--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have examined the universe in space…" description: "\"“We have examined the universe in space and seen that we live on a mote of dust circling a humdrum star in the remotest corner of an obscure galaxy. An..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_we-have-examined-the-universe-in-space-a_369802.jpg" --- # We have examined the universe in space and seen that we… ![“We have examined the universe in space and seen that we live on a mote of dust circling a humdrum star in the remotest corner of an obscure galaxy. And if we are a speck in the immensity of space, we also occupy an instant in the expanse of ages. We now know that our universe or at least its most…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_we-have-examined-the-universe-in-space-a_369802.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_we-have-examined-the-universe-in-space-a_369802.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/carl-sagan-160_astronomy_we-have-examined-the-universe-in-space-a_369802.jpg) > ““We have examined the universe in space and seen that we live on a mote of dust circling a humdrum star in the remotest corner of an obscure galaxy. And if we are a speck in the immensity of space, we also occupy an instant in the expanse of ages. We now know that our universe or at least its most recent incarnation - is some fifteen or twenty billion years old. This is the time since a remarkable explosive event called the Big Bang. At the beginning of this universe, there were no galaxies, stars or planets, no life or civilizations, merely a uniform, radiant fireball filling all of space. The passage from the Chaos of the Big Bang to the Cosmos that we are beginning to know is the most awesome transformation of matter and energy that we have been privileged to glimpse. And until we find more intelligent beings elsewhere, we are ourselves the most spectacular of all the transformations - the remote descendants of the Big Bang, dedicated to understanding and further transforming the Cosmos from which we spring”” [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. Human existence is a tiny, fleeting moment in a vast, ancient universe, yet we possess the unique ability to contemplate and transform that cosmos. **In simple terms:** We are brief specks in a huge universe, but we can understand it. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and responsibility for our cosmic role. Themes humility science existence Mood wonder humble Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - education - space exploration - philosophical reflection - environmental stewardship Key Concepts cosmology philosophy anthropology Questions to Reflect On - What does being part of the universe mean to you? - How can we act responsibly with this knowledge? A Different Perspective Our limited perspective can make the vastness feel overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Big bang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-bang/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Vastness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vastness/) ## Related quotes > [“We have examined the universe in space and seen that we live on a mote of dust circling a humdrum star in the remotest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-have-examined-the-universe-in-space-and-seen-that-we-live-on-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“We have examined the universe in space and seen that we live on a mote of dust circling a humdrum star in the remotest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-have-examined-the-universe-in-space-and-seen-that-we-live-on-a-3/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [It may take endless wars and unbearable population pressure to force-feed a technology to the point where it can cope with space. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/it-may-take-endless-wars-and-unbearable-population-pressure-to-force/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [And what we know, or think we know, about the universe of space and time is changing very quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/and-what-we-know-or-think-we-know-about-the-universe-of-space-and/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [“Take three grains of sand and put them in the middle of a vast cathedral. Now the cathedral is as full with sand as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vedang-sati/take-three-grains-of-sand-and-put-them-in-the-middle-of-a-vast/) [Vedang Sati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vedang-sati/) > [It may be that we live in an endless universe, both in space and in time. 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If there is no world or universe, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/in-an-absolute-vacuum-no-space-and-time-exist-as-actualities-except/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [The universe is a space bigger than all of us we are part of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/the-universe-is-a-space-bigger-than-all-of-us-we-are-part-of/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [“The widest thing in the universe is not space; it is the potential capacity of the human heart. Being made in the image of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-widest-thing-in-the-universe-is-not-space-it-is-the-potential/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sky calls to us. If we do not destroy ourselves, we will one day venture to the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-sky-calls-to-us-if-we-do-not-destroy-ourselves-we-will-one-day/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-kid-starts-out-as-a-natural-born-scientist-and-then-we-beat-it/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We on Earth have just awakened to the great oceans of space and time from which we have emerged. We are the legacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-on-earth-have-just-awakened-to-the-great-oceans-of-space-and-time/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In the vastness of the Cosmos there must be other civilizations far older and more advanced than ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-vastness-of-the-cosmos-there-must-be-other-civilizations-far/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-small-creatures-such-as-we-the-vastness-is-bearable-only-through/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## 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 > [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. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. 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 > [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. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have examined the universe in space and seen that we live on a mote of dust circling a humdrum star in the remotest corner of an obscure galaxy. And if we are a speck in the immensity of space, we also occupy an instant in the expanse of ages. We now know that our universe or at least its most recent incarnation - is some fifteen or twenty billion years old. This is the time since a remarkable explosive event called the Big Bang. At the beginning of this universe, there were no galaxies, stars or planets, no life or civilizations, merely a uniform, radiant fireball filling all of space. 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