Our significance is merely an illusion from a cosmic perspective, yet I think this realization only magnifies the wonder and amazement of our home.

Pale Blue Dot, a photograph of Earth from a distance of 3.7 billion miles by Voyager 1, in honor of the 11th anniversary of Carl Sagan’s death and the Carl Sagan blog-a-thon.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known. –Carl Sagan