Campus & Beyond At Carl Sagan’s Final Resting Place, Admirers Pay Homage Stories You May Like Why Early Cornell Students Took a Sepulchral Shortcut From Corks to Corey to the Cosmos: The Hill’s Most ‘Legendary’ Courses With Cornell’s ‘Solar Noon’ Clock, Bill Nye ’77 Aims to Leave a Legacy Many visitors to the famed astronomer’s grave in Ithaca leave tokens of appreciation—especially ‘pale blue dots’ Editor’s note: This story was adapted from a feature in the Cornell Chronicle. By Laura Reiley It’s unassuming, just a black stone slab flush against the withered late-fall grass: CARL EDWARD SAGAN, November 9, 1934–December 20, 1996. But, like all the celestial bodies in the wide sky above, the square has its own gravitational pull. People come from all over the blue marble of planet Earth, pilgrims to the graveside of America’s most famous astronomer. They leave gifts. Coins and tiny plastic astronauts, a Magic 8 Ball, and so many heartfelt letters. Sarah OverstreetA tribute in stone. Sagan would have turned 90 on November 9, 2024—a birthday that will be celebrated with suitable fanfare at Cornell’s Carl Sagan Institute and elsewhere on campus, in Ithaca and beyond. But the letters, many of them waffled by rain and barely legible, pay a different, more personal tribute. “It’s a wonderful world out there! Thanks as always for helping protect it for me and everyone,” one reads. “Your example gave me hope that I could pursue both my biggest interests, that I wouldn’t have to choose between creative writing and science,” another letter says. Your example gave me hope that I could pursue both my biggest interests, that I wouldn’t have to choose between creative writing and science. A letter on Sagan's grave “For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love,” a small, white note says. A gifted educator who made science accessible to the public via dozens of books and the long-running PBS documentary series “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” Sagan continues to draw people together through his work. By contextualizing the immensity of space, he made us feel connected in our own infinitesimal part of it. “He helped launch the space age by popularizing space; his legacy has touched so many people,” says Gerry Monaghan, an unofficial tender of Sagan’s grave—and those of Sagan’s parents, buried alongside him—at Ithaca’s Lake View Cemetery. “There seems to be a very interesting assortment of characters who also visit regularly and leave an array of curious objects.” Sarah OverstreetThe tributes include a wide range of trinkets and memorabilia. Stories You May Like Why Early Cornell Students Took a Sepulchral Shortcut From Corks to Corey to the Cosmos: The Hill’s Most ‘Legendary’ Courses Blue marbles are common, a reference to the photo “The Blue Marble,” taken of Earth on December 7, 1972, by the astronauts aboard Apollo 17. It’s an iconic image and symbol of the environmental movement, echoed by a photo taken of Earth by Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990—a photo Sagan and his wife, Ann Druyan, urged NASA to take and which they named “Pale Blue Dot,” an urgent reminder of our true circumstances in the cosmos, Druyan says. It is these circumstances, in part, that draw people to this gentle hill in Lake View Cemetery. “Many visitors may be coming from outside of Ithaca, making a sort of pilgrimage, so it feels like the right thing to do to leave something there,” says Gillis Lowry ’24, a research assistant for Lisa Kaltenegger, associate professor of astronomy and director of the Carl Sagan Institute in Arts & Sciences. Many visitors may be coming from outside of Ithaca, making a sort of pilgrimage, so it feels like the right thing to do to leave something there. Gillis Lowry ’24 Lowry shares a birthday with Sagan and has felt a connection to him since she was a little girl. “For me, the long journey I took was from my home in St. Louis to Ithaca for my college visit to Cornell, and I was getting to see locations connected to Carl Sagan,” she says. “At the grave I wrote a letter about all the ways he’s helped me in my life. I wrote, ‘Of course, you’re never going to read this, it will just get swept away in a few days and it feels a little silly to leave it here.’” Browsing images on Google a year later, she came upon a photo of the letter, scrolling down to see dozens of comments about how what she had written was important, and that people were rooting for her. “It was before I got into Cornell so that was really encouraging. I wasn’t on my astronomy journey yet,” says Lowry, who has created an interactive walking map of significant Sagan sites in Ithaca. “It felt like a character-defining moment, like even if Carl Sagan can’t hear it, there will always be people there to listen.” (All photos by Sreang Hok / Cornell University, unless otherwise indicated.) Published November 7, 2024 Comments Jane Watts 8 Nov, 2024 Although I never met Carl Sagan, he was my hero. He fanned the flames of my love for Astronomy. Because of him, I have never looked at dandelion seeds the same because they are the ship of the imagination. What a lovely, wonderful human being he was. I will always miss you! Reply Bill Russo, Class of 1971 13 Nov, 2024 Carl Sagan gave everyone permission to unleash their imaginations, to drink in a sense of wonder, and to yearn for cosmic knowledge that seemed out of reach. We need that in even greater measure in this age of so much isolation from (and fear of) the natural world. May his legacy continue to inspire astronomers and anyone who seeks to know more of what is “out there” in order to better understand themselves and our home planet. Reply Mike Dawley, Class of 1972 17 Nov, 2024 I worked for Avis at Tompkins County Airport in 1970. My boss knew Mr. Sagan well and introduced me to him. We eventually started playing ‘pinball’ against each other while he waited for flights. I knew nothing about astronomy, but he was fascinating to talk to. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Chime In I Aided Afghan Refugees—With my Interior Design Skills Campus & Beyond Stemming the Tide of Textile Waste Quizzes & Puzzles May / June ’24 Trivia Roundup