Presenters and attendees enjoyed “planetary cupcakes” during a break in “Carl Sagan’s 90th Birthday: A Celebration” on Nov. 9 in Call Auditorium. At center, Ann Druyan, Sagan’s widow, stands next to Carl Sagan Institute Director Lisa Kaltenegger, second from left.

Presenters and attendees enjoy “planetary cupcakes” during the event. Sagan's widow, Ann Druyan, is at center. (Sreang Hok / Cornell University)

Event on the Hill Honors Visionary Scientist Carl Sagan

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The celebration—marking what would have been his 90th birthday—included a tribute from the International Space Station

Editor’s note: This story was adapted from a feature in the Cornell Chronicle. And make sure to check out our recent fascinating facts feature about the famed astronomer!

By James Dean

While the internationally popular “Cosmos” series and late-night TV appearances with Johnny Carson helped make Carl Sagan a beloved public figure, some peers questioned the seriousness of such outreach.

And as a member of NASA’s Voyager 1 mission, managers rejected his pleas for years before finally agreeing to point the distant spacecraft back toward Earth for a final photo, producing the iconic “Pale Blue Dot” image.

Carl Sagan, professor of astronomy, teaching a class.Rare and Manuscript Collections
Sagan teaching in the 1970s.

“They would say to him, ‘Carl, what’s the scientific virtue of seeing the Earth as a single dot?’” remembered Ann Druyan, Sagan’s widow and longtime collaborator.

“But he never gave up, and ultimately, he succeeded in seeing the world how it really is: tiny, fragile. And it was Carl who could … make us look in wonder at ourselves and each other and realize how pathetic and how futile our conflicts are in the face of the vastness of space and time.”

It was Carl who could … make us look in wonder at ourselves and each other and realize how pathetic and how futile our conflicts are in the face of the vastness of space and time.

Ann Druyan

Druyan, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning writer, producer, and director, joined the Carl Sagan Institute (CSI) on November 9 for a celebration of the legendary Cornell astronomy professor—who died in 1996 at age 62—on what would have been his 90th birthday, honoring his passion for scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and sharing the universe’s beauty and mystery.

Cornell Orchestra members perform the introduction to composer Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question” during the Carl Sagan 90th birthday event in Call Auditorium
Between research presentations, Cornell Orchestra members performed the introduction to composer Charles Ives’s “The Unanswered Question.” 

Part of the College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series, the public event was streamed live to an audience of more than 2,000.

In addition to tributes from loved ones and admirers, the four-hour program in Call Auditorium presented CSI researchers’ latest interdisciplinary work on the search for life beyond Earth that is advancing Sagan’s legacy, musical performances, and—fittingly—a greeting from space.

Sagan celebrates his birthday in 1994
Cornell University
Sagan celebrates his 60th birthday in 1994. At left is Rosa Rhodes, wife of then-Cornell President Frank H.T. Rhodes.

“Carl Sagan inspired countless people worldwide as he shared the wonder of the cosmos, and I know he would appreciate the view that I have from this place,” NASA astronaut Don Pettit wrote from the International Space Station, where humans have lived continuously for 24 years.

“He cared deeply about our planet and keenly questioned whether worlds circling other stars could harbor life.”

Dr. Joe Dervay ’80, a NASA flight surgeon and CALS alum, read Pettit’s message and recalled Sagan’s influence on campus and on his generation, as a teacher and “part of the fabric of our culture.”

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Other prominent well-wishers offering video tributes included “Science Guy” Bill Nye ’77; actor and science communicator Alan Alda; leaders of the nonprofit SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute; and Sagan’s daughter, Sasha Sagan.

Cornell faculty members, graduate students, and postdocs—among CSI fellows spanning more than 15 departments—discussed ongoing efforts to detect life elsewhere in the solar system and on exoplanets.

Carl Sagan inspired countless people worldwide as he shared the wonder of the cosmos, and I know he would appreciate the view that I have from this place.

Astronaut Don Pettit, from the International Space Station

Lisa Kaltenegger, CSI director and associate professor of astronomy, shared that more than 5,700 planets circling other stars have been identified to date and another 10,000 candidates are being vetted. The numbers suggest every second star has a planet and every fifth star has one that might support liquid water.

With 200 billion stars in the Milky Way alone, that means “billions and billions” of possibilities for life, Kaltenegger said, echoing a famous Sagan phrase.

“This is incredibly hard, even with the biggest telescope,” said Kaltenegger. “But for the first time, the search has changed from impossible to possible.”

Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute, associate professor of astronomy and author of “Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos,” said the thousands of exoplanets detected to date suggest there are “billions and billions” of possibilities for life beyond Earth
Kaltenegger is the author of Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos.

Attendees also included Syracuse-area residents Paul Erickson ’09, BS ’10, and his wife and their two young sons—the eldest named for Sagan. Paul said the astronomer’s teaching and outreach had a profound impact at a challenging time in his youth, helping him to go from high school dropout to Cornell graduate, and later a Cornell lecturer.

“Reading his books and watching ‘Cosmos’ completely altered my entire life trajectory,” the CALS alum said.

Reading his books and watching ‘Cosmos’ completely altered my entire life trajectory.

Paul Erickson ’09, BS ’10

The program closed with a recording of Sagan reading his “Pale Blue Dot” poem.

“Look again at that dot,” it begins. “That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives … on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.”

Top: Presenters and attendees enjoy “planetary cupcakes” during the event. Sagan's widow, Ann Druyan, is at center. (All photos by Sreang Hok / Cornell University, unless indicated.)

Published November 13, 2024

Comments

  1. Charlie Cole, Class of 1984
    17 Nov, 2024

    The tribute to Carl Sagan’s 90th birthday, which I attended virtually, was simply out of this world. Thank you for broadcasting the tribute to all, near and far.

    Reply

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