--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've seen black holes, which is already…" description: "\"We've seen black holes, which is already wonderful. We also expect to see the merger of neutron stars, and that was a thing that actually gave this fie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/rainer-weiss-11997_astronomy_we-ve-seen-black-holes-which-is-already_132642.jpg" --- # We've seen black holes, which is already wonderful. We… ![“We've seen black holes, which is already wonderful. We also expect to see the merger of neutron stars, and that was a thing that actually gave this field a certain credibility when it was discovered that there were pairs of neutron stars in our galaxy, and people stopped laughing at us when that…” quote by Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/rainer-weiss-11997_astronomy_we-ve-seen-black-holes-which-is-already_132642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/rainer-weiss-11997_astronomy_we-ve-seen-black-holes-which-is-already_132642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/rainer-weiss-11997_astronomy_we-ve-seen-black-holes-which-is-already_132642.jpg) > “We've seen black holes, which is already wonderful. We also expect to see the merger of neutron stars, and that was a thing that actually gave this field a certain credibility when it was discovered that there were pairs of neutron stars in our galaxy, and people stopped laughing at us when that was found out.” [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observations of black holes and neutron star mergers have validated astrophysics, shifting it from speculation to credible science. **In simple terms:** Space discoveries prove astrophysics works. Key Takeaway Support and follow scientific breakthroughs. Themes science validation discovery Mood hopeful optimistic Type educational informative When to use this quote - research funding - public outreach - education - policy decisions - media coverage Key Concepts astrophysics credibility empirical evidence Questions to Reflect On - What evidence convinces you? - How can we improve science communication? A Different Perspective Complex phenomena can still be misunderstood by the public. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Black hole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hole/) [Black holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-holes/) [Credibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credibility/) [Galaxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) ## Related quotes > [We knew about black holes in other ways, and we knew about neutron stars - well, those are the two things that ultimately got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-knew-about-black-holes-in-other-ways-and-we-knew-about-neutron/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [We know about black holes and neutron stars, but we hope there are other phenomena we can see because of the gravitational waves they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-know-about-black-holes-and-neutron-stars-but-we-hope-there-are/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [Things changed with the discovery of neutron stars and black holes - objects with gravitational fields so intense that dramatic space and time-warping effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/things-changed-with-the-discovery-of-neutron-stars-and-black-holes/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [“In our profession, we tend to name things exactly as we see them. Big red stars we call red giants. Small white stars we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-our-profession-we-tend-to-name-things-exactly-as-we-see-them-big/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The waves travel with the velocity of light and slightly squeeze and stretch space transverse to the direction of their motion. The first waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-waves-travel-with-the-velocity-of-light-and-slightly-squeeze-and/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [For reasons probably related to the popular vision of Albert Einstein and, also, the threat posed by black holes in comic books and science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/for-reasons-probably-related-to-the-popular-vision-of-albert-einstein/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [It's becoming clear that in a sense the cosmos provides the only laboratory where sufficiently extreme conditions are ever achieved to test new ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/it-s-becoming-clear-that-in-a-sense-the-cosmos-provides-the-only/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [We are all stars in this galaxy. All of us. No one's greater than the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scatman-crothers/we-are-all-stars-in-this-galaxy-all-of-us-no-one-s-greater-than-the/) [Scatman Crothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scatman-crothers/) > [When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalpana-chawla/when-you-look-at-the-stars-and-the-galaxy-you-feel-that-you-are-not/) [Kalpana Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalpana-chawla/) > [There are at least as many galaxies in our observable universe as there are stars in our galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/there-are-at-least-as-many-galaxies-in-our-observable-universe-as/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Is it not careless to become too local when there are four hundred billion stars in our galaxy alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-ammons/is-it-not-careless-to-become-too-local-when-there-are-four-hundred/) [A. R. Ammons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-ammons/) > [Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/our-sun-is-one-of-100-billion-stars-in-our-galaxy-our-galaxy-is-one/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-10-11-stars-in-the-galaxy-that-used-to-be-a-huge-number-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's hard for me to speculate about what motivates somebody like Stephen Hawking or Elon Musk to talk so extensively about AI. I'd have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/it-s-hard-for-me-to-speculate-about-what-motivates-somebody-like/) [Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/) > [“Our irises are galaxies; our pupils are black holes if we allow ourselves to bottle up everything inside us instead of allowing ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-johnston/our-irises-are-galaxies-our-pupils-are-black-holes-if-we-allow/) Jaclyn Johnston ## More by Rainer Weiss > [Gravitational waves, because they are so imperturbable - they go through everything - they will tell you the most information you can get about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/gravitational-waves-because-they-are-so-imperturbable-they-go-through/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The waves travel with the velocity of light and slightly squeeze and stretch space transverse to the direction of their motion. The first waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-waves-travel-with-the-velocity-of-light-and-slightly-squeeze-and/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [Experimentally, we now have demonstrated that Einstein's theory is right in strong gravitational fields. That's important to a lot of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/experimentally-we-now-have-demonstrated-that-einstein-s-theory-is/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [You think Earth's gravity is really something when you're climbing the stairs. But, as far as physics goes, it is a pipsqueak, infinitesimal, tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/you-think-earth-s-gravity-is-really-something-when-you-re-climbing/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [We know about black holes and neutron stars, but we hope there are other phenomena we can see because of the gravitational waves they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-know-about-black-holes-and-neutron-stars-but-we-hope-there-are/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [We were looking almost one-tenth of the way to the edge of the universe. We're planning to use the facilities we have to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-were-looking-almost-one-tenth-of-the-way-to-the-edge-of-the/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [It's very, very exciting that it worked out in the end that we are actually detecting things and actually adding to the knowledge, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/it-s-very-very-exciting-that-it-worked-out-in-the-end-that-we-are/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [For reasons probably related to the popular vision of Albert Einstein and, also, the threat posed by black holes in comic books and science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/for-reasons-probably-related-to-the-popular-vision-of-albert-einstein/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The whole idea of gravity curling up space, that is the epitome of what is going on in a black hole. I would've loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-whole-idea-of-gravity-curling-up-space-that-is-the-epitome-of/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The obvious thing to me was, let's take freely floating masses in space and measure the time it takes light to travel between them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-obvious-thing-to-me-was-let-s-take-freely-floating-masses-in/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [All at once, funding was gone due to the Mansfield Amendment, which was a reaction to the Vietnam War. In the minds of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/all-at-once-funding-was-gone-due-to-the-mansfield-amendment-which-was/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The whole world tried to reproduce the Weber experiments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-whole-world-tried-to-reproduce-the-weber-experiments/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [My father was a dictator in the true German sense. He suppressed my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/my-father-was-a-dictator-in-the-true-german-sense-he-suppressed-my/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National Science Foundation had put close to $1.1 billion into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-2015-the-national-science/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [People say, 'I failed out of college! My life is over!' Well, it's not over. It depends on what you do with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/people-say-i-failed-out-of-college-my-life-is-over-well-it-s-not-over/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) [Explore all 57 Rainer Weiss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) ## 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've seen black holes, which is already wonderful. 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