--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let's grant that the stars are scattered…" description: "\"“Let's grant that the stars are scattered through space, hither and yon. But how hither, and how yon? To the unaided eye the brightest stars are more t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astronomy_let-s-grant-that-the-stars-are-scattered_683559.png" --- # Let's grant that the stars are scattered through space… ![“Let's grant that the stars are scattered through space, hither and yon. But how hither, and how yon? To the unaided eye the brightest stars are more than a hundred times brighter than the dimmest. So the dim ones are obviously a hundred times farther away from Earth, aren't they? Nope. That simple…” quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astronomy_let-s-grant-that-the-stars-are-scattered_683559.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astronomy_let-s-grant-that-the-stars-are-scattered_683559.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astronomy_let-s-grant-that-the-stars-are-scattered_683559.png) > ““Let's grant that the stars are scattered through space, hither and yon. But how hither, and how yon? To the unaided eye the brightest stars are more than a hundred times brighter than the dimmest. So the dim ones are obviously a hundred times farther away from Earth, aren't they? Nope. That simple argument boldly assumes that all stars are intrinsically equally luminous, automatically making the near ones brighter than the far ones. Stars, however, come in a staggering range of luminosities, spanning ten orders of magnitude ten powers of ten. So the brightest stars are not necessarily the ones closest to Earth. In fact, most of the stars you see in the night sky are of the highly luminous variety, and they lie extraordinarily far away. If most of the stars we see are highly luminous, then surely those stars are common throughout the galaxy. Nope again. High-luminosity stars are the rarest. In any given volume of space, they're outnumbered by the low-luminosity stars a thousand to one. It's the prodigious energy output of high-luminosity stars that enables you to see them across such large volumes of space.”” [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Brightness of stars depends on intrinsic luminosity and distance; apparent brightness alone misleads about proximity. **In simple terms:** Stars look bright because they’re either close or very luminous. Key Takeaway Consider both distance and intrinsic brightness when judging stars. Themes astronomy perception science Mood educational inquisitive Type scientific explanatory When to use this quote - night sky observation - educational outreach - astrophysics research - public talks Key Concepts luminosity inverse square law stellar classification Questions to Reflect On - Why do we often equate brightness with closeness? - How can we better communicate complex scientific concepts? A Different Perspective Simple brightness-distance reasoning fails without luminosity data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Brightest star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brightest-star/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Night sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-sky/) ## Related quotes > [It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-often-in-the-darkest-skies-that-we-see-the-brightest-stars/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Brightest stars are seen in darkest nights. Become a hope to people who look up to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aquib-ali/brightest-stars-are-seen-in-darkest-nights-become-a-hope-to-people/) [Aquib Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aquib-ali/) > [“Sometimes it takes a period of deep darkness, before we end up seeing the brightest stars...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/sometimes-it-takes-a-period-of-deep-darkness-before-we-end-up-seeing/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [Rose had the sort of eyes that manage perfectly well with things close by, but entirely blur out things far away. Because of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/rose-had-the-sort-of-eyes-that-manage-perfectly-well-with-things/) [Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/) > [Realise well, proud little man that even the highest clouds don't shine! For above all things there lie brightest stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/realise-well-proud-little-man-that-even-the-highest-clouds-don-t/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The brightest stars emerge out of the blackest darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shri-radhe-maa/the-brightest-stars-emerge-out-of-the-blackest-darkness/) [Shri Radhe Maa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shri-radhe-maa/) > [“Dont Worry. The darkest nights produce the brightest stars”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-naili/dont-worry-the-darkest-nights-produce-the-brightest-stars/) [khaled naili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-naili/) > [The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-darkest-nights-produce-the-brightest-stars/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I saw you stare at the sky tonight Millions of stars that always makes you peaceful You are the girl that lures the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanee/i-saw-you-stare-at-the-sky-tonight-millions-of-stars-that-always/) [Sanee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanee/) > [“Brightest stars are the loneliest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usama-anjum/brightest-stars-are-the-loneliest/) Usama Anjum > [Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/moonlight-drowns-out-all-but-the-brightest-stars/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stay strong!The darkest nights produce the brightest stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-madison/stay-strong-the-darkest-nights-produce-the-brightest-stars/) [Victoria Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-madison/) > [Teachers are about the brightest stars in our constellation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-reynolds/teachers-are-about-the-brightest-stars-in-our-constellation/) Peter H. Reynolds > [“True, I cannot see the stars scattered like gold dust in the heavens, but stars just as bright shine in my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/true-i-cannot-see-the-stars-scattered-like-gold-dust-in-the-heavens/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I stared up at the ebbing quarter moon and the stars scattered like a handful of salt across the faraway sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-stared-up-at-the-ebbing-quarter-moon-and-the-stars-scattered-like-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More by Neil deGrasse Tyson > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. 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Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We explore our environment, more than we are compelled to utter poetry, when we're toddlers. We start doing that later. Before that happens, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-explore-our-environment-more-than-we-are-compelled-to-utter-poetry/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Science surrounds you. It's not something that you can step aside, step over or push out of your way because you were never good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-surrounds-you-it-s-not-something-that-you-can-step-aside-step/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The idea that God resides in the unknown is what philosophers call the God of the gaps. And we have this thing called science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-idea-that-god-resides-in-the-unknown-is-what-philosophers-call/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Everybody's got money for vacation time. Look at how much we all spend just to get - well, I get sick on the loop-the-loop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/everybody-s-got-money-for-vacation-time-look-at-how-much-we-all-spend/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Explore all 1,143 Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## 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. 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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": "“Let's grant that the stars are scattered through space, hither and yon. But how hither, and how yon? To the unaided eye the brightest stars are more than a hundred times brighter than the dimmest. So the dim ones are obviously a hundred times farther away from Earth, aren't they? Nope. That simple argument boldly assumes that all stars are intrinsically equally luminous, automatically making the near ones brighter than the far ones. Stars, however, come in a staggering range of luminosities, spanning ten orders of magnitude ten powers of ten. So the brightest stars are not necessarily the ones closest to Earth. In fact, most of the stars you see in the night sky are of the highly luminous variety, and they lie extraordinarily far away. If most of the stars we see are highly luminous, then surely those stars are common throughout the galaxy. Nope again. High-luminosity stars are the rarest. In any given volume of space, they're outnumbered by the low-luminosity stars a thousand to one. 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