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Astronomy Quotes

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Astronomy Quotes

“My time as a middle manager was a decade spent in high altitude professional astronomy. I found myself in a ‘Piggy In The Middle’ situation. The management team wanted a well performing telescope that was free of issues and the people I was managing appeared lethargic! I later discovered through research that the high altitude exposures drain them of energy. The high altitude workers end up in a state of mal-acclimatization, where they are never acclimatized to the mountain and they are never acclimatized to sea level. After a decade working at high altitude, I was also lethargic! It was a relief to leave the field of professional astronomy. I spent the following decades characterizing the toxicity of professional astronomy and I discovered a new sickness called ‘Altitude Hypersensitivity’.”

“UK professional astronomy worked differently from USA professional astronomy. When I told my UK employer I was going to work for another company, they did everything to help me transfer smoothly. When my USA employer found out I was leaving for another company, they took me into numerous surprise harassment meetings for my ‘voluntary’ resignation!”

“In the Solar System, Enceladus ought to be one of the highest priorities for the world's space agencies. Enceladus has a source of energy (tidal heating), organic material, and liquid water. That's a textbook-like list of those properties needed for life. Moreover, nature has provided astrobiologists with the ultimate free lunch: jets that spurt Enceladus's organic material into space.”

“The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

“There are many arts and sciences of which a miner should not be ignorant. First there is Philosophy, that he may discern the origin, cause, and nature of subterranean things; for then he will be able to dig out the veins easily and advantageously, and to obtain more abundant results from his mining. Secondly there is Medicine, that he may be able to look after his diggers and other workman ... Thirdly follows astronomy, that he may know the divisions of the heavens and from them judge the directions of the veins. Fourthly, there is the science of Surveying that he may be able to estimate how deep a shaft should be sunk ... Fifthly, his knowledge of Arithmetical Science should be such that he may calculate the cost to be incurred in the machinery and the working of the mine. Sixthly, his learning must comprise Architecture, that he himself may construct the various machines and timber work required underground ... Next, he must have knowledge of Drawing, that he can draw plans of his machinery. Lastly, there is the Law, especially that dealing with metals, that he may claim his own rights, that he may undertake the duty of giving others his opinion on legal matters, that he may not take another man's property and so make trouble for himself, and that he may fulfil his obligations to others according to the law.”