Ad astra (phrase)
Ad astra is a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote sic itur ad astra ("thus one journeys to the stars", from Aeneid book IX, line 641, spoken by Apollo to Aeneas's young son Iulus) and opta ardua pennis astra sequi, ("desire to pursue the high (or hard to reach) stars on wings" book XII, lines 892–893, spoken by Aeneas to his foe Turnus in their combat). Another origin is Seneca the Younger, who wrote non est ad astra mollis e terris via ("there is no easy way from the earth to the stars", Hercules Furens, line 437, spoken by Megara, Hercules' wife).
Mottos
It is used as, or as part of, the motto of many organizations, most prominently, many air forces. It has also been adopted as a proper name for various unrelated things (publications, bands, games, etc.). It also sees general use as a popular Latin tag.
Ad astra
- Ad Astra Rocket Company, Webster, Texas, United States
- Ardrossan Academy, North Ayrshire, Scotland
- Motto of Astor family[1]
- Birrong Girls High School, Australia
- Elgin Academy, Scotland
- Innova Junior College, Singapore
- Miami Central High School, United States
- Phi Gamma Delta, United States and Canada
- Presbyterian Ladies' College, Armidale, Australia
- Ruamrudee International School, Thailand
- Slough Grammar School in Berkshire, England
- Sutherland High School, South Africa
- United States Air Force Academy Class of 2007
- United States Coast Guard Academy Class of 1992
- University College Dublin, Ireland
- USS Taurus (PHM-3)
- St. Joseph's Anglo-Chinese School, Hong Kong
- San Miguel, High School, Honduras
- Takoma Park Middle School, United States
Ad astra per alas fideles
"to the stars on the wings of the faithful ones"
Ad astra per alas porci
"to the stars on the wings of a pig"
- Motto on John Steinbeck's personal stamp, featuring a figure of the Pigasus
- Motto of the O'Fallon Township Marching Panthers
- Title of Chris Thile's first Mandolin Concerto
Ad astra per aspera
"to the stars through difficulties" or commonly translated "a rough road leads to the stars"
- Kansas (U.S. state) and Seal of Kansas
- Albury High School in Albury, New South Wales, Australia
- Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina
- Coventry High School, Coventry, Rhode Island
- Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Buckinghamshire, England
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos, in Madrid, Spain
- Grupo 5 de Caza, a fighter/bomber squadron of the Fuerza Aerea Argentina (Argentine Air Force)
- Harry Crosby, Jazz Age celebrity and literary patron
- Immaculate Conception High School in St.Andrew, Kingston Jamaica, Jamaica, West Indies
- Miami Central Senior High School in Miami, Florida
- Milwaukee High School of the Arts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Mirman School in Los Angeles, California
- Morristown-Beard School in Morristown, New Jersey
- Mount Alvernia High School in Montego Bay, Jamaica, West Indies
- Mount Saint Michael Academy in The Bronx, New York
- Pauls Valley High School in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
- Rosevale School in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
- Satellite High School in Satellite Beach, Florida (a small township with close ties to nearby Cape Canaveral)
- Starfleet, the fictional organization in the Star Trek universe
- Woodville High School, South Australia
- Song by rock band Acceptance
- South African Air Force
- Apollo 1 memorial placed at Launch Complex 34
- Rotorua Boys' High School, in Rotorua, New Zealand
- Erasmus hall campus school of Law, in Brooklyn, New York
non lucror, exposita scientia, ad astra
"not for money, for discovering knowledge, approach the heavens"
Per ardua ad astra
"through struggle (or adversity) to the stars" or sometimes even "a rough road leads to the stars"
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Australian Air Force
- Royal Canadian Air Force
- Royal Flying Corps
- Royal New Zealand Air Force
- Colombian Air Force
- Trondheim Katedralskole, cathedral school in Trondheim, Norway
- Stavanger Katedralskole, cathedral school in Stavanger, Norway
- California State University, East Bay, California State University
- Cornelia Strong College, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- Lady Hardinge Medical College,New Delhi
- Gouda, a city in the Netherlands
- Pall Mall (cigarette)
- Queenwood School for Girls, Sydney, Australia
- Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi
- South African Air Force
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- Hyuk (singer)
Per aspera ad astra
"Through hardships to the stars", "A rough road leads to the stars" or "To the stars through difficulties". Used by various organizations and groups.
Per audacia ad astra
"Through boldness to the stars"
Per herbam ad astra
"from grass to the stars"
Quam celerrime ad astra
"speedily to the stars"
Sic itur ad astra
"thus one goes to the stars"
- The Canongate, Edinburgh
- Detroit, Michigan public schools
- Richmond, Virginia (city)
- St. Andrew's Scots School, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires province, Argentina (daughter institution of St. Andrew's Scots School)
- Argentine Air Force, Materiel Command, Argentina
- The Geelong College, Australia
- The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania
- Canadian Forces Air Command
- Colombian Air Force
- Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Jean-Pierre Blanchard the first human to cross the English channel, by air.
- Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
"such is the pathway to the stars"
- The Montgolfier family was given this motto when elevated to nobility by King Louis XVI of France.
- Royal Canadian Air Force
"a path to the stars"
- St. Andrew's Scots School, Buenos Aires, Argentina
"reach for the stars"
- The Hertfordshire and Essex High School, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England
- Falcon College, Zimbabwe
Other uses
- A related phrase, ex astris ("from the stars"), is used frequently in NASA publications and in science fiction - see Ex astris, scientia.
- There was a 1984 computer game called Ad Astra [2] which was an outer space shoot-em-up with a 3-D perspective.
- It is also a title of a William Faulkner short story - see Collected Stories of William Faulkner: New York: Vintage International.
- Ad Astra is the title of a board game set in space published in 2009 and designed by Bruno Faidutti and Serge Laget.
- The Free State Brewing Company in Lawrence, KS, brews a beer called "Ad Astra Ale" after the Kansas motto "Ad Astra per Aspera".
- Ad Astra (Lippold sculpture) is a public artwork by American artist Richard Lippold. Lippold's sculpture is located outside on the Jefferson Drive entrance of and in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.
References
- ↑ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families: a Directory of Gentleman of Coat-Armour. Hurst & Blackett. p. 58. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ↑ Ad Astra at the World of Spectrum
External links
- History of the RAF motto (but note that this page misspells sic itur)
- Royal Canadian Air Force Website
- Sicituradastra. Public forum