Why can't Pluto be a planet? Some people like Pluto. And if it doesn't exist then they don't have a favorite planet. Right? Please write back but not in cursive because I can't read cursive. Neil deGrasse Tyson More Quotes by Neil deGrasse Tyson More Quotes From Neil deGrasse Tyson I believe that the manned space program can engage the public by advancing the space frontier. Every next mission takes you farther out in space than you were before, either technologically or in terms of distance. Neil deGrasse Tyson distance space believe I can't think that leaving Earth once is enough. Neil deGrasse Tyson leaving earth thinking With no gravitational force to work against, your body not only doesn't need the same amount of muscle and bone, it starts breaking them down. As on Earth, so in space: use it or lose it. And exercise may not solve the problem. Neil deGrasse Tyson use-it-or-lose-it space exercise I'd go back and hang out with Isaac Newton. I'm torn between do I hang out with him or do I bring him into the present to hang out with me. See, that might be terrifying because his head will just explode once he sees everything that was derived from his discoveries, but I'd spend more time with someone who I think is one of the most brilliant minds our species has ever known. Neil deGrasse Tyson mind discovery thinking I knew my interest in the universe and I owned a telescope that I bought with money I earned by walking dogs. 50 cents per walk, per dog, and that accumulated quickly. I bought a camera, a telescope. I taught myself astrophotography. I did all this. Neil deGrasse Tyson telescopes cameras dog If there's something that someone else can do, let them do it. If I couldn't do it uniquely, let someone else do it and I would get back to the lab. Neil deGrasse Tyson get-back labs can-do I don't have specific television ambitions in the sense that I remain fundamentally and academic, and so, my innermost ambitions are what's the next discovery I can make; that's in my direct center. Neil deGrasse Tyson ambition discovery television I don't like trying to influence politicians, who are themselves representative of huge numbers of people. As an educator, I'd rather enlighten the people and educate the people and let they be the ones who put the pressure on their elected officials. Neil deGrasse Tyson numbers trying people I've accomplished enough in life so that I do not fear death. Neil deGrasse Tyson accomplished fear-of-death enough I'd rather enjoy the money, and then be buried, offering my body back to the flora and fauna of which I have dined my whole life. Neil deGrasse Tyson flora-and-fauna body offering I think science has a better story to tell than anyone else has been able to tell and that's because it's based on the rigorous winnowing that science and scientists are always doing in order to find out what's really happening. I think it's really good to encourage generally our ability to tell stories and that's a great skill that we come by naturally, so I'm excited about that. Neil deGrasse Tyson skills order thinking In astrophysics, we care about how matter, motion and energy manifest in objects and phenomenon in the universe. Stars are born. They live out their lives. They die. Some of the ones that die explode. Our sun will not be one of those, but it will die. And it'll take Earth with us. So we make sure we have other destinations in mind when that happens. And I've got it on my calendar. Neil deGrasse Tyson stars energy mind Science is a fundamental part of our existence. Neil deGrasse Tyson existence fundamentals I remain unconvinced that anything other than rapid decomposition is the fate of my body and mind after death. Neil deGrasse Tyson fate body mind Wow, monitor lizards are pretty gnarly creatures. I want to go with the monitor lizard. That's just weird enough to be true. No? Neil deGrasse Tyson lizards gnarly want In America, there are people who don't read science fiction but still think about tomorrow, so it's not only the force of science-fiction that makes you a tomorrow thinker. Neil deGrasse Tyson america people thinking Science is not just 'Here are some facts, learn that'. There's a thread through these stories that, if you know how to tell it because you know how they connect, then it's a thread that will land right in your mind, body and soul. Neil deGrasse Tyson land soul mind I can tell you about the universe, but she feels it; and when you feel the universe, it has a whole other meaning to you. Otherwise, you just put a Wiki page on camera. You can learn something, but it won't mean anything to you later on. Neil deGrasse Tyson cameras pages mean When I was a kid, I thought that if everyone looked up the way I did then everyone would want to study the universe just like me - how could they not? This naiveté is what tells me that my interest was more a calling than a rational comparative assessment about what to be when I grew up. Neil deGrasse Tyson assessment calling kids There are street artists. Street musicians. Street actors. But there are no street physicists. A little known secret is that a physicist is one of the most employable people in the marketplace - a physicist is a trained problem solver. Neil deGrasse Tyson artist secret people