--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The study of the galaxies reveals a…" description: "\"“The study of the galaxies reveals a universal order and beauty. It also shows us chaotic violence on a scale hitherto undreamed of. That we live in a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_the-study-of-the-galaxies-reveals-a-univ_2661212.jpg" --- # The study of the galaxies reveals a universal order and… ![“The study of the galaxies reveals a universal order and beauty. It also shows us chaotic violence on a scale hitherto undreamed of. That we live in a universe which permits life is remarkable. That we live in one which destroys galaxies and stars and worlds is also remarkable. The universe seems…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_the-study-of-the-galaxies-reveals-a-univ_2661212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_the-study-of-the-galaxies-reveals-a-univ_2661212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_the-study-of-the-galaxies-reveals-a-univ_2661212.jpg) > ““The study of the galaxies reveals a universal order and beauty. It also shows us chaotic violence on a scale hitherto undreamed of. That we live in a universe which permits life is remarkable. That we live in one which destroys galaxies and stars and worlds is also remarkable. The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent to the concerns of such puny creatures as we.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The cosmos displays both orderly beauty and immense, indifferent violence, highlighting life's rarity and the universe's neutrality toward humanity. **In simple terms:** The universe is beautiful yet violent, indifferent to us. Key Takeaway Recognize both awe and humility in our place. Themes cosmology philosophy humility Mood wonder reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - stargazing - scientific research - existential reflection Key Concepts order chaos indifference Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of cosmic indifference affect your values? - What responsibilities arise from recognizing life's rarity? A Different Perspective The universe's indifference can foster nihilism if not balanced with meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Galaxies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxies/) [Galaxies Reveals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxies-reveals-2428829/) [Galaxies Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxies-stars-2428830/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Study Galaxies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-galaxies-2428828/) [Universe Benign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-benign-1080912/) ## Related quotes > [The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-universe-seems-neither-benign-nor-hostile-merely-indifferent/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“We tell ourselves how lovely it would be, would it not, if there were a God who created the universe and benign Providence, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-tell-ourselves-how-lovely-it-would-be-would-it-not-if-there-were-a/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I think there is that very basic yearning for something or someone to be looking after us, for there to be a framework holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-faber/i-think-there-is-that-very-basic-yearning-for-something-or-someone-to/) [Michel Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-faber/) > [“There are some hundred billion (1011) galaxies, each with, on the average, a hundred billion stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/there-are-some-hundred-billion-1011-galaxies-each-with-on-the-average/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [There are in fact 100 billion galaxies, each of which contain something like a 100 billion stars. Think of how many stars, and planets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/there-are-in-fact-100-billion-galaxies-each-of-which-contain/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Whoever looks into himself as into vast space and carries galaxies in himself, also knows how irregular all galaxies are; they lead into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/whoever-looks-into-himself-as-into-vast-space-and-carries-galaxies-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“If you cannot do it without money, its passion exists in unknown galaxies than earth's core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goitsemang-mvula/if-you-cannot-do-it-without-money-its-passion-exists-in-unknown/) [Goitsemang Mvula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goitsemang-mvula/) > [“There’s as many atoms in a single molecule of your DNA as there are stars in the typical galaxy. We are, each of us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/there-s-as-many-atoms-in-a-single-molecule-of-your-dna-as-there-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Star Wars Galaxies' didn't ever explain itself to you. It was horribly broken; it was glitchy in several significant ways. It was just this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-robinson/star-wars-galaxies-didn-t-ever-explain-itself-to-you-it-was-horribly/) [Porter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-robinson/) > [The stars begin to fade like guttering candles and are snuffed out one by one. Out in the depths of space the great celestial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-robert-harrison/the-stars-begin-to-fade-like-guttering-candles-and-are-snuffed-out/) [Edward Robert Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-robert-harrison/) > [It's everywhere, really. It's between the galaxies. It is in this room. 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It's an amazing galaxy that is really two galaxies in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-faber/my-favorite-galaxy-of-all-is-called-the-sombrero-ngc-4594-it-s-an/) [Sandra Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-faber/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) [Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. 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Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) [Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/) > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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