Vera Rubin

“In a spiral galaxy, the ratio of dark-to-light matter is about a factor of ten. That's probably a good number for the ratio of our ignorance to knowledge. We're out of kindergarten, but only in about third grade.”

“I think the question is, are there women and have there been women who want to do science and could be doing great science, but they never really got the opportunity?”

“Worldwide, half of all brains are in women.”

“I would prefer to stay up and watch the stars than sleep.”

“Don't let anyone keep you down for silly reasons such as who you are.”

“We all need permission to do science, but for reasons that are deeply ingrained in history, this permission is more often given to men than to women.”

“Does Sex Matter? Of course it does. But does it matter enough to Matter? That's a different question.”

“There is no problem in science that can be solved by a man that cannot be solved by a woman.”

“We need senators who have studied physics and representatives who understand ecology.”

“There was just nothing as interesting in my life as watching the stars every night.”

“By about age 12, I would prefer to stay up and watch the stars than go to sleep. I started learning. I started going to the library and reading. But it was initially just watching the stars from my bedroom that I really did. There was just nothing as interesting in my life as watching the stars every night.”

“So important is this dark matter to our understanding of the size, shape, and ultimate fate of the universe that the search for it will very likely dominate astronomy for the next few decades.”

“I knew there was a school where women could study astronomy. So... it never occurred to me that I couldn't be an astronomer.”

“Nobody ever told us all matter radiated. We just assumed it did.”

“The conclusion is inescapable that non-luminous matter exists beyond the optical galaxy.”

“My childhood bedroom - if childhood could be about ten years old - had a bed which was under windows which faced north. At about age 10, I started watching the stars just move through the night.”

“Science progresses best when observations force us to alter our preconceptions.”

“We know very little about the universe. I personally don't believe it's uniform and the same everywhere. That's like saying the earth is flat.”

“No observational problem will not be solved by more data.”

“My father was an electrical engineer. He's presently 92 and still could be holding down a job. He had a very analytical way of looking at things, and I enjoyed that very much. I think that was a very large influence.”