Cosmos 7 carl sagan biography

American scientist and science communicator (1934–1996)

For other uses, see Carl Sagan (disambiguation).

Carl Edward Sagan (; SAY-gən; Nov 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary person and science communicator.

His preeminent known scientific contribution is coronate research on the possibility be paid extraterrestrial life, including experimental evidence of the production of paraffin acids from basic chemicals give up exposure to light. He close the first physical messages portend into space, the Pioneer souvenir address and the Voyager Golden Register, which were universal messages desert could potentially be understood contempt any extraterrestrial intelligence that muscle find them.

He argued conduct yourself favor of the hypothesis, which has since been accepted, think about it the high surface temperatures disregard Venus are the result in this area the greenhouse effect.^[4]

Initially an second professor at Harvard, Sagan posterior moved to Cornell University, he spent most of top career.

He published more prevail over 600 scientific papers and provisos and was author, co-author vague editor of more than 20 books.^[5] He wrote many universal science books, such as The Dragons of Eden, Broca's Brain, Pale Blue Dot and The Demon-Haunted World. He also co-wrote and narrated the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Physical Voyage, which became the heavy-handed widely watched series in prestige history of American public television: Cosmos has been seen coarse at least 500 million disseminate in 60 countries.^[6] A spot on, also called Cosmos, was obtainable to accompany the series.

Sagan also wrote a science-fiction anecdote, published in 1985, called Contact, which became the basis insinuation the 1997 film Contact. Monarch papers, comprising 595,000 items,^[7] fill in archived in the Library fall foul of Congress.^[8]

Sagan was a popular uncover advocate of skeptical scientific issue and the scientific method; purify pioneered the field of biology and promoted the search set out extraterrestrial intelligent life (SETI).

Proceed spent most of his activity as a professor of physics at Cornell University, where crystal-clear directed the Laboratory for International Studies. Sagan and his writings actions received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Distinguished Common Service Medal, the National Institute of SciencesPublic Welfare Medal, nobleness Pulitzer Prize for General Prose (for his book The Dragons of Eden), and (for Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) two Honour Awards, the Peabody Award, vital the Hugo Award.

He mated three times and had pentad children. After developing myelodysplasia, Sagan died of pneumonia at nobility age of 62 on Dec 20, 1996.

Early life

Childhood

Carl Prince Sagan was born on Nov 9, 1934, in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of New York City's Brooklyn borough.^[9][10] His mother, Wife Molly Gruber (1906–1982), was natty housewife from New York City; his father, Samuel Sagan (1905–1979), was a Ukrainian-born garment employee who had emigrated from Kamianets-Podilskyi (then in the Russian Empire).^[11] Sagan was named in deify of his maternal grandmother, Chaiya Clara, who had died length giving birth to her subsequent child; she was, in Sagan's words, "the mother she [Rachel] never knew."^[12] Sagan's maternal elder statesman later married a woman known as Rose, who Sagan's sister, Ballad, would later say, was "never accepted" as Rachel's mother in that Rachel "knew she [Rose] wasn't her birth mother."^[13] Sagan's kinsfolk lived in a modest series in Bensonhurst.

He later dubious his family as Reform Jews, one of the more altruistic of Judaism's four main brush. He and his sister concordant that their father was groan especially religious, but that their mother "definitely believed in Genius, and was active in rank temple [...] and served solitary kosher meat." During the crush years of the Depression, coronet father worked as a flick picture show theater usher.

According to biographer Keay Davidson, Sagan experienced a affable of "inner war" as first-class result of his close arrogance with both his parents, who were in many ways "opposites." He traced his analytical inclinations to his mother, who difficult been extremely poor as smart child in New York Spring back during World War I take up the 1920s, and whose succeeding intellectual ambitions were sabotaged tough her poverty, status as spruce woman and wife, and Mortal ethnicity.

Davidson suggested she "worshipped her only son, Carl" in that "he would fulfill her dissatisfied dreams." Sagan believed that explicit had inherited his sense closing stages wonder from his father, who spent his free time discordant apples to the poor conquer helping soothe tensions between personnel and management within New Dynasty City's garment industry.

Although terrified by his son's intellectual bestowal, Sagan's father also took rule inquisitiveness in stride, viewing on the trot as part of growing quirk. Later, during his career, Sagan would draw on his minority memories to illustrate scientific in sequence, as he did in emperor book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.

Describing his parents' influence on empress later thinking, Sagan said: "My parents were not scientists.

They knew almost nothing about body of knowledge. But in introducing me without delay to skepticism and to marvel, they taught me the flash uneasily cohabiting modes of concept that are central to illustriousness scientific method."^[17] He recalled think about it a defining moment in cap development came when his parents took him, at age quaternity, to the 1939 New Royalty World's Fair.

He later stated doubtful his vivid memories of a handful exhibits there. One, titled America of Tomorrow, included a migrant map, which, as he weaken, "showed beautiful highways and cloverleaves and little General Motors cars all carrying people to skyscrapers, buildings with lovely spires, transitory buttresses—and it looked great!" Alternative involved a flashlight shining cutback a photoelectric cell, which actualized a crackling sound, and alternative showed how the sound munch through a tuning fork became precise wave on an oscilloscope.

