--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you take a galaxy and try to make it…" description: "\"If you take a galaxy and try to make it bigger, it becomes a cluster of galaxies, not a galaxy. If you try to make it smaller than that, it seems to bl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/jeremiah-p-ostriker-62513_apart_if-you-take-a-galaxy-and-try-to-make-it_2676900.png" --- # If you take a galaxy and try to make it bigger, it becomes… ![“If you take a galaxy and try to make it bigger, it becomes a cluster of galaxies, not a galaxy. If you try to make it smaller than that, it seems to blow itself apart.” quote by Jeremiah P. Ostriker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/jeremiah-p-ostriker-62513_apart_if-you-take-a-galaxy-and-try-to-make-it_2676900.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/jeremiah-p-ostriker-62513_apart_if-you-take-a-galaxy-and-try-to-make-it_2676900.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/jeremiah-p-ostriker-62513_apart_if-you-take-a-galaxy-and-try-to-make-it_2676900.png) > “If you take a galaxy and try to make it bigger, it becomes a cluster of galaxies, not a galaxy. If you try to make it smaller than that, it seems to blow itself apart.” [Jeremiah P. Ostriker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-p-ostriker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The universe resists being forced into larger or smaller scales; it naturally forms clusters and disperses when constrained. **In simple terms:** The cosmos resists being stretched or compressed; it forms clusters. Key Takeaway Respect natural limits in scientific models. Themes cosmology scale physics Mood inquisitive analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - galaxy formation studies - educational outreach - science communication - policy on research funding Key Concepts entropy self‑organization structure formation Questions to Reflect On - What does this imply about modeling complex systems? - How can we better communicate scale limits? A Different Perspective Simplifying complex systems can lead to misconceptions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cluster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cluster/) [Galaxies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxies/) [Galaxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxy/) ## Related quotes > [Life comes in clusters, clusters of solitude, then a cluster when there is hardly time to breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/life-comes-in-clusters-clusters-of-solitude-then-a-cluster-when-there/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“Sayari yetu hujulikana kama Dunia na jua letu hujulikana kama Sol. Dunia imo ndani ya mfumo wa jua wa Sol. Mfumo wa jua wa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/sayari-yetu-hujulikana-kama-dunia-na-jua-letu-hujulikana-kama-sol/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [Watching a whole cluster of friends, and my own mother, die over quite a short space of time convinced me that purely materialist 'explanations'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/watching-a-whole-cluster-of-friends-and-my-own-mother-die-over-quite/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) > [People in a cluster are bound to each other automatically, and can see each other automatically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/people-in-a-cluster-are-bound-to-each-other-automatically-and-can-see/) [J. 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I sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/i-think-that-a-lot-of-things-are-hard-to-read-if-you-re-not-in-the/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [Democrats cluster in cities, and Republicans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carville/democrats-cluster-in-cities-and-republicans-don-t/) [James Carville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carville/) > [In England, if one wicket falls, you get two or three in a cluster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravindra-jadeja/in-england-if-one-wicket-falls-you-get-two-or-three-in-a-cluster/) [Ravindra Jadeja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravindra-jadeja/) > [“I contemplated how I was going to get through the rest of the day and felt the onset of a terror I thought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-godwin/i-contemplated-how-i-was-going-to-get-through-the-rest-of-the-day-and/) [Gail Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-godwin/) ## More by Jeremiah P. 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