---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of all the material objects we know…"
description: "\"“Of all the material objects we know, quasars are closest to lucretius's javelin. Quasars are galaxies in early stage of evolution. The light that tell..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/henning-genz-4557_quote_of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quas_2081724.jpg"
---

#  Of all the material objects we know, quasars are closest…

![“Of all the material objects we know, quasars are closest to lucretius's javelin. Quasars are galaxies in early stage of evolution. The light that tells us about them today has traveled for billions of years. They move away from us at a speed close to that of light; in that way they mirror the…” quote by Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/henning-genz-4557_quote_of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quas_2081724.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/henning-genz-4557_quote_of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quas_2081724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/henning-genz-4557_quote_of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quas_2081724.jpg)

> ““Of all the material objects we know, quasars are closest to lucretius's javelin. Quasars are galaxies in early stage of evolution. The light that tells us about them today has traveled for billions of years. They move away from us at a speed close to that of light; in that way they mirror the expansion of the universe.””

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Quasars are early‑stage galaxies whose ancient light reaches us after billions of years, moving away near light speed, reflecting cosmic expansion.

**In simple terms:** Quasars are young galaxies whose light shows the universe expanding.

Key Takeaway

Study distant quasars to understand early galaxy formation.

Themes

cosmology galaxy evolution light travel expansion physics

Mood

wonder curiosity inspired

Type

scientific educational

When to use this quote

- research planning
- university curriculum
- science communication
- public outreach

Key Concepts

redshift cosmic microwave background general relativity

Questions to Reflect On

- How do quasars inform models of the early universe?
- What challenges arise when measuring their redshift?

A Different Perspective

Observations are limited by current telescope resolution and distance uncertainties.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [“The most distant quasars exist in a very young universe, barely a billion years old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/the-most-distant-quasars-exist-in-a-very-young-universe-barely-a/)

[Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/)

> [New ways of seeing can disclose new things: the radio telescope revealed quasars and pulsars, and the scanning electron microscope showed the whiskers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-least-heat-moon/new-ways-of-seeing-can-disclose-new-things-the-radio-telescope/)

[William Least Heat-Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-least-heat-moon/)

> [My thesis project was to identify quasars, which are very distant, very energetic objects and still quite mysterious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-bell-burnell/my-thesis-project-was-to-identify-quasars-which-are-very-distant-very/)

[Jocelyn Bell Burnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-bell-burnell/)

> [“Fifty-five crystal spheres geared to God’s crankshaft is my idea of a satisfying universe. I can’t think of anything more trivial than quarks, quasars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/fifty-five-crystal-spheres-geared-to-god-s-crankshaft-is-my-idea-of-a/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Activity does not necessarily mean life. Quasars are active. And a monk meditating is not inanimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/activity-does-not-necessarily-mean-life-quasars-are-active-and-a-monk/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [Activity does not necessarily mean life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/activity-does-not-necessarily-mean-life/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [In the field of astronomy in the mid-'60s, quasars were very sexy objects - gigantic, star-like masses about which little was known. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-bell-burnell/in-the-field-of-astronomy-in-the-mid-60s-quasars-were-very-sexy/)

[Jocelyn Bell Burnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-bell-burnell/)

> [Those who dislike fantasy are very often equally bored or repelled by science. They don't like either hobbits, or quasars; they don't feel at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/those-who-dislike-fantasy-are-very-often-equally-bored-or-repelled-by/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