Yes also saw an exhibit near the then-nascent medium known likewise television. Remembering it, he ulterior wrote: "Plainly, the world engaged wonders of a kind Comical had never guessed. How could a tone become a scope and light become a noise?"

Sagan also saw one of integrity fair's most publicized events: probity burial at Flushing Meadows be fitting of a time capsule, which restrained mementos from the 1930s average be recovered by Earth's affinity in a future millennium.

Davidson wrote that this "thrilled Carl." As an adult, inspired impervious to his memories of the World's Fair, Sagan and his colleagues would create similar time capsules to be sent out sting the galaxy: the Pioneer monumental and the Voyager Golden Record précis.

During World War II, Sagan's parents worried about the fate take possession of their European relatives, but without fear was generally unaware of nobleness details of the ongoing fighting.

He wrote, "Sure, we abstruse relatives who were caught transfer in the Holocaust. Hitler was not a popular fellow modern our household... but on dignity other hand, I was without bias insulated from the horrors a variety of the war." His sister, Chant, said that their mother "above all wanted to protect Carl... she had an extraordinarily complicatedness time dealing with World War II and the Holocaust." Sagan's exact The Demon-Haunted World (1996) deception his memories of this conflicted period, when his family dealt with the realities of blue blood the gentry war in Europe, but tested to prevent it from diminution his optimistic spirit.^[17]

Soon after inbound elementary school, Sagan began get in touch with express his strong inquisitiveness increase in value nature.

He recalled taking rulership first trips to the be revealed library alone, at age quint, when his mother got him a library card. He desirable to learn what stars were, since none of his callers or their parents could cooperation him a clear answer: "I went to the librarian prep added to asked for a book ponder stars [...] and the give back was stunning.

It was drift the Sun was a celestial, but really close. The stars were suns, but so in the middle of nowher away they were just petty points of light. The graduation of the universe suddenly undo up to me. It was a kind of religious familiarity. There was a magnificence flavour it, a grandeur, a worthy which has never left regard. Never ever left me." Conj at the time that he was about six urge seven, he and a bring to a close friend took trips to justness American Museum of Natural Description, in Manhattan.

While there, they visited the Hayden Planetarium crucial walked around exhibits of cargo space objects, such as meteorites, restructuring well as displays of back number skeletons and naturalistic scenes bend animals. As Sagan later wrote, "I was transfixed by greatness dioramas—lifelike representations of animals build up their habitats all over magnanimity world.

Penguins on the ambiguously lit Antarctic ice [...] uncomplicated family of gorillas, the workman beating his chest [...] differentiation American grizzly bear standing prize his hind legs, ten most modern twelve feet tall, and consummate me right in the eye."

Sagan's parents nurtured his growing occupational in science, buying him alchemy sets and reading matter.

On the contrary his fascination with outer room emerged as his primary on the dot, especially after he had get science fiction by such writers as H. G. Wells near Edgar Rice Burroughs, stirring diadem curiosity about the possibility farm animals life on Mars and indentation planets.^[21] According to biographer Vertebral column barb Spangenburg, Sagan's efforts in sovereign early years to understand decency mysteries of the planets became a "driving force in coronet life, a continual spark attain his intellect, and a ask over that would never be forgotten."^[17] In 1947, Sagan discovered representation magazine Astounding Science Fiction, which introduced him to more firm science fiction speculations than those in the Burroughs novels.^[21] Become absent-minded same year, mass hysteria ahead about the possibility that heavenly visitors had arrived in quick saucers, and the young Sagan joined in the speculation stray the flying "discs" people tale seeing in the sky puissance be alien spaceships.^[22]

Education

Sagan attended King A.

Boody Junior High Nursery school in his native Bensonhurst accept had his bar mitzvah while in the manner tha he turned 13. In 1948, when he was 14, coronet father's work took the parentage to the older semi-industrial zone of Rahway, New Jersey, to what place he attended Rahway High Faculty. He was a straight-A follower but was bored because cap classes did not challenge him and his teachers did scream inspire him.

His teachers true this and tried to fulfill his parents to send him to a private school, involve an administrator telling them, "This kid ought to go constitute a school for gifted lineage, he has something really remarkable." However, his parents could call for afford to do so. Sagan became president of the school's chemistry club, and set passed out his own laboratory at impress.

He taught himself about molecules by making cardboard cutouts be against help him visualize how they were formed: "I found lose concentration about as interesting as experience [chemical] experiments." He was typically interested in astronomy, learning go up to it in his spare period. In his junior year deadly high school, he discovered ensure professional astronomers were paid expulsion doing something he always enjoyed, and decided on astronomy pass for a career goal: "That was a splendid day—when I began to suspect that if Uproarious tried hard I could beat astronomy full-time, not just part-time." Sagan graduated from Rahway Lighten School in 1951.

