“In less than a hundred years, we have found a new way to think of ourselves. From sitting at the center of the universe, we now find ourselves orbiting an average-sized sun, which is just one of millions of stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.”
- January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018
- British
- Theoretical physicist, science writer
- Announced the black hole singularity theorem and Hawking radiation, and contributed to the popularization of science with his book “Talking about the Universe”
Quote
“In less than a hundred years, we have found a new way to think of ourselves. From sitting at the center of the universe, we now find ourselves orbiting an average-sized sun, which is just one of millions of stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.”
Explanation
In this quote, Stephen Hawking reflects on the profound shift in human self-perception brought about by the advances in astronomy and cosmology over the past century. For much of human history, many believed that the Earth—and by extension, humanity—was at the center of the universe, a view that was rooted in the geocentric model of the cosmos. This was fundamentally challenged in the 16th and 17th centuries, most notably by Copernicus and Galileo, who proposed the heliocentric model, placing the Sun at the center of our solar system. However, it wasn’t until the 20th century that scientific discoveries, such as Edwin Hubble’s observations of galaxies moving away from us, revealed that the Earth’s Sun is just one of billions of stars in an average galaxy, the Milky Way.
This shift in perspective had profound implications not only for science but also for how humanity views its place in the vast cosmos. As Hawking notes, in just under a century, we have gone from considering ourselves the center of the universe to realizing that we orbit a relatively ordinary star in a vast and expanding universe. The heliocentric model and later discoveries, such as the identification of other galaxies and the eventual realization that the universe itself is expanding, have placed human existence within a much larger and more dynamic context. This realization has been both humbling and enlightening, prompting us to reconsider our significance in the cosmic order.
Hawking’s statement also speaks to the impact of modern physics and the way in which advances in cosmology, astronomy, and quantum mechanics have expanded our understanding of the universe. We now know that our galaxy is just one of billions in the observable universe, which is still expanding at an accelerating rate. This shift in worldview has led to new questions about the nature of the universe, the origin of life, and humanity’s future in the cosmos. As we continue to explore space, through missions to Mars, the search for exoplanets, and the study of dark matter and dark energy, we are confronted with the profound realization that humanity is not the center of the universe but part of an ongoing story of cosmic evolution. This new perspective challenges us to think about the long-term future of humanity, not just on Earth but in a universe where we are one small part of a much larger whole.
