Carl Sagan was an American astronomer who is known for his immense contribution to space science and planetary exploration. He was born on November 9, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, and died on December 20, 1996, after suffering from pneumonia at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Carl Sagan was always interested in observing what’s outside the Earth’s atmosphere, cosmos, and much more, and that made him pursue astronomy and astrophysics.
Carl Sagan was a cosmologist, astrophysicist, science communicator, and astrobiologist who played a significant role in the American space program. A great scientist who was a part of NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft. On his birth anniversary, take a look at some of the interesting facts about him, which are mentioned below.
Early life
Carl Sagan was born in New York, and he often pointed to the World’s Book Fair of 1939, which made him see marvelous inventions on display that made him wonder about outer space, and he began to believe that there must be life on other planets. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1960 with a doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics.
Sagan then taught at Harvard and Cornell, where he became the director of Cornell’s Laboratory for Planetary Studies. Sagan received 22 honorary degrees from colleges and universities throughout the US and published more than 600 articles and scientific research papers.
Carl Sagan hosted the TV program ‘Cosmos’
Carl Sagan, a brilliant scientist, discovered that Venus has the highest temperature due to the effects of the greenhouse. He also discovered that Mars looks reddish because of windstorms rather than vegetation, and windblown dust is responsible for the seasonal change on the red giant planet. He described himself as a science enthusiast and became more fascinated when he learned that every star in the sky is a distant sun. He became more popular when he hosted the show, ‘Cosmos: A Personal Voyage’, which was a 13-episodic series that aired in 1980.
In the show, Carl Sagan explained the complex principles of space science that could make people understand easily. He also used special effects so that people could visualize the space. The program became one of the most-watched shows of that time, and it also won several awards, including a Hugo Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and a Peabody Award in 1981. In that era, the show won over millions of views from 60 different countries.
Carl Sagan Poses with a model of the Viking lander
Sagan sent a Universal message to Aliens
In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft as part of the Voyager Interstellar Mission. These spacecraft (Golden Records) carried a gold-plated disc, designed by Carl Sagan, which contained a message intended for an alien civilization. The discs were specifically created to survive for a billion years, with the hope that an extraterrestrial civilisation might someday receive the message.
Some of the recorded messages featured sounds of water, nature, and greetings saying ‘welcome’ 50 different languages. Carl Sagan believed that the music on the record captures the diversity of sounds found on Earth and could serve as an introduction to humanity for any extraterrestrials that might discover it.
Golden Records
Carl Sagan became an inspiration for Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson is a popular American astrophysicist and writer who is well known for hosting the 2014 version of The Cosmos. The show was inspired by Carl Sagan’s 1980 show of the same name. Neil deGrasse Tyson was inspired by Sagan when he was in high school.
Once, he said, “I already knew I wanted to become a scientist,” Tyson would later say, “but that afternoon I learned from Carl the kind of person I wanted to become.” When Sagan found out about Neil’s enthusiasm for stars, he extended a personal invitation. In an interview, he said that he feels that he has a duty to respond to students about space science as their career, just like Carl Sagan has responded to him.
Asteroid 4970 Sagan
An Asteroid named after Carl Sagan
On November 9, 1994, Carl Sagan celebrated his 60th birthday with a party hosted by friends and colleagues to honour his significant contributions to space and science. In recognition of his impact, asteroid 4970 was named “Asteroid Sagan” after him. After his passing, scientists further commemorated Sagan by naming a unit of measurement in his honour, the “Sagan,” which is equivalent to 4 billion.
The Pale Blue Dot image which was taken by Voyager 1
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Race
When NASA launched the Voyager 1 mission to explore the outer solar system and beyond, Carl Sagan urged NASA to have the spacecraft photograph Earth. This photo was captured on February 14, 1990. In the image, Earth appears as a tiny dot in the vastness of space. This deep perspective inspired Sagan to write the book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Race.
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Race
Sagan interpreted an image from Voyager 1 as symbolising humanity’s place in the cosmos. He said, “a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena” and that “our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.” The book gained popularity after publication and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry due to its historical and aesthetic importance.