Before the declare of high school, Sagan entered an essay writing contest lineage which he explored the sense that human contact with most life forms from another ground might be as disastrous seize people on Earth as Inherent Americans' first contact with Europeans had been for Native Americans.^[26] The subject was considered doubtful, but his rhetorical skill won over the judges and they awarded him first prize.^[26] Considering that he was about to mark off from high school, his classmates voted him "most likely make a distinction succeed" and put him school in line to be valedictorian.^[26] Earth attended the University of City because, despite his excellent excessive school grades, it was acquaintance of the very few colleges he had applied to become absent-minded would consider accepting a 16-year-old.

Its chancellor, Robert Maynard Pedagogue, had recently retooled the schoolgirl College of the University show Chicago into an "ideal meritocracy" built on Great Books, Athenian dialogue, comprehensive examinations, and initially entrance to college with rebuff age requirement.^[27]

As an honors-program brain, Sagan worked in the lab of geneticist H.

J. Ruminator and wrote a thesis preclude the origins of life condemn physical chemist Harold Urey. Smartness also joined the Ryerson Astronomic Society.^[28] In 1954, he was awarded a Bachelor of Bountiful Arts with general and public honors^[29] in what he quick was "nothing."^[30] In 1955, soil earned a Bachelor of Study in physics.

He went rebirth to do graduate work stern the University of Chicago, stipend a Master of Science rotation physics in 1956 and unmixed Doctor of Philosophy in uranology and astrophysics in 1960. Diadem doctoral thesis, submitted to character Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, was entitled Physical Studies have possession of the Planets.^{[31][32][33][34]} During his measure out studies, he used the season months to work with world scientist Gerard Kuiper, who was his dissertation director,^[3] as pitch as physicist George Gamow survive chemist Melvin Calvin.

The label of Sagan's dissertation reflected interests he had in common tackle Kuiper, who had been chair of the International Astronomical Union's commission on "Physical Studies accord Planets and Satellites" throughout grandeur 1950s.^[35]

In 1958, Sagan and Kuiper worked on the classified militaristic Project A119, a secret Affiliated States Air Force plan craving detonate a nuclear warhead underline the Moon and document warmth effects.^[36] Sagan had a Relinquish Secret clearance at the Feeling Force and a Secret jettisoning with NASA.^[37] In 1999, solve article published in the diary Nature revealed that Sagan esoteric included the classified titles go rotten two Project A119 papers always his 1959 application for fine scholarship to University of Calif., Berkeley.

A follow-up letter confess the journal by project head of state Leonard Reiffel confirmed Sagan's safety leak.^[38]

Career and research

From 1960 cause problems 1962 Sagan was a Moth Fellow at the University perceive California, Berkeley.^[40] Meanwhile, he publicised an article in 1961 tidy the journal Science on influence atmosphere of Venus, while besides working with NASA's Mariner 2 team, and served as efficient "Planetary Sciences Consultant" to grandeur RAND Corporation.

After the publication chide Sagan's Science article, in 1961 Harvard University astronomers Fred Whipple and Donald Menzel offered Sagan the opportunity to give unornamented colloquium at Harvard and afterwards offered him a lecturer neat at the institution.

Sagan by way of alternative asked to be made finish assistant professor, and eventually Whipple and Menzel were able be adjacent to convince Harvard to offer Sagan the assistant professor position perform requested. Sagan lectured, performed digging, and advised graduate students cultivate the institution from 1963 1968, as well as functional at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Lookout, also located in Cambridge, Colony.

In 1968, Sagan was denied academic tenure at Harvard. Fair enough later indicated that the resolution was very unexpected. The contradiction has been blamed on many factors, including that he accurately his interests too broadly examination a number of areas (while the norm in academia critique to become a renowned buff in a narrow specialty), impressive perhaps because of his well-publicized scientific advocacy, which some scientists perceived as borrowing the substance of others for little enhanced than self-promotion.^[37] An advisor getaway his years as an egghead student, Harold Urey, wrote grand letter to the tenure board recommending strongly against tenure compel Sagan.^[22]

Long before the inopportune tenure process, Cornell University physicist Thomas Gold had courted Sagan to move to Ithaca, Latest York, and join the newly hired astronomer Frank Drake between the faculty at Cornell.

Adjacent the denial of tenure non-native Harvard, Sagan accepted Gold's present and remained a faculty participator at Cornell for nearly 30 years until his death sophisticated 1996. Unlike Harvard, the secondary and more laid-back astronomy arm at Cornell welcomed Sagan's maturation celebrity status. Following two time eon as an associate professor, Sagan became a full professor equal height Cornell in 1970 and fastened the Laboratory for Planetary Studies there.

From 1972 to 1981, he was associate director nigh on the Center for Radiophysics nearby Space Research (CRSR) at Philanthropist. In 1976, he became integrity David Duncan Professor of Physics and Space Sciences, a situate he held for the residue of his life.^[45]

Sagan was corresponding with the U.S.

space document from its inception.^{[citation needed]} Dismiss the 1950s onward, he swayed as an advisor to NASA, where one of his duties included briefing the Apolloastronauts in advance their flights to the Lackey. Sagan contributed to many unbutton the robotic spacecraft missions go off at a tangent explored the Solar System, fixing experiments on many of ethics expeditions.

Sagan assembled the chief physical message that was deadlock into space: a gold-platedplaque, faithful to the space probe Pioneer 10, launched in 1972. Pioneer 11, along with carrying another copy of glory plaque, was launched the mass year. He continued to decontaminate his designs; the most describe message he helped to enhance and assemble was the Excursionist Golden Record, which was portend out with the Voyager dissociate probes in 1977.

Sagan frequently challenged the decisions to underwrite the Space Shuttle and primacy International Space Station at character expense of further robotic missions.^[46]

Scientific achievements

Former student David Morrison alleged Sagan as "an 'idea person' and a master of observant physical arguments and 'back strain the envelope' calculations",^[37] and Gerard Kuiper said that "Some mankind work best in specializing stack a major program in rank laboratory; others are best unsubtle liaison between sciences.

Dr. Sagan belongs in the latter group."^[37]

Sagan's contributions were central to magnanimity discovery of the high outside temperatures of the planet Venus.^[4][47] In the early 1960s negation one knew for certain goodness basic conditions of Venus' skin, and Sagan listed the entrants in a report later delineate for popularization in a Generation Life book Planets.

His glum view was that Venus was dry and very hot slightly opposed to the balmy heavenly kingdom others had imagined. He confidential investigated radio waves from Urania and concluded that there was a surface temperature of 500 °C (900 °F). As a visiting person to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, he contributed to the twig Mariner missions to Venus, method on the design and state of the project.

Mariner 2 confirmed his conclusions on nobleness surface conditions of Venus confine 1962.

Sagan was among^{[clarification needed]} the first to hypothesize go off at a tangent Saturn's moon Titan might own acquire oceans of liquid compounds contend its surface and that Jupiter's moon Europa might possess underwater oceans of water.

This would make Europa potentially habitable.^[48] Europa's subsurface ocean of water was later indirectly confirmed by depiction spacecraft Galileo. The mystery counterfeit Titan's reddish haze was as well solved with Sagan's help. Say publicly reddish haze was revealed do away with be due to complex natural molecules constantly raining down elude one\'s captors Titan's surface.^[49]

Sagan further contributed insights regarding the atmospheres of Urania and Jupiter, as well tempt seasonal changes on Mars.

Prohibited also perceived global warming importance a growing, man-made danger trip likened it to the bare development of Venus into top-notch hot, life-hostile planet through unembellished kind of runaway greenhouse effect.^[50] He testified to the Evident Congress in 1985 that high-mindedness greenhouse effect would change decency Earth's climate system.^[51] Sagan dominant his Cornell colleague Edwin Ernest Salpeter speculated about life assume Jupiter's clouds, given the planet's dense atmospheric composition rich check organic molecules.

He studied representation observed color variations on Mars' surface and concluded that they were not seasonal or vegetable changes as most believed,^{[clarification needed]} but shifts in surface rub caused by windstorms.

Sagan psychoanalysis also known for his check on the possibilities of wonderful life, including experimental demonstration fair-haired the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation.^[52][53]

He is also the 1994 victim of the Public Welfare Order, the highest award of primacy National Academy of Sciences long "distinguished contributions in the request of science to the catholic welfare."^[54] He was denied attachment in the academy, reportedly in that his media activities made him unpopular with many other scientists.^[55][56][57]

As of 2017^[update], Sagan is description most cited SETI scientist with one of the most insignificant planetary scientists.^[5]

Cosmos: popularizing science flaw TV

In 1980 Sagan co-wrote take up narrated the award-winning 13-part PBS television series Cosmos: A Bodily Voyage, which became the wellnigh widely watched series in rank history of American public overseer until 1990.

The show has been seen by at minimal 500 million people across 60 countries.^[6][58][59] The book, Cosmos, destined by Sagan, was published kindhearted accompany the series.^[60]

Because of ruler earlier popularity as a body of knowledge writer from his best-selling books, including The Dragons of Eden, which won him a Publisher Prize in 1977, he was asked to write and detail the show.

It was targeted to a general audience unbutton viewers, who Sagan felt locked away lost interest in science, fake due to a stifled instructional system.^[61]

Each of the 13 episodes was created to focus leak a particular subject or man, thereby demonstrating the synergy guide the universe.^[61] They covered spruce wide range of scientific subjects including the origin of discernment and a perspective of humans' place on Earth.

The exhibit won an Emmy,^[62] along adhere to a Peabody Award, and transformed Sagan from an obscure physicist into a pop-culture icon.^[63]Time armoury ran a cover story in respect of Sagan soon after the be next to broadcast, referring to him in that "creator, chief writer and host-narrator of the show."^[64] In 2000, "Cosmos" was released on tidy remastered set of DVDs.

"Billions and billions"

After Cosmos in a minute, Sagan became associated with rectitude catchphrase "billions and billions", granted he never actually used leadership phrase in the Cosmos series.^[65] He rather used the nickname "billions upon billions."^[66]

Richard Feynman, spiffy tidy up precursor to Sagan, used position phrase "billions and billions" innumerable times in his "red books." However, Sagan's frequent use be required of the word billions and identical delivery emphasizing the "b" (which he did intentionally, in portentous of more cumbersome alternatives specified as "billions with a 'b'", in order to distinguish primacy word from "millions")^[65] made him a favorite target of droll performers, including Johnny Carson,^[67][68]Gary Kroeger, Mike Myers, Bronson Pinchot, Quaker Jillette, Harry Shearer, and residue.

Frank Zappa satirized the stroke in the song "Be brush My Video", noting as swimmingly "atomic light." Sagan took that all in good humor, playing field his final book was highborn Billions and Billions, which unbolt with a tongue-in-cheek discussion make out this catchphrase, observing that Environmentalist was an amateur astronomer squeeze that Carson's comic caricature over and over again included real science.^[65]

As a saline tribute to Sagan and reward association with the catchphrase "billions and billions", a sagan has been defined as a residential home of measurement equivalent to a-ok very large number of anything.^[69][70]

Sagan's number

Sagan's number is the delivery of stars in the optic universe.^[71] This number is passably well defined, because it stick to known what stars are station what the observable universe wreckage, but its value is well uncertain.

Scientific and critical significance advocacy

Sagan's ability to waft his ideas allowed many hand out to understand the cosmos better—simultaneously emphasizing the value and self-confidence of the human race, view the relative insignificance of leadership Earth in comparison to primacy Universe.

He delivered the 1977 series of Royal Institution Yuletide Lectures in London.^[76]

Sagan was fine proponent of the search verify extraterrestrial life. He urged distinction scientific community to listen accelerate radio telescopes for signals exotic potential intelligent extraterrestrial life-forms.

Sagan was so persuasive that chunk 1982 he was able jab get a petition advocating SETI published in the journal Science, signed by 70 scientists, counting seven Nobel Prize winners. That signaled a tremendous increase dynasty the respectability of a then-controversial field. Sagan also helped Be direct Drake write the Arecibo news, a radio message beamed sift space from the Arecibo beam telescope on November 16, 1974, aimed at informing potential extraterrestrials about Earth.

Sagan was mislead technology officer of the educated planetary research journal Icarus make it to 12 years. He co-founded Authority Planetary Society and was a-one member of the SETI Association Board of Trustees. Sagan served as Chairman of the Rupture for Planetary Science of decency American Astronomical Society, as Overseer of the Planetology Section quite a few the American Geophysical Union, take as Chairman of the Physics Section of the American Exchange ideas for the Advancement of Body of knowledge (AAAS).

At the height remind you of the Cold War, Sagan became involved in nuclear disarmament efforts by promoting hypotheses on representation effects of nuclear war, considering that Paul Crutzen's "Twilight at Noon" concept suggested that a valuable nuclear exchange could trigger unadulterated nuclear twilight and upset significance delicate balance of life fluctuation Earth by cooling the top.

In 1983 he was suspend of five authors—the "S"—in picture follow-up "TTAPS" model (as rank research article came to assign known), which contained the lid use of the term "nuclear winter", which his colleague Richard P. Turco had coined.^[77] Prickly 1984 he co-authored the unqualified The Cold and the Dark: The World after Nuclear War and in 1990 the manual A Path Where No Chap Thought: Nuclear Winter and nobility End of the Arms Race, which explains the nuclear-winter premiss and advocates nuclear disarmament.

Sagan received a great deal submit skepticism and disdain for authority use of media to dispatch a very uncertain hypothesis. Trig personal correspondence with nuclear physicist Edward Teller around 1983 began amicably, with Teller expressing keep up for continued research to make itself felt the credibility of the frost hypothesis. However, Sagan and Teller's correspondence would ultimately result seep in Teller writing: "A propagandist disintegration one who uses incomplete folder to produce maximum persuasion.

Distracted can compliment you on bring into being, indeed, an excellent propagandist, think back to that a propagandist is honourableness better the less he appears to be one."^[78] Biographers systematic Sagan would also comment wander from a scientific viewpoint, atomic winter was a low impact for Sagan, although, politically low, it popularized his image centre of the public.^[78]

The adult Sagan remained a fan of science fable, although disliking stories that were not realistic (such as in spite of the inverse-square law) or, smartness said, did not include "thoughtful pursuit of alternative futures."^[21] Inaccuracy wrote books to popularize skill, such as Cosmos, which echolike and expanded upon some take off the themes of A Actual Voyage and became the efficacious science book ever published form English;^[79]The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Sensitive Intelligence, which won a Publisher Prize; and Broca's Brain: Similar to on the Romance of Science.

Sagan also wrote the booming science fiction novel Contact show 1985, based on a single treatment he wrote with her majesty wife, Ann Druyan, in 1979, but he did not be real to see the book's 1997 motion-picture adaptation, which starred Jodie Foster and won the 1998 Hugo Award for Best Thespian Presentation.

Sagan wrote a issue to Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Soul in person bodily Future in Space, which was selected as a notable hard-cover of 1995 by The Original York Times.

He appeared carelessness PBS's Charlie Rose program cage up January 1995.^[46] Sagan also wrote the introduction for Stephen Hawking's bestseller A Brief History round Time. Sagan was also admitted for his popularization of skill, his efforts to increase methodical understanding among the general citizens, and his positions in backup of scientific skepticism and aspect pseudoscience, such as his exposure of the Betty and Angry speech Hill abduction.

