--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With increasing distance, our knowledge…" description: "\"With increasing distance, our knowledge fades, and fades rapidly. Eventually, we reach the dim boundary-the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/edwin-powell-hubble-25172_boundaries_with-increasing-distance-our-knowledge-f_1150569.png" --- # With increasing distance, our knowledge fades, and fades… ![“With increasing distance, our knowledge fades, and fades rapidly. Eventually, we reach the dim boundary-the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial. The search will continue. Not…” quote by Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/edwin-powell-hubble-25172_boundaries_with-increasing-distance-our-knowledge-f_1150569.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/edwin-powell-hubble-25172_boundaries_with-increasing-distance-our-knowledge-f_1150569.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/edwin-powell-hubble-25172_boundaries_with-increasing-distance-our-knowledge-f_1150569.png) > “With increasing distance, our knowledge fades, and fades rapidly. Eventually, we reach the dim boundary-the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial. The search will continue. Not until the empirical resources are exhausted, need we pass on to the dreamy realms of speculation.” [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our knowledge diminishes with distance; beyond telescope limits we rely on indirect, uncertain clues, pushing toward speculation when data runs out. **In simple terms:** Knowledge fades with distance; speculation follows when data ends. Key Takeaway Accept limits, seek new methods. Themes science exploration uncertainty humility speculation Mood curious reflective inquisitive Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - astronomical research - deep‑space missions - theoretical modeling - educational outreach Key Concepts cosmology epistemology measurement error Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance speculation with empirical rigor? - When should we cease data collection? A Different Perspective Speculation may outpace evidence, risking unfounded theories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Landmarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landmarks/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Speculation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speculation/) [Telescopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telescopes/) ## Related quotes > [There we measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/there-we-measure-shadows-and-we-search-among-ghostly-errors-of/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [“I used to measure the skies, now I measure the shadows of Earth. Sky-bound was the mind, earthbound the body rests.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/i-used-to-measure-the-skies-now-i-measure-the-shadows-of-earth-sky/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [Not until the empirical resources are exhausted, need we pass on to the dreamy realms of speculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/not-until-the-empirical-resources-are-exhausted-need-we-pass-on-to/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [At the last dim horizon, we search among ghostly errors of observations for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial. The search will continue. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/at-the-last-dim-horizon-we-search-among-ghostly-errors-of/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [It's odd how those who dismiss the peace movement as utopian, don't hesitate to proffer the most absurdly dreamy reasons for going to war:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-s-odd-how-those-who-dismiss-the-peace-movement-as-utopian-don-t/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“I just had a dream.” “About what?” “It’s hard to describe. It was very dreamy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-harrison/i-just-had-a-dream-about-what-it-s-hard-to-describe-it-was-very-dreamy/) [Thea Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-harrison/) > [Dill was off again. Beautiful things floated around in his dreamy head. He could read two books to my one, but he preferred the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/dill-was-off-again-beautiful-things-floated-around-in-his-dreamy-head/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Hark, I hear a robin calling! List, the wind is from the south! And the orchard-bloom is falling Sweet as kisses on the mouth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/hark-i-hear-a-robin-calling-list-the-wind-is-from-the-south-and-the/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [“Ugh. It's caveman romance. All that stuff we're not supposed to think is dreamy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-lofty/ugh-it-s-caveman-romance-all-that-stuff-we-re-not-supposed-to-think/) [Carrie Lofty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-lofty/) > [I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-hope-someday-you-will-join-us-and-the-world-will-live-as-one/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Will you look at us by the river! The whole restless mob of us on spread blankets in the dreamy briny sunshine skylarking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/will-you-look-at-us-by-the-river-the-whole-restless-mob-of-us-on/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [We talked through Gillie's life from start to finish, including all her accomplishments and major life events. The woman fell asleep with a dreamy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/we-talked-through-gillie-s-life-from-start-to-finish-including-all/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [Rocking on a lazy billow With roaming eyes, Cushioned on a dreamy pillow, Thou art now wise. Wake the power within thee slumbering, Trim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/rocking-on-a-lazy-billow-with-roaming-eyes-cushioned-on-a-dreamy/) [John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/) > [Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me becuase it so thoroughly teaches me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/will-not-the-very-moment-of-great-disillusionment-with-my-brother-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I am not born to make dreamy movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-kashyap/i-am-not-born-to-make-dreamy-movies/) [Anurag