement and confusion, when new observations throw all neatly arranged ideas into disarray." (Sir Hermann Bondi, "Astronomy and the Physical Sciences", 1966)

"Astronomy was the cradle of the natural sciences and the starting point of geometrical theories." (Cornelius Lanczos, "Space Through the Ages", 1970)

"The picture of the universe presented by astronomy is one of dismal stretches of time and space and unparalled desolation. In the eternal abyss of space - bleak, cold, and dark — there are no signs of a Cosmic Consciousness." (Woolsey Teller, "TheAtheism of Astronomy", 1972) 

"Yet nature does not always prefer conventional explanations, least of all in astronomy." (Roger Penrose, "Black Holes", Scientific American Vol. 226 (5), 1972)

"Astronomy is not the apex of science or of invention. But it is a test of the

cast of temperament and mind that underlies a culture." (Jacob Bronowski, "The Ascent of Man", 1973)

"The pre-eminence of astronomy rests on the peculiarity that it can be treated mathematically; and the progress of physics, and most recently biology, has hinged equally on finding formulations of their laws that can be displayed as mathematical models." (Jacob Bronowski, "The Ascent of Man", 1973)