I am always on the lookout for astronomy-related sayings. The hunt for references to stars and planets and the cosmos takes you through all sorts of literature. I don’t limit myself to wise sayings though — I like to look for poetic references too. So, things like this:

“Many a night I watched the Pleiads,
rising thro’ the mellow shade,
glitter like a swarm of fireflies,
tangled in a silver braid”
(from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall”)

combine inspiration and observational astronomy all into one. But what other sayings are there? Well, books by popular astronomers have tons of these quotes in them. I use them in my books as a way to invite other writers (some long-gone) be a part of my books. I like seeing their names and wisdom up there with the chapter heads — their pithy sayings sometimes encapsulate an idea quite nicely. Here are a few of my favorites.

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”

Vincent van Gogh

“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.”

Neil Armstrong

“The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson