{"id":43646,"date":"2024-11-11T13:58:52","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T18:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=43646"},"modified":"2024-11-13T15:22:15","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T20:22:15","slug":"sagan-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/sagan-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Cosmos,\u2019 a Pulitzer, and More: Fascinating Facts about Carl Sagan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The astronomer\u2019s legacy can be found on Earth and far beyond\u2014from a record-setting exhibit to an iconic portrait of our planet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noted astronomer Carl Sagan would have turned 90 in 2024. To mark that milestone and honor his legacy, the University and the scientific institute that bears his name hosted a celebration<\/a> on the Hill in mid-November. (The keynote program<\/a> can be viewed online.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With those festivities in mind, Cornellians<\/em> has gathered not quite \u201cbillions and billions\u201d\u2014but a plethora\u2014of factoids about the astronomer, who passed away in 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for 14 fascinating facts about Sagan\u2014one of Cornell’s most famous faculty members, and one of the most effective science communicators of all time!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Carl<\/figure>
\n

His \u2018Cosmos\u2019 made history!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sagan may be best known for the PBS series, an overview of how science and civilization grew up together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Emmy- and Peabody-award-winning show, co-written by Ann Druyan\u2014Sagan\u2019s wife and frequent collaborator\u2014became the most watched series in public TV history, seen by more than 500 million people in 60 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An accompanying book was on the New York Times<\/em> bestsellers list for 70 weeks. At the time of Sagan\u2019s death in 1996, it was the top-selling science book ever published in English.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

His \u2018billions and billions\u2019 quote originated with a parody!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sagan has long been associated with that intoned, over-enunciated phrase\u2014but did he ever really say it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he often said \u201cmillions\u201d and \u201cbillions\u201d when describing galaxies, stars, and planets (emphasizing the \u201cB\u201d in \u201cbillions\u201d to distinguish it from \u201cmillions\u201d), the famed \u201cbillions and billions\u201d phrase originated during a 1980 skit on Johnny Carson\u2019s \u201cTonight Show<\/a>\u201d during the heyday of Sagan\u2019s many appearances there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The famed phrase originated during a 1980 skit on Johnny Carson\u2019s ‘Tonight Show’ during the heyday of Sagan\u2019s many appearances there.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI once saw [Carson] put on a wig and a corduroy jacket and pretend to be me,\u201d Sagan said years later, \u201cbut I no more said [\u2018billions and billions\u2019] than Sherlock Holmes, in any of the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle, said \u2018Elementary, my dear Watson.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagan ultimately gave a wink and nod to the quote in his final book, Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium<\/em>, published in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A tourist attraction is named in his honor!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n


The Carl Sagan Planet Walk<\/a>\u2014an outdoor scale model of the solar system, spread over three-quarters of a mile in and around downtown Ithaca\u2014was created in 1997, an initiative of Ithaca\u2019s Sciencenter<\/a> and supported in part by Cornell\u2019s astronomy department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The 6-foot-high monuments\u2014accurately spaced on a scale of 1:5 billion\u2014stretch from the sun (on the Ithaca Commons pedestrian mall) to Pluto (at a local science museum 1,200 meters away).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An obelisk depicting the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter was later added\u2014and in 2012, the Planet Walk got a monument depicting Alpha Centauri<\/a>, the star closest to the sun. Accurately scaled for distance, it sits at the University of Hawaii, Hilo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The addition expanded the Walk to some 8,000 kilometers, making it the world\u2019s longest exhibit.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"The
Joe Wilensky \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption>
The starting point on the Ithaca Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"Carl
Provided<\/figcaption>
In his high school yearbook.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

He was a science fan from early on!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Born in Brooklyn in 1934, Sagan was inspired by exhibits at the New York World\u2019s Fair of 1939\u201340, and by science fiction works like the Under the Moons of Mars<\/em> books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He earned bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in physics, and a double doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics\u2014all from the University of Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagan taught at Harvard before coming to Cornell in 1968, becoming a full professor three years later.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

His license plate name-checked a Martian moon!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a 2006 blog post<\/a>, Sagan\u2019s son Nick reminisced about his dad, recalling that he drove an orange Porsche 914 with a vanity plate that read \u201cPHOBOS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never asked him, \u2018Why Phobos? Why not the other moon, Deimos?\u2019 though I wish I had,\u201d Nick wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Carl
Provided<\/figcaption>
With son Nick and his astronomically plated Porsche.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a child I was fascinated by Greek mythology and knew Phobos as a demigod of fear,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s ironic, because my father was the least fearful person I\u2019ve ever known. Though he worried about the state of the world from time to time, it never stopped him. And when we\u2019d talk about what things might be like in 25, 50, or 100 years, he said he knew there would be difficult challenges ahead, but he believed we were up to the task.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

He was responsible for a famously evocative photo of Earth!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Voyager 1<\/em> spacecraft had already taken dramatic and breathtaking images never before seen\u2014as it flew past Jupiter two years after its 1977 launch, and Saturn a year later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
NASA<\/figcaption>
A \u201cpale blue dot\u201d in the vastness of space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

In 1990, as it neared the far edge of our solar system, Sagan conceived the idea of turning its camera backward to take a final photo<\/a> of the visible solar system\u2014and planet Earth\u2014from 3.7 billion miles out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to NASA, Sagan knew the picture would render our planet as just a dot of light, but the Voyager team \u201cwanted humanity to see Earth\u2019s vulnerability, and that our home world is just a tiny, fragile speck in the cosmic ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After three exposures were taken (which took weeks to transmit and download), NASA shut down Voyager<\/em>\u2019s camera to preserve power for its decades-long mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook again at that dot,\u201d Sagan wrote in his 1994 book, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space<\/em>. \u201cThat\u2019s here. That\u2019s home. That\u2019s us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

He met with the Dalai Lama!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sagan and the Dalai Lama made deep connections through a series of conversations in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Carl
Jon Reis<\/figcaption>
Who wouldn’t have wanted to be a fly on the wall for this chat?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The spiritual leader, who has a lifelong interest in science, first met Sagan during a visit to Ithaca, home to the Buddhist monastery<\/a> that\u2019s his seat in North America. Their discussions continued in India and covered God, science, and how science can benefit from religion (and vice versa).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

His Ithaca home was built for a secret society!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sagan\u2019s longtime abode, perched some 30 feet below street level on the edge of Fall Creek Gorge, has its own fame and history. The miniature stone fortress, a 1,200-square-foot structure at 900 Stewart Avenue, at various times has been known as \u201cthe Sphinx Head house\u201d and \u201cthe Tomb.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed to evoke an ancient Egyptian tomb, it originally featured not only blocky limestone walls and carved pillars but one single room, no windows, and only one entrance. It was the headquarters of Sphinx Head, Cornell\u2019s oldest secret honor society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"Sagan's
Jennifer Infante<\/figcaption>
A house with a storied history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sagan and Druyan purchased the house in 1981 when they returned to Ithaca after \u201cCosmos\u201d in L.A.; after they moved to a larger home, it was eventually converted into their offices. Druyan still owns it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike Sagan himself, [the building] was visible and flamboyant\u2014and also remote and unapproachable,\u201d William Poundstone wrote in Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIn lieu of a moat, the 200-foot plunge to the gorge acted as a guarantor of privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

He won a Pulitzer!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Sagan was honored for his 1977 nonfiction book, The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the book\u2019s cover blurb describes, the author \u201ctakes us on a great reading adventure, offering his vivid and startling insight into the brain of man and beast, the origin of human intelligence, the function of our most haunting legends\u2014and their amazing links to recent discoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a review, the New York Times<\/em> called it \u201ca history of the human brain from the Big Bang, 15 billion years ago, to the day before yesterday \u2026 It\u2019s a delight.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"cover<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

He produced a (literal) gold record!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sagan played a leading role in NASA\u2019s Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo expeditions to other planets, and was instrumental in creating the \u201cGolden Record\u201d that was affixed to the twin Voyager<\/em> spacecrafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image
NASA<\/figcaption>
Instructions included\u2014batteries, not so much.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

The 12-inch, gold-plated copper record contains salutations to the universe, international music, sounds of our planet, and images of life on Earth\u2014in the hope that other life forms may grasp something about our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its cover bears a complex diagram showing Earth\u2019s location in space, as well as a pictorial explanation of how to play the disc, whose estimated shelf life could stretch to 5 billion years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Voyager<\/em> launches in 2017, a three-box collectors\u2019 set<\/a> of the record was released on LP.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A Cornell-based institute honors his life\u2019s work!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, the Carl Sagan Institute<\/a> was founded at Cornell, dedicated to the mission of finding life in the cosmos, bringing together astrophysicists, engineers, geologists, biologists, and others in the search for extraterrestrial life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the institute\u2019s founding director, astronomy professor Lisa Kaltenegger<\/a>, noted at the time: Sagan was fascinated by the question of whether we’re alone in the universe\u2014and what other worlds might be like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagan was fascinated by the question of whether we\u2019re alone in the universe\u2014and what other worlds might be like.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis important research not only looks for other worlds like ours, it helps us understand and safeguard our own pale blue dot better,” she said. “Finding other, older worlds can also give us a first glimpse into our potential future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A Big Red research site appeared in the film version of his novel!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Contact<\/em> was based on Sagan\u2019s 1985 sci-fi bestseller; it was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, and James Woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1997 film, which follows one woman\u2019s search for extraterrestrial life, included scenes filmed at Puerto Rico\u2019s Arecibo Observatory, which the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center at Cornell ran for the National Science Foundation for nearly six decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until it was decommissioned in 2020<\/a>, the facility used a 1,000-foot-diameter radio telescope to study the Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere\u2014and to listen to background sounds of the universe.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"The
Cornell University<\/figcaption>
The telescope was nestled in a natural valley.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

His wife and longtime collaborator has continued their work!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Druyan is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning writer, producer, and director. She co-wrote the original \u201cCosmos\u201d series and co-produced the movie version of Contact<\/em>, among many other collaborations with Sagan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Carl
Cornell University<\/figcaption>
The couple in 1994.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

She has gone on to write and produce numerous other science exhibits and productions, including podcasts and sequels to the \u201cCosmos\u201d series on the National Geographic Channel. She also serves on the advisory board of the Sagan Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

His students include another notable science popularizer!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScience Guy\u201d Bill Nye \u201977 fondly recalls taking Astronomy 102 with Sagan as an engineering undergrad. (Today, he\u2019s CEO of the Planetary Society<\/a>\u2014the space interest group that Sagan co-founded in 1980.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the 2024 celebration<\/a> of 150 years of mechanical engineering on the Hill, Nye recalled hearing Sagan talk about details of the Golden Record he was putting together for the Voyager mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Bill
Lindsay France \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption>
Nye during a campus visit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to Nye, Sagan was planning to include (among numerous audio clips) \u201cRoll Over Beethoven\u201d by Chuck Berry as an example of rock music\u2014but Nye insisted that \u201cJohnny B. Goode\u201d would be the better choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI take full credit for that,\u201d Nye said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I went to engineering school: to get \u2018Johnny B. Goode\u2019 in the cosmos, so that alien entities could enjoy early rock-n-roll.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top: A \u201cCosmos\u201d-era portrait. (Rare and Manuscript Collections)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published November 11, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The astronomer\u2019s legacy can be found on Earth and far beyond\u2014from a record-setting exhibit to an iconic portrait of our planet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":43630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[43560,42322,7373],"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-43646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-beyond"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Cosmos,\u2019 a Pulitzer, and More: Fascinating Facts about Carl Sagan - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The astronomer\u2019s legacy can be found on Earth and far beyond\u2014from a record-setting exhibit to an iconic portrait of our planet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/sagan-facts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Cosmos,\u2019 a Pulitzer, and More: Fascinating Facts about Carl Sagan - 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