Carl
Sagan was an astronomer and gifted communicator who
brought the grandeur and mystery of the universe to the masses.
Perhaps most well known as the host of the public broadcasting series
"Cosmos," Sagan's accompanying book was the best selling science book
ever published in the English language.
Born in New York City in 1934, it was Sagan's passion from an early age to search for intelligent life in the cosmos. "The significance of a finding that there are other beings who share this universe with us would be absolutely phenomenal, it would be an epochal event in human history," he once said. Sagan made his mark early with research showing that Venus is scorching hot and Mars is a cold desert. He was once a research assistant of the Nobel prize winning geneticist H. J. Muller. Then he began researching the origins of life in the 1950s and went on the play a leading role in every major U.S. spacecraft expedition to the planets. Sagan was particularly instrumental in the use of radio telescopes in listening for signs of life in our universe. Close to his heart, this program has as of yet not yielded any response. Commenting on this, Sagan said, "It says something about the rarity and preciousness of life on this planet."
Beyond his research, Sagan published hundreds of scientific papers and wrote eight books, including the Pulitzer Prize winning ,"The Dragons of Eden." He was a professor of astronomy at Cornell University in New York, and lectured around the country about his work. Beyond his Cosmos series, Sagan's ability to communicate with the masses was also evidenced by the success of his novel "Contact," which became a major motion picture in 1997.
Ironically, Carl Sagan was not able to witness this latter milestone. After a two year battle with bone marrow disease, he died on December 20, 1996 at age 62.
Page created by: Jeff Newman
Sagan, C. 1997. Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, New York, Random House
Carl Sagan Home Page, (online). http//bornova.ege.edu.tr/~/yorga/sagan/bib.html (1997)
Sagan, (online), http:/windows.ivv.nasa.gov/people/today/sagan.html (1997)