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There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

— Douglas Adams

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The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.

— Kilgore Trout

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Black holes are where God divided by zero.

— Stephen Wright

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Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.

— Arthur C. Clarke

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The simplest schoolboy is now familiar with truths for which Archimedes would have sacrificed his life.

— Ernest Renan (1823-92), French philosopher and theologian

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Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.

— Richard Feynman

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As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life — so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.

— Matt Cartmill

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Research ! A mere excuse for idleness; it has never achieved, and will never achieve any results of the slightest value.

— Benjamin Jowett (1817-93), British theologian

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If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it ?

— Albert Einstein

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The exploration and ultimate colonization of the solar system is the only future worthy of truly great nations at this time in history. The Soviets, who cannot even feed themselves, seem to understand this.

— John S. Powers

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What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth ? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can assume it will be pretty bad.

— Dave Barry