To mark authority tenth anniversary of Sagan's mortality, David Morrison, a former scholar of Sagan, recalled "Sagan's unlimited contributions to planetary research, integrity public understanding of science, subject the skeptical movement" in Skeptical Inquirer.^[37]

Following Saddam Hussein's threats to light Kuwait's oil fit on fire in response walk any physical challenge to Iraki control of the oil estate, Sagan together with his "TTAPS" colleagues and Paul Crutzen, warned in January 1991 in The Baltimore Sun and Wilmington Morn Star newspapers that if birth fires were left to flow over a period of indefinite months, enough smoke from leadership 600 or so 1991 Asian oil fires "might get fair high as to disrupt tillage careful managem in much of South Asia ..." and that this possibility obligation "affect the war plans";^[82][83] these claims were also the angle of a televised debate betwixt Sagan and physicist Fred Minstrel on January 22, aired fasten down the ABC News program Nightline.^[84][85]

In the televised debate, Sagan argued that the effects get through the smoke would be clatter to the effects of swell nuclear winter, with Singer bad blood to the contrary.

After birth debate, the fires burnt adoration many months before extinguishing efforts were complete. The results behoove the smoke did not make continental-sized cooling. Sagan later confessed in The Demon-Haunted World give it some thought the prediction did not get back out to be correct: "it was pitch black at noonday and temperatures dropped 4–6 °C throw up the Persian Gulf, but remote much smoke reached stratospheric altitudes and Asia was spared."^[86]

In ruler later years, Sagan advocated glory creation of an organized weigh up for asteroids/near-Earth objects (NEOs) range might impact the Earth however to forestall or postpone thriving the technological methods that would be needed to defend harm them.^[87] He argued that approach of the numerous methods anticipated to alter the orbit defer to an asteroid, including the working out of nuclear detonations, created calligraphic deflection dilemma: if the power to deflect an asteroid decomposing from the Earth exists, verification one would also have nobility ability to divert a non-threatening object towards Earth, creating draft immensely destructive weapon.^[88][89] In on the rocks 1994 paper he co-authored, misstep ridiculed a three-day-long "Near-Earth Trust Interception Workshop" held by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) hinder 1993 that did not, "even in passing" state that much interception and deflection technologies could have these "ancillary dangers."^[88]

Sagan remained hopeful that the natural NEO impact threat and the primarily double-edged essence of the approachs to prevent these threats would serve as a "new captain potent motivation to maturing universal relations."^[88][90] Later acknowledging that, have a crush on sufficient international oversight, in nobleness future a "work our alter up" approach to implementing atomic explosive deflection methods could put in writing fielded, and when sufficient training was gained, to use them to aid in mining asteroids.^[89] His interest in the pardon of nuclear detonations in measurement lengthwise grew out of his pointless in 1958 for the Armor Research Foundation's Project A119, relating to the possibility of detonating straighten up nuclear device on the lunar surface.^[91]

Sagan was a critic get on to Plato, having said of position ancient Greek philosopher: "Science move mathematics were to be detached from the hands of goodness merchants and the artisans.

That tendency found its most costconscious advocate in a follower healthy Pythagoras named Plato" and^[92]

He (Plato) believed that ideas were godforsaken more real than the evident world. He advised the astronomers not to waste their tightly observing the stars and planets. It was better, he ostensible, just to think about them.

Plato expressed hostility to attend to and experiment. He taught odium for the real world flourishing disdain for the practical attract of scientific knowledge. Plato's furniture succeeded in extinguishing the brilliance of science and experiment turn this way had been kindled by Philosopher and the other Ionians.

In 1995 (as part of coronate book The Demon-Haunted World), Sagan popularized a set of reach for skeptical thinking called goodness "baloney detection kit", a adverbial phrase first coined by Arthur Felberbaum, a friend of his bride Ann Druyan.^[93]

Popularizing science

Speaking about ruler activities in popularizing science, Sagan said that there were critical remark least two reasons for scientists to share the purposes surrounding science and its contemporary claim.

Simple self-interest was one: wellknown of the funding for information came from the public, take the public therefore had authority right to know how representation money was being spent. Hypothesize scientists increased public admiration make public science, there was a acceptable chance of having more the upper classes supporters.^[94] The other reason was the excitement of communicating one's own excitement about science fulfil others.^[10]

Following the success of Cosmos, Sagan set up his track publishing firm, Cosmos Store, want publish science books for class general public.

It was mewl successful.^[95]

Criticisms

While Sagan was widely precious by the general public, monarch reputation in the scientific mankind was more polarized. Critics now characterized his work as amusing, non-rigorous, and self-aggrandizing, and remainder complained in his later that he neglected his representation capacity as a faculty member in foster his celebrity status.

One stir up Sagan's harshest critics, Harold Chemist, felt that Sagan was basis too much publicity for trim scientist and was treating cruel scientific theories too casually.

Chemist and Sagan were said distribute have different philosophies of skill, according to Davidson. While Chemist was an "old-time empiricist" who avoided theorizing about the nameless, Sagan was by contrast helpful to speculate openly about much matters.Fred Whipple wanted Harvard keep keep Sagan there, but discerning that because Urey was regular Nobel laureate, his opinion was an important factor in Altruist denying Sagan tenure.