## More by Henning Genz

> [“Recall our discussion of the pendulum. Its position at a given instant does not fix its subsequent behavior. Suppose a photograph shows the pendulum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/recall-our-discussion-of-the-pendulum-its-position-at-a-given-instant/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“Just as with sound waves, light waves emitted by a moving source show the Doppler effect. What we observe instead of the sound pitch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/just-as-with-sound-waves-light-waves-emitted-by-a-moving-source-show/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“The interpretation of apparent long-distance action by means of continuously propagating effects was vigorously asserted by Isaac Newton. In his wake, the interpretation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/the-interpretation-of-apparent-long-distance-action-by-means-of/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“The quantity that physicists call the specific heat of a substance is defined as the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/the-quantity-that-physicists-call-the-specific-heat-of-a-substance-is/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“To gain any intuitive understanding of the breakdown of this ultimate symmetry through vacuum effects at the critical 10^-44 seconds after the Big Bang,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/to-gain-any-intuitive-understanding-of-the-breakdown-of-this-ultimate/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“To illustrate this relation, think of a game of table tennis. As the ball hits the table, it will bounce up and down. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/to-illustrate-this-relation-think-of-a-game-of-table-tennis-as-the/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“Before the particles that we observe today materialized, all matter in the early universe must have gone through this stage of a quark-gluon soup,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/before-the-particles-that-we-observe-today-materialized-all-matter-in/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“In physics terms, the reason for symmetry breaking is the instability of the symmetric state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/in-physics-terms-the-reason-for-symmetry-breaking-is-the-instability/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“What really transcends our understanding is the mechanism that permits these oscillations of abstract field quantities to carry energy. We know this is true;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/what-really-transcends-our-understanding-is-the-mechanism-that/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“Chaotic or disordered distributions are symmetrical on the average. An observer cannot conclude anything about his location from looking around him. An example is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/chaotic-or-disordered-distributions-are-symmetrical-on-the-average-an/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“The hotter a substance, the faster and the less ordered its molecular motion, and the larger the momentum with which molecules collide. Above 0…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/the-hotter-a-substance-the-faster-and-the-less-ordered-its-molecular/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“This elementary process is symbolically illustrated in figure 59c: A photon becomes an electron-positron pair; inversely, an electron and a positron can combine into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/this-elementary-process-is-symbolically-illustrated-in-figure-59c-a/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“John Maddox, the editor of the British journal Nature, had immediately suggested that the minister should be told that the Higgs boson can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/john-maddox-the-editor-of-the-british-journal-nature-had-immediately/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“At first glance, it may appear odd that the black hole loses mass upon absorbing another mass-that of the electron. Actually, this seeming paradox…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/at-first-glance-it-may-appear-odd-that-the-black-hole-loses-mass-upon/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

> [“We can now infer that at this initial cooldown of the universe across the critical temperature of 10^15 degrees, a mini planetary system might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/we-can-now-infer-that-at-this-initial-cooldown-of-the-universe-across/)

[Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

[Explore all 109 Henning Genz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/)

## More Quasars quotes

> [“The most distant quasars exist in a very young universe, barely a billion years old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/the-most-distant-quasars-exist-in-a-very-young-universe-barely-a/)

[Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/)

> [New ways of seeing can disclose new things: the radio telescope revealed quasars and pulsars, and the scanning electron microscope showed the whiskers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-least-heat-moon/new-ways-of-seeing-can-disclose-new-things-the-radio-telescope/)

[William Least Heat-Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-least-heat-moon/)

> [My thesis project was to identify quasars, which are very distant, very energetic objects and still quite mysterious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-bell-burnell/my-thesis-project-was-to-identify-quasars-which-are-very-distant-very/)

[Jocelyn Bell Burnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-bell-burnell/)

> [“Fifty-five crystal spheres geared to God’s crankshaft is my idea of a satisfying universe. I can’t think of anything more trivial than quarks, quasars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/fifty-five-crystal-spheres-geared-to-god-s-crankshaft-is-my-idea-of-a/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Activity does not necessarily mean life. Quasars are active. And a monk meditating is not inanimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/activity-does-not-necessarily-mean-life-quasars-are-active-and-a-monk/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [Activity does not necessarily mean life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/activity-does-not-necessarily-mean-life/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [In the field of astronomy in the mid-'60s, quasars were very sexy objects - gigantic, star-like masses about which little was known. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-bell-burnell/in-the-field-of-astronomy-in-the-mid-60s-quasars-were-very-sexy/)

[Jocelyn Bell Burnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-bell-burnell/)

> [Those who dislike fantasy are very often equally bored or repelled by science. They don't like either hobbits, or quasars; they don't feel at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/those-who-dislike-fantasy-are-very-often-equally-bored-or-repelled-by/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

Browse all 9 Quasars quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Of all the material objects we know, quasars are closest to lucretius's javelin. Quasars are galaxies in early stage of evolution. The light that tells us about them today has traveled for billions of years. They move away from us at a speed close to that of light; in that way they mirror the expansion of the universe.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henning Genz"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quasars-are-closest-to-lucretius/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Quasars"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quasars-are-closest-to-lucretius/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/henning-genz-4557_quote_of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quas_2081724.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/henning-genz-4557_quote_of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quas_2081724.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/henning-genz-4557_quote_of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quas_2081724.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Of all the material objects we know, quasars are closest to lucretius's javelin. Quasars are galaxies in…” — Henning Genz",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Henning Genz",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Of all the material objects we...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quasars-are-closest-to-lucretius/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/of-all-the-material-objects-we-know-quasars-are-closest-to-lucretius/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
