Seth Shostak Quotes

67 quotes in 1417 categories

• There is little chance that aliens from two societies anywhere in the Galaxy will be culturally close enough to really 'get along.' This is something…
• There is a point of view among astronomical researchers that is generally referred to as the Principle of Mediocrity. ... If the Sun and its…
• The search for extra-terrestrial life is a failure until that moment when it suddenly becomes a success.
• [O]ne might ask why, in a galaxy of a few hundred billion stars, the aliens are so intent on coming to Earth at all. It…
• The number of habitable worlds in our galaxy is certainly in the tens of billions, minimum, and we haven't even talked about the moons. And…
• In the 19th century, if you had a basement lab, you could make major scientific discoveries in your own home. Right? Because there was all…
• The stars look the same from night to night. Nebulae and galaxies are dully immutable, maintaining the same overall appearance for thousands or millions of…
• Faith is a personal matter, and should never be a cudgel to stifle inquiry. We tried that approach about 1,200 years ago. The experiment was…
• The ideas of science germinate in a matrix of established knowledge gained by experiment; they are not lonesome thoughts, born in a rarified realm where…
• A century ago, scientists believed there was only one obvious stomping ground for alien biology in our solar system: Mars. Because it was reminiscent of…
• Everything you see is filtered through your visual system (imperfect) and your brain (also imperfect, despite what your mom told you). Witness testimony is the…
• Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite the…
• Recent results from astronomers who study the occasional gravitational lensing of unknown worlds by intervening stars suggest that orphan planets could be at least as…
• The planets and moons of our solar system are blatantly visible because they reflect sunlight. Without the nearby Sun, these planets would be cryptic and…
• The bottom line is that finding orphan planets - small, faint, and located who-knows-where - is not for the faint of heart. The task is…
• Jupiter, a world far larger than Earth, is so warm that it currently radiates more internal heat than it receives from the Sun.
• The overwhelming bulk of the cosmos is deathly quiet. But here and there - on worlds where matter is thick and conditions are right -…
• Once typecast as the indispensable altarpiece of a well-appointed living room, TVs have infected every human environment. The average American household has more television sets…
• The longtime standard for American TV was 525 lines from top to bottom of the image. As a practical matter, that was roughly equivalent to…
• Estimates are that at least 70 per cent of all stars are accompanied by planets, and since the latter can occur in systems rather than…

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