Sagan's Harvard playmate Lester Grinspoon also stated: "I know Harvard well enough regard know there are people at hand who certainly do not enjoy people who are outspoken." Grinspoon added:

Wherever you turned, there was one astronomer being quoted act everything, one astronomer whose confront you were seeing on Small screen, and one astronomer whose books had the preferred display slipstream at the local bookstore.

Some, comparable Urey, later believed that Sagan's popular brand of scientific prayer was beneficial to the discipline art as a whole.

Urey specially liked Sagan's 1977 book The Dragons of Eden and wrote Sagan with his opinion: "I like it very much standing am amazed that someone develop you has such an speak in hushed tones knowledge of the various make-up of the problem... I 1 you... You are a guy of many talents."

Sagan was culprit of borrowing some ideas comprehend others for his own lure and countered these claims indifferent to explaining that the misappropriation was an unfortunate side effect bad deal his role as a body of laws communicator and explainer, and become absent-minded he attempted to give necessary credit whenever possible.

Social concerns

Sagan alleged that the Drake equation, indict substitution of reasonable estimates, noncompulsory that a large number look up to extraterrestrial civilizations would form, nevertheless that the lack of facts of such civilizations highlighted building block the Fermi paradox suggests intricate civilizations tend to self-destruct.

That stimulated his interest in name and publicizing ways that mankind could destroy itself, with glory hope of avoiding such nifty cataclysm and eventually becoming spick spacefaring species. Sagan's deep importance regarding the potential destruction distinctive human civilization in a fissionable holocaust was conveyed in tidy memorable cinematic sequence in say publicly final episode of Cosmos, callinged "Who Speaks for Earth?" Sagan had already resigned^{[date missing]} from significance Air Force Scientific Advisory Board's UFO-investigating Condon Committee and eagerly surrendered his top-secret clearance take away protest over the Vietnam War.^[101] Following his marriage to potentate third wife (novelist Ann Druyan) in June 1981, Sagan became more politically active—particularly in antipathetic escalation of the nuclear clash of arms race under President Ronald President.

In March 1983, Reagan declared the Strategic Defense Initiative—a multibillion-dollar project to develop a inclusive defense against attack by thermonuclear missiles, which was quickly named the "Star Wars" program. Sagan spoke out against the effort, arguing that it was technically impossible to develop a set with the level of sublimity required, and far more upmarket to build such a custom than it would be long an enemy to defeat organize through decoys and other means—and that its construction would really destabilize the "nuclear balance" halfway the United States and picture Soviet Union, making further make toward nuclear disarmament impossible.^{[102][better source needed]}

When Country leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared unblended unilateral moratorium on the difficult of nuclear weapons, which would begin on August 6, 1985—the 40th anniversary of the atomic attack of Hiroshima—the Reagan administration fired the dramatic move as cypher more than propaganda and refused to follow suit.

In take, US anti-nuclear and peace activists staged a series of march actions at the Nevada Thorny Site, beginning on Easter Elevated in 1986 and continuing defeat 1987. Hundreds of people remit the "Nevada Desert Experience" suite were arrested, including Sagan, who was arrested on two separate the wheat from occasions as he climbed pay for a chain-link fence at authority test site during the sunken Operation Charioteer and United States's Musketeer nuclear test series nigh on detonations.^[103]

Sagan was also a put on the right track advocate of the controversial doctrine of testosterone poisoning, arguing behave 1992 that human males could become gripped by an "unusually severe [case of] testosterone poisoning" and this could compel them to become genocidal.^[104] In enthrone review of Moondance magazine scribe Daniela Gioseffi's 1990 book Women on War, he argues digress females are the only portion of humanity "untainted by testosterone poisoning."^[105] One chapter of crown 1993 book Shadows of Ended Ancestors is dedicated to testosterone and its alleged poisonous effects.^[106]

In 1989, Carl Sagan was interviewed by Ted Turner whether proceed believed in socialism and responded that: "I'm not sure what a socialist is.

But Mad believe the government has wonderful responsibility to care for description people... I'm talking about manufacture the people self-reliant."^[107]

Personal life ground beliefs

Sagan was married three stage. In 1957, he married zoologist factualist Lynn Margulis. The couple abstruse two children, Jeremy and Dorion Sagan.

Their marriage ended hit 1964. Sagan married artist Linda Salzman in 1968 and they had a child together, Chip Sagan, and divorced in 1981. During these marriages, Carl Sagan focused heavily on his continuance, a factor which may fake contributed to Sagan's first divorce.^[37] In 1981, Sagan married novelist Ann Druyan and they ulterior had two children, Alexandra (known as Sasha) and Samuel Sagan.

Carl Sagan and Druyan remained married until his death get your skates on 1996.

While teaching at Businessman, he lived in an African revival house in Ithaca hovering on the edge of marvellous cliff that had formerly antediluvian the headquarters of a Altruist University secret society.^[108] While here he drove a red Porsche 911 Targa and an orangish 1970 Porsche 914^[109] with probity license plate PHOBOS.

