"The smallest planets are situated nearest the sun and each other; whereas Jupiter and Saturn, that are vastly greater than the rest, and have many satellites about them, are wisely removed to the extreme regions of the system, and placed at an immense distance one from the other." (Richard Bentley, “A Confutation of Atheism from the Origin and Frame of the World", "Boyle Lecture sermon", 1692)
"Astronomy has already made an important step, in making us acquainted with the motion of the Earth, and the epicycles which the Moon and the satellites describe on the orbits of their respective planets. But if ages were necessary in order to know the motions of the planetary system, what a great length of time must be required for the determination of the motions of the Sun and the stars; notwithstanding this, such motions appear to be already indicated by observations." (Pierre-Simon Laplace, "Exposition du système du monde" ["Exposition of the System of the World"], 1796)
"We can allow satellites, planets, suns, universe, nay whole systems of universe to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish to be created at once by special act […] Our faculties are more fitted to recognize the wonderful structure of a beetle than a Universe." (Charles Darwin, "Notebook N", 1838)
"If proof were wanted of the inexhaustible fertility of astronomical science in points of novelty and interest, it would suffice to adduce the addition to the list of members of our system of no less than eight new planets and satellites during the preparation of these sheets for the press." (John F W Herschel,"Outlines of Astronomy", 1849)
"Like a shower of stars the worlds whirl, borne along by the winds of heaven, and are carried down through immensity, suns, earths, satellites, comets, shooting stars, humanities, cradles, graves, atoms of the infi nite, seconds of eternity, perpetually transform beings and things." (Camille Flammarion, "Popular Astronomy: A General Description of the Heavens", 1899)
"To place one’s feet on the soil of asteroids, to lift a stone from the moon with your hand, to construct moving stations in ether space, to organize inhabited rings around Earth, moon and sun, to observe Mars at the distance of several tens of miles, to descend to its satellites or even to its own surface - what could be more insane! However, only at such a time when reactive devices are applied, will a great new era begin in astronomy: the era of more intensive study of the heavens." (Konstantin E Tsiolkovsky,"The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices", 1903
"From the smallest satellite slave of the smallest star to the largest super-galaxy of worlds in space, everything bows to the first law of nature. Chaos and caprice do not exist." (John H Bradley Jr, "Parade of the Living", 1930)
"The satellite is a natural extension of rockets, which are natural extensions of planes and balloons, which are natural extensions of man's climbing trees and mountains in order to get up higher and thus have a better view." (James Van Allen, "Science: Reach Into Space", Time, 1959)
"The Solar System, comprising the nine known worlds of our Sun and their numerous satellites, is a relatively compact structure, a snug little celestial oasis in an endless desert." (Arthur C Clarke, "The Challenge of the Spaceship", 1959)
"Apart from an understanding of the solar system as a whole, it is becoming clear that information about any planet or satellite illuminates our knowledge of the others. In particular, if we are to understand the Earth, we must have a comprehensive knowledge of the other planets."(Carl Sagan,"The Solar System", Scientific American Vol. 233 (3), 1975)
"New computer calculations, based on observations from the Voyager satellites and ground-based telescopes, show that just about every moon except the earth's-has experienced millions of years [sic] chaotic tumbling. A tumbling moon falls end over end, twists sideways, speeds up, slowsdown, all the time obeying Newton's completely deterministic laws of motion, yet defy [sic] prediction in a way that scientists used to consider impossible." (James Gleick, 1987)
"A law explains a set of observations; a theory explains a set of laws. […] a law applies to observed phenomena in one domain (e.g., planetary bodies and their movements), while a theory is intended to unify phenomena in many domains. […] Unlike laws, theories often postulate unobservable objects as part of their explanatory mechanism." (John L Casti, "Searching for Certainty: How Scientists Predict the Future", 1990)
"[...] we know now that comet and asteroid impacts have changed history, and soon we will have the technology to avert that disaster. [...] the dinosaurs became extinct because they didn’t have a space program." (Arthur C Clarke, Discover Magazine, [Interview] 1999)
"In every language, from Arabic to Zulu to calligraphy to shorthand to math to music to art to wrought stone, everything from the Unified Field Theory to a curse to a sixpenny nail to an orbiting satellite, anything expressed is a net around some idea." (Richard Bach, "One", 1988)
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