Kashyap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-kashyap/) ## More by Edwin Powell Hubble > [The history of astronomy is a history of receding horizons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/the-history-of-astronomy-is-a-history-of-receding-horizons/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Wisdom cannot be directly transmitted, and does not readily accumulate through the ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/wisdom-cannot-be-directly-transmitted-and-does-not-readily-accumulate/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [A scientist naturally and inevitably ... mulls over the data and guesses at a solution. He proceeds to testing of the guess by new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/a-scientist-naturally-and-inevitably-mulls-over-the-data-and-guesses/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Not until the empirical resources are exhausted, need we pass on to the dreamy realms of speculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/not-until-the-empirical-resources-are-exhausted-need-we-pass-on-to/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [The great spirals, with their enormous radial velocities and insensible proper motions, apparently lie outside our Solar system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/the-great-spirals-with-their-enormous-radial-velocities-and/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Observation always involves theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/observation-always-involves-theory/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Science is the one human activity that is truly progressive. The body of positive knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/science-is-the-one-human-activity-that-is-truly-progressive-the-body/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Equipped with our five senses - along with telescopes and microscopes and mass spectrometers and seismographs and magnetometers and particle accelerators and detectors sensitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/equipped-with-our-five-senses-along-with-telescopes-and-microscopes/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [I knew that even if I were second or third rate, it was astronomy that mattered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/i-knew-that-even-if-i-were-second-or-third-rate-it-was-astronomy-that/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [There we measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/there-we-measure-shadows-and-we-search-among-ghostly-errors-of/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [The universe is unfolding as it should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/the-universe-is-unfolding-as-it-should/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Science is the one human activity that is totally progressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/science-is-the-one-human-activity-that-is-totally-progressive/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [We do not know why we are born into the world, but we can try to find out what sort of a world it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/we-do-not-know-why-we-are-born-into-the-world-but-we-can-try-to-find/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [We find them smaller and fainter, in constantly increasing numbers, and we know that we are reaching into space, farther and farther, until, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/we-find-them-smaller-and-fainter-in-constantly-increasing-numbers-and/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Astronomy is something like the ministry. No one should go into it without a call. I got that unmistakable call, and I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/astronomy-is-something-like-the-ministry-no-one-should-go-into-it/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) [Explore all 23 Edwin Powell Hubble quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) ## More Boundaries quotes > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I never go anywhere or do anything that transports me outside the boundaries of my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-never-go-anywhere-or-do-anything-that-transports-me-outside-the/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [As a kid, in the Runaways, I would see the interviewers start to ask about our personal lives and what we did — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/as-a-kid-in-the-runaways-i-would-see-the-interviewers-start-to-ask/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/understanding-science-and-pushing-the-boundaries-of-science-is-what/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [“Let us not subside into a single mandatory way of thinking or feeling, immersed by a spirit of self-gratification. But let’s dig into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/let-us-not-subside-into-a-single-mandatory-way-of-thinking-or-feeling/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [The question of boundaries is a major question of the Jewish people because the Jews are the great experts of crossing boundaries. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-yehoshua/the-question-of-boundaries-is-a-major-question-of-the-jewish-people/) [A. B. Yehoshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-yehoshua/) > [Working against a restriction - for me - often produces greater things than getting rid of all boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lord/working-against-a-restriction-for-me-often-produces-greater-things/) [Jon Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lord/) > [That's what all art's about - a sense of moving away from boundaries that you can't in real life. Like a dancer is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/that-s-what-all-art-s-about-a-sense-of-moving-away-from-boundaries/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [The boundaries between contemporary art and cinema are so rigid. It's unbelievable. The film critics don't know my artwork and the art world doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/the-boundaries-between-contemporary-art-and-cinema-are-so-rigid-it-s/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) [Browse all 2,012 Boundaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With increasing distance, our knowledge fades, and fades rapidly. Eventually, we reach the dim boundary-the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial. The search will continue. 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