Life and achievements
Early life
Carl Sagan was born to humble Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York, in 1934. Samuel Sagan was a garment worker; his mother's name was Rachel Molly Gruber, and she was a homemaker. In early childhood, Sagan discovered his interest in the stars and the universe due to his parent's encouragement and frequent visits to museums, especially the American Museum of Natural History. His childhood science passion grew when he went to a librarian and asked for a book about stars, and the librarian told him that the sun is a star. This revelation led to a lifelong interest in space and the possibilities of life outside the Earth.
Sagan's early academic education began at Rahway High School in New Jersey, and he was a bright boy who mostly got bored with his studies because he did not meet challenging academic work. His teachers valued him and encouraged him to develop his mind. At 16, he joined the University of Chicago, where such great scientists as Harold Urey, a physicist, and H. J. Muller, a geneticist, taught him. He received his Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics in 1960, and his dissertation was on planetary atmospheres. His doctoral thesis provided the basis for his later research into the climates of Venus and Mars, especially as they relate to the planet's high surface temperatures due to the greenhouse effect.
Sagan began his career after post-graduate, and he was soon known for his cross-disciplinary approach to planet science. His early work identified a reddish haze around Jupiter's moon Titan, which comprised complex organic molecules, maybe life. During this time, Sagan became more interested in studying life beyond Earth, otherwise known as exobiology, and thus began his lifelong support of SETI.
Legacy
Carl Sagan left behind a combination of science and science popularization. He was a great man at the forefront of pushing for exploring space and the significance of planetary sciences. This significantly impacted some of the most successful space missions in history, including the Mariner, Viking, and Voyager projects, where his knowledge of planetary atmospheres and conditions proved valuable in exploring the solar system. His research on the existence of life on other planets made him support the SETI project to look for signals from different planets.
There was no better science popularizer than Sagan, who had a unique gift for explaining complex scientific concepts to people. He could charm his viewers and listeners with his passion for science and his idea of the role of human beings in the cosmos. Cosmos, the television series he produced in 1980, can be described as a groundbreaking event in popular science education and entertainment. The series extended to hundreds of millions of viewers and became the reason for a new generation of scientists and thinkers to turn to STEM.
Sagan also contributed to the field of space science, was an environmentalist, and was a great supporter of the cause of nuclear disarmament. He co-authored papers about the possible effects of nuclear war, especially the concept of nuclear winter, which contributed to making people understand the risks of nuclear weapons proliferation. His call for scientific inquiry, reason, rationality, and the scientific method was a theme in his later books, such as The Demon-Haunted World, which was his critique of the paranormal and his call for people to use empirical evidence in making decisions.
Even now, we continue to feel Sagan's influence on popular culture and the field of science. The "Pale Blue Dot" speech that he delivered is still relevant and makes people think critically about the future of human beings. The most famous of Sagan's works is the Golden Record, which is a greeting to the extraterrestrial life aboard the Voyager spacecraft. His commitment to promoting science to the public can be said to have made a lasting impact on the world, and he is considered one of the most influential personalities in modern astronomy.
Milestone moments
Jun 14, 1960
Doctorate Conferred and First Years
Carl Sagan received his Ph.D. degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Chicago.
His dissertation entitled 'Physical Studies of Planets' formed the basis of his future research on planetary atmospheres.
At this time, he started his work on the greenhouse effect on Venus, which resulted in the postulation that the high surface temperature on the planet was a result of a greenhouse effect.
Sagan's early career can be described as an attempt to combine the best of astronomy with the best of biology and chemistry to answer whether there is life on other planets.
Aug 13, 1972
Pioneer 10 and the First Message to Extraterrestrials
Sagan worked on developing the Pioneer plaque, a symbol to be left for extraterrestrial intelligence in association with Pioneer 10.
This was the first artificial object to go beyond the solar system; it had a plaque with images of a man and woman and details of where the Earth was.
Sagan's work on the plaque was based on his idea that there could be other forms of life in the universe, and he wanted humanity to be able to talk to beings in different worlds.
The Pioneer's mission started Sagan's lifelong commitment to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).
Apr 16, 1980
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Cosmos, the television series hosted by Sagan, first aired in 1980 and is considered one of the most viewed science programs.
It focused on the mysteries of the universe, the evolution of life on the planet Earth, and the role of people in the vast universe, combining science with philosophy, and it was held for 13 episodes.
Cosmos spread culture and became a TV show that affected millions of viewers across the globe and influenced them to become scientists and enhance their knowledge about the universe.
Apr 21, 1990
Pale Blue Dot
Sagan once asked NASA to turn the Voyager 1 camera around and take this picture of Earth, the so-called 'Pale Blue Dot.'
The picture depicts Earth as a mere dot in the universe, which led Sagan to contemplate the vulnerability of human beings and the need to preserve the only home we know.
His book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space came out in 1994 and is now considered one of his best works.