Dr. Sagan, Carl Edward (November 9, 1934 - December 20, 1996) was the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University, astrobiologist and highly successful science popularizer. He has played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, and Voyager spacecraft expeditions to the planets, for which he received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and for Distinguished Public Service, twice.
His continuing research on the origin of life began in the 1950s, when he was research assistant of the Nobel Prize-winning geneticist H. J. Muller. As a scientist trained in both astronomy and biology, Dr. Sagan has made seminal contributions to the study of planetary atmospheres, planetary surfaces, the history of the Earth, and exobiology.
He also wrote the well known novel Contact, upon which the world wide acclaimed CONTACT film, starring Jodie Foster, was based.
More about Dr. Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York. Sagan attended the University of Chicago, where he received a bachelor's degree (1955) and a master's degree (1956) in physics, before earning his doctorate (1960) in astronomy and astrophysics. During his time as an undergraduate, Sagan spent some time working in the laboratory of the geneticist H. J. Muller, the Nobel Prize award-winning geneticist.As a visiting scientist to Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he contributed to the first Mariner missions to the planet Venus in the design and management of the project, which confirmed his views that the planet was dry and very hot, with the success of Mariner 2 in 1962.
Sagan taught at Harvard University until 1968, when he moved to Cornell University. He became a full professor at Cornell in 1971 and directed a lab there. He contributed to most of the unmanned space missions that explored our solar system. He conceived the idea of adding an unalterable and universal message on spacecraft, destined to leave the solar system, that could be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find it. The first message that was actually sent into space was a gold-anodized plaque, attached to the space probe Pioneer 10. He continued to refine his designs and the most elaborate such message he helped to develop was the Voyager Golden Record that was sent out with the Voyager space probes.
He helped solve the mysteries of the high temperature of Venus (a massive greenhouse effect), the seasonal changes on Mars (windblown dust) and the reddish haze of Titan (complex organic molecules).
For his work, Dr. Carl Sagan received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and for Distinguished Public Service twice, as well as the NASA Apollo Achievement Award.
Asteroid 2709 Sagan is named after him. He was also given the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award of the American Astronautical Society, the Explorers Club 75th Anniversary Award, the Konstantin Tsiolokovsky Medal of the Soviet Cosmonautics Federation, and the Masursky Award of the American Astronomical Society.
He cofounded the Planetary Society and was a member of the SETI Institute Board of Trustees.
Carl Sagan Videos
Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot
This is taken from the book. Having him read to you is something else. Enough said. Take a listen and leave comments please. Email this video to atleast one other person, its your moral duty.
Runtime: 3:31 | 582653 views | 2709 Comments
COSMOS Documentary DVD by Carl Sagan
Cosmos: Carl Sagan (7 DVD Set)
It has won an Emmy and a Peabody Award and has been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 600 million people.
Release Date: 10/22/2002
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Amazon Price: $110.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
Carl Sagan News
Latest news around the world on Carl Sagan's legacy
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Contact
The movie won the 1998 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Author Carl Sagan died during the production of the film, just seven months before its release. Part of the movie is set at the Very Large Array, an NRAO observatory near Socorro, New Mexico.
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
Space and Science books by Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Release Date: 02/25/1997
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Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence
1977 Pulitzer winner
Release Date: 12/12/1986
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Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science
Release Date: 02/12/1986
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Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
Release Date: 09/08/1997
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Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 07/26/2008)
Music from COSMOS DVD
The Music of Cosmos: Selections from the Score of the PBS Television Series Cosmos by Carl Sagan
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Sites with more info about Dr. Carl Sagan and his work:
- Carl Sagan Official Page
- Official homepage of Carl Sagan and COSMOS Studios, recently updated and some new announcement expected during 2007.
- Planetary Society
- Carl Sagan was the Founder and First President of The Planetary Society
- Wikipedia on Carl Sagan
- Lots of informations about Dr. Sagan from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- Carl Sagan on Time Travel
- Great interview with Carl Sagan, during the making of "Time Travel", a documantary made by PBS Nova (text and audio)
- The Quest for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
- This is an article written by Carl Sagan that appeared in Cosmic Search magazine Vol. 1, No. 2 ... great read!
- Official Website of the CONTACT Movie
- This website contains not only information pertaining how the movie was done, the script, and the actors, but also interesting interviews to Robert Zemeckis, Ann Druyan, and Frank Drake.
- Carl Sagan's Influence is Cosmic
- Two weeks before he died, Dr. Carl Sagan dropped by to see Daniel S. Goldin, the NASA Administrator.
- Life Beyond Earth and the Mind of Man - 1975 Video
- This film is an edited version of a symposium held at Boston University on November 20, 1972 that explores the implications of the possible existence of extraterrestrial life within the galaxy and the universe.
Famous Carl Sagan Quotes
Here is 10 great quotes on science and religion by Carl Sagan:
1. The extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.2. The idea that God is an oversized white male with a flowing beard who sits in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow is ludicrous. But if by God one means the set of physical laws that govern the universe, then clearly there is such a God. This God is emotionally unsatisfying... it does not make much sense to pray to the law of gravity.
3. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
4. ... billions and billions ...
5. Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.
6. Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.
7. Where we have strong emotions, we're liable to fool ourselves.
8. When you make the finding yourself - even if you're the last person on Earth to see the light - you'll never forget it.
9. I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true.
10. There are many hypotheses in science which are wrong. That's perfectly all right; they're the aperture to finding out what's right. Science is a self-correcting process. To be accepted, new ideas must survive the most rigorous standards of evidence and scrutiny.
Are you familliar with Carl Sagan's works?
And finally, just a small poll to see how many of you knew something of Carl Sagan's vast works before landing this page. Thanks!
Other books by Carl Sagan
The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God
Amazon Price: $18.45 (as of 07/26/2008)
Contact
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Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective
Amazon Price: $37.60 (as of 07/26/2008)
Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 07/26/2008)
Comet, Revised
Amazon Price: $20.70 (as of 07/26/2008)
