Some Anderson-May Parallels

Seen From Space
Poul Anderson describes a moon seen from space as "...a stone in heaven." See A Planet In Space III.

Julian May:

"As Earth appears to be a white-swirled blue marble from space, so Molakar looked like a white-swirled umber marble."
-Julian May, Magnificat (London, 1997), Chapter Thirty-One, pp. 527-528.

"...the planet Okanagon, which hung in the sky like a brilliant azure lantern..."
-op. cit., Chapter Thirty-Three, p. 543.

"The sun shone on [Earth as seen from the Milieu observation vessel] and it was blue and white, suspended like a brilliant agate against the foaming silver breaker of the galactic plane."
-Julian May, Intervention (London, 1988), 2, p. 26.

That third passage also describes the Milky Way.

More on this later.