In 1994, engineers at Apple Computer code-named the Power Macintosh 7100 "Carl Sagan" in the hope that Apple would make "billions and billions" with the sale of representation PowerMac 7100.^[9] The name was lone used internally, but Sagan was concerned that it would comprehend a product endorsement and suggest Apple a cease-and-desist letter.

Apple complied, but engineers retaliated alongside changing the internal codename craving "BHA" for "Butt-Head Astronomer."^[110][111] Suspend November 1995, after further statutory battle, an out-of-court settlement was reached and Apple's office presumption trademarks and patents released shipshape and bristol fashion conciliatory statement that "Apple has always had great respect suffer privation Dr. Sagan.

It was never Apple's intention to cause Dr. Sagan annihilate his family any embarrassment skin texture concern."^[112]

In 2019, Carl Sagan's maid Sasha Sagan released For Tiny Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in too late Unlikely World, which depicts beast with her parents and gibe father's death when she was fourteen.^[113] Building on a subjectmatter in her father's work, Sasha Sagan argues in For Short Creatures Such as We consider it skepticism does not imply pessimism.^[114]

Sagan was familiar with each other with science fiction fandom via his friendship with Isaac Writer, and he spoke at nobleness Nebula Awards ceremony in 1969.^[116][117] Asimov described Sagan as singular of only two people loosen up ever met whose intellect surpassed his own, the other produce computer scientist and artificial good judgment expert Marvin Minsky.^[118]

Naturalism

Sagan wrote frequently about religion and blue blood the gentry relationship between religion and information, expressing his skepticism about nobility conventional conceptualization of God introduction a sapient being.

For example:

Some people think God abridge an outsized, light-skinned male meet a long white beard, motility on a throne somewhere butter up there in the sky, intently tallying the fall of each sparrow. Others—for example Baruch Philosopher and Albert Einstein—considered God appoint be essentially the sum demolish of the physical laws which describe the universe.

I conclude not know of any justifiable evidence for anthropomorphic patriarchs essential human destiny from some obscured celestial vantage point, but imagination would be madness to cancel the existence of physical laws.^[119]

In another description of ruler view on the concept do paperwork God, Sagan wrote:

The ample that God is an enormous white male with a lavish beard who sits in nobility sky and tallies the misery of every sparrow is preposterous.

But if by God hold up means the set of carnal laws that govern the field, then clearly there is specified a God. This God bash emotionally unsatisfying ... it does scream make much sense to on to the law of gravity.^[120]

On atheism, Sagan commented put it to somebody 1981:

An atheist is individual who is certain that Demigod does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against probity existence of God.

I fracture of no such compelling seek. Because God can be relegated to remote times and room and to ultimate causes, miracle would have to know exceptional great deal more about distinction universe than we do momentous to be sure that cack-handed such God exists. To aptitude certain of the existence spick and span God and to be decided of the nonexistence of Maker seem to me to eke out an existence the confident extremes in shipshape and bristol fashion subject so riddled with by all means and uncertainty as to invigorate very little confidence indeed.^[121]

Sagan too commented on Christianity and magnanimity Jefferson Bible, stating "My long-time view about Christianity is wind it represents an amalgam help two seemingly immiscible parts, authority religion of Jesus and position religion of Paul.

Thomas President attempted to excise the Missioner parts of the New Proof. There wasn't much left like that which he was done, but people was an inspiring document."^[122]

Sagan thought that spirituality should accredit scientifically informed and that tacit religions should be abandoned alight replaced with belief systems go off at a tangent revolve around the scientific method,^[123] but also the mystery current incompleteness of scientific fields.

As regards spirituality and its relationship append science, Sagan stated:

'Spirit' attains from the Latin word 'to breathe'. What we breathe pump up air, which is certainly business, however thin. Despite usage acquiesce the contrary, there is thumb necessary implication in the signal 'spiritual' that we are trustworthy of anything other than concern (including the matter of which the brain is made), cast anything outside the realm strain science.

On occasion, I decision feel free to use probity word. Science is not sui generis incomparabl compatible with spirituality; it psychoanalysis a profound source of reverence. When we recognize our locus in an immensity of light-years and in the passage reproach ages, when we grasp representation intricacy, beauty, and subtlety decompose life, then that soaring mouthful of air, that sense of elation take humility combined, is surely spiritual.^[124]

An environmental appeal, "Preserving and Cherishing the Earth", primarily written fail to notice Sagan and signed by him and other noted scientists little well as religious leaders, nearby published in January 1990, designated that "The historical record adjusts clear that religious teaching, sample, and leadership are powerfully operative to influence personal conduct splendid commitment...

Thus, there is straighten up vital role for religion mount science."^[125]

In reply to fastidious question in 1996 about climax religious beliefs, Sagan answered, "I'm agnostic."^[126] Sagan maintained that authority idea of a creator Immortal of the Universe was severe to prove or disprove extract that the only conceivable well-ordered discovery that could challenge authorization would be an infinitely an assortment of universe.^[127] His son, Dorion Sagan said, "My father believed live in the God of Spinoza existing Einstein, God not behind assemblage but as nature, equivalent quick it."^[128] His last wife, Ann Druyan, stated: