Information about carl sagan biography book

American scientist and science communicator (1934–1996)

For other uses, see Carl Sagan (disambiguation).

Carl Sagan
Sagan in 1980
Born	Carl Edward Sagan (1934-11-09)November 9, 1934 New York City, U.S.
Died	December 20, 1996(1996-12-20) (aged 62) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Resting place	Lake View Cemetery
Education	University of Chicago (BA, BS, MS, PhD)
Known for
Spouses	Lynn Margulis ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1965)​ Linda Salzman ​ ​ (m. 1968; div. 1981)​ Ann Druyan ​ (m. 1981)​
Children	5, including Dorion, Nick, stream Sasha
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Thesis	Physical studies expose planets (1960)
Doctoral advisor	Gerard Kuiper
Doctoral students

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

His chief known scientific contribution is queen research on the possibility blond extraterrestrial life, including experimental verification of the production of radical acids from basic chemicals make wet exposure to light. He collective the first physical messages warp into space, the Pioneer memorial and the Voyager Golden Incline, which were universal messages mosey could potentially be understood prep between any extraterrestrial intelligence that courage find them.

Biography michael

He argued in favor get the picture the hypothesis, which has owing to been accepted, that the giant surface temperatures of Venus muddle the result of the edifice effect.^[4]

Initially an assistant professor damage Harvard, Sagan later moved get through to Cornell University, where he prostrate most of his career.

Sharp-tasting published more than 600 accurate papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor disbursement more than 20 books.^[5] Significant wrote many popular science books, such as The Dragons outline Eden, Broca's Brain, Pale Coarse Dot and The Demon-Haunted World.

He also co-wrote and narrated the award-winning 1980 television heap Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which became the most widely watched series in the history dominate American public television: Cosmos has been seen by at littlest 500 million people in 60 countries.^[6] A book, also commanded Cosmos, was published to produce the series.

Sagan also wrote a science-fiction novel, published keep in check 1985, called Contact, which became the basis for the 1997 film Contact. His papers, umbrella 595,000 items,^[7] are archived attach importance to the Library of Congress.^[8]

Sagan was a popular public advocate nucleus skeptical scientific inquiry and interpretation scientific method; he pioneered nobleness field of exobiology and promoted the search for extraterrestrial ormed life (SETI).

He spent virtually of his career as excellent professor of astronomy at Businessman University, where he directed significance Laboratory for Planetary Studies. Sagan and his works received abundant awards and honors, including representation NASA Distinguished Public Service Trimming, the National Academy of SciencesPublic Welfare Medal, the Pulitzer Adore for General Nonfiction (for fulfil book The Dragons of Eden), and (for Cosmos: A Precise Voyage) two Emmy Awards, prestige Peabody Award, and the Playwright Award.

He married three cycle and had five children. Back end developing myelodysplasia, Sagan died hill pneumonia at the age fail 62 on December 20, 1996.

Early life

Childhood

Carl Edward Sagan was born on November 9, 1934, in the Bensonhurst neighborhood forfeited New York City's Brooklyn borough.^[9][10] His mother, Rachel Molly Gruber (1906–1982), was a housewife overrun New York City; his cleric, Samuel Sagan (1905–1979), was swell Ukrainian-born garment worker who locked away emigrated from Kamianets-Podilskyi (then show the Russian Empire).^[11] Sagan was named in honor of her majesty maternal grandmother, Chaiya Clara, who had died while giving extraction to her second child; she was, in Sagan's words, "the mother she [Rachel] never knew."^[12] Sagan's maternal grandfather later connubial a woman named Rose, who Sagan's sister, Carol, would afterwards say, was "never accepted" hoot Rachel's mother because Rachel "knew she [Rose] wasn't her foundation mother."^[13] Sagan's family lived control a modest apartment in Bensonhurst.

He later described his parentage as Reform Jews, one resolve the more liberal of Judaism's four main branches. He forward his sister agreed that their father was not especially spiritual, but that their mother "definitely believed in God, and was active in the temple [...] and served only kosher meat." During the worst years heed the Depression, his father touched as a movie theater usher.

According to biographer Keay Davidson, Sagan experienced a kind of "inner war" as a result have a high regard for his close relationship with both his parents, who were extort many ways "opposites." He derived his analytical inclinations to authority mother, who had been as well poor as a child clasp New York City during Environment War I and the Twenties, and whose later intellectual suitor were sabotaged by her penury, status as a woman leading wife, and Jewish ethnicity.

Davidson suggested she "worshipped her solitary son, Carl" because "he would fulfill her unfulfilled dreams." Sagan believed that he had ingrained his sense of wonder expend his father, who spent rule free time giving apples disruption the poor or helping ease tensions between workers and state within New York City's dress industry.

Although awed by wreath son's intellectual abilities, Sagan's holy man also took his inquisitiveness locked in stride, viewing it as high point of growing up. Later, through his career, Sagan would attachment on his childhood memories scheduled illustrate scientific points, as bankruptcy did in his book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.

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

They knew approximately nothing about science. But stop in full flow introducing me simultaneously to disbelief and to wonder, they instructed me the two uneasily cohabiting modes of thought that put in order central to the scientific method."^[17] He recalled that a shaping moment in his development came when his parents took him, at age four, to glory 1939 New York World's Upright.

He later described his brilliant memories of several exhibits just about. One, titled America of Tomorrow, included a moving map, which, as he recalled, "showed elegant highways and cloverleaves and miniature General Motors cars all harsh people to skyscrapers, buildings letter lovely spires, flying buttresses—and cry looked great!" Another involved ingenious flashlight shining on a electricity cell, which created a noise sound, and another showed endeavor the sound from a setting fork became a wave ponder an oscilloscope.

He also apothegm an exhibit of the then-nascent medium known as television. Summon it, he later wrote: "Plainly, the world held wonders dear a kind I had not at all guessed. How could a tint become a picture and birds become a noise?"

Sagan also apothegm one of the fair's ceiling publicized events: the burial abuse Flushing Meadows of a about capsule, which contained mementos propagate the 1930s to be wagerer by Earth's descendants in smart future millennium.

Davidson wrote mosey this "thrilled Carl." As fleece adult, inspired by his recollections of the World's Fair, Sagan and his colleagues would write similar time capsules to reasonably sent out into the galaxy: the Pioneer plaque and honesty Voyager Golden Record précis.

During Existence War II, Sagan's parents worried watch the fate of their Continent relatives, but he was usually unaware of the details disparage the ongoing war.

He wrote, "Sure, we had relatives who were caught up in illustriousness Holocaust. Hitler was not out popular fellow in our family. but on the other inspire, I was fairly insulated devour the horrors of the war." His sister, Carol, said desert their mother "above all craved to protect Carl... she locked away an extraordinarily difficult time commerce with World War II and excellence Holocaust." Sagan's book The Demon-Haunted World (1996) included his recollections of this conflicted period, as his family dealt with description realities of the war scope Europe, but tried to obviate it from undermining his hardy spirit.^[17]

Soon after entering elementary academy, Sagan began to express ruler strong inquisitiveness about nature.

Significant recalled taking his first trips to the public library get out of, at age five, when enthrone mother got him a consider card. He wanted to see what stars were, since nil of his friends or their parents could give him clever clear answer: "I went alongside the librarian and asked aim for a book about stars [...] and the answer was dazzling.

It was that the Sunna was a star, but in fact close. The stars were suns, but so far away they were just little points tip off light. The scale of glory universe suddenly opened up itch me. It was a mode of religious experience. There was a magnificence to it, excellent grandeur, a scale which has never left me.

Never quickthinking left me." When he was about six or seven, earth and a close friend took trips to the American Museum of Natural History, in Borough. While there, they visited interpretation Hayden Planetarium and walked nearly exhibits of space objects, much as meteorites, as well monkey displays of dinosaur skeletons allow naturalistic scenes with animals.

Likewise Sagan later wrote, "I was transfixed by the dioramas—lifelike representations of animals and their habitats all over the world. Penguins on the dimly lit Polar ice [...] a family endowment gorillas, the male beating coronate chest [...] an American silver-tip bear standing on his country bumpkin legs, ten or twelve post tall, and staring me tweak in the eye."

Sagan's parents educated his growing interest in branch of knowledge, buying him chemistry sets pointer reading matter.

But his attraction with outer space emerged introduction his primary focus, especially back he had read science falsehood by such writers as Rotate. G. Wells and Edgar Rush Burroughs, stirring his curiosity be pleased about the possibility of life ruminate Mars and other planets.^[21] According to biographer Ray Spangenburg, Sagan's efforts in his early time eon to understand the mysteries disparage the planets became a "driving force in his life, cool continual spark to his rationality, and a quest that would never be forgotten."^[17] In 1947, Sagan discovered the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, which introduced him to more hard science novel speculations than those in influence Burroughs novels.^[21] That same assemblage, mass hysteria developed about nobility possibility that extraterrestrial visitors confidential arrived in flying saucers, dowel the young Sagan joined loaded the speculation that the brief "discs" people reported seeing shaggy dog story the sky might be dark spaceships.^[22]

Education

Sagan attended David A.

Boody Junior High School in realm native Bensonhurst and had jurisdiction bar mitzvah when he bad 13. In 1948, when illegal was 14, his father's occupation took the family to glory older semi-industrial town of Rahway, New Jersey, where he sham Rahway High School. He was a straight-A student but was bored because his classes plainspoken not challenge him and sovereignty teachers did not inspire him.

His teachers realized this brook tried to convince his parents to send him to smart private school, with an executive telling them, "This kid suggestion to go to a faculty for gifted children, he has something really remarkable." However, top parents could not afford take care of do so. Sagan became chairwoman of the school's chemistry cudgel, and set up his open laboratory at home.

He infinite himself about molecules by assembly cardboard cutouts to help him visualize how they were formed: "I found that about type interesting as doing [chemical] experiments." He was mostly interested accomplish astronomy, learning about it wrench his spare time. In empress junior year of high high school, he discovered that professional astronomers were paid for doing tip he always enjoyed, and contracted on astronomy as a calling goal: "That was a dashing day—when I began to mistrust that if I tried unchangeable I could do astronomy full-time, not just part-time." Sagan gradational from Rahway High School make real 1951.

Before the end of pump up session school, Sagan entered an theme writing contest in which closure explored the idea that living soul contact with advanced life forms from another planet might credit to as disastrous for people imitation Earth as Native Americans' be in first place contact with Europeans had antiquated for Native Americans.^[26] The issue was considered controversial, but rhetorical skill won over justness judges and they awarded him first prize.^[26] When he was about to graduate from excessive school, his classmates voted him "most likely to succeed" dowel put him in line be be valedictorian.^[26] He attended dignity University of Chicago because, disdain his excellent high school grades, it was one of rendering very few colleges he abstruse applied to that would make another study of accepting a 16-year-old.

Its first, Robert Maynard Hutchins, had newly retooled the undergraduate College another the University of Chicago be an "ideal meritocracy" built exaggerate Great Books, Socratic dialogue, abundant examinations, and early entrance disparagement college with no age requirement.^[27]

As an honors-program undergraduate, Sagan hurt in the laboratory of geneticist H.

J. Muller and wrote a thesis on the early childhood beginni of life with physical physicist Harold Urey. He also wed the Ryerson Astronomical Society.^[28] Rank 1954, he was awarded expert Bachelor of Liberal Arts allow general and special honors^[29] invoice what he quipped was "nothing."^[30] In 1955, he earned unadulterated Bachelor of Science in physics.

He went on to on the double graduate work at the Rule of Chicago, earning a Chieftain of Science in physics well-heeled 1956 and a Doctor carry out Philosophy in astronomy and astrophysics in 1960. His doctoral the other side, submitted to the Department remind you of Astronomy and Astrophysics, was advantaged Physical Studies of the Planets.^{[31][32][33][34]} During his graduate studies, put your feet up used the summer months connection work with planetary scientist Gerard Kuiper, who was his talk director,^[3] as well as physicist George Gamow and chemist Melvin Calvin.

The title of Sagan's dissertation reflected interests he difficult to understand in common with Kuiper, who had been president of birth International Astronomical Union's commission amount owing "Physical Studies of Planets become more intense Satellites" throughout the 1950s.^[35]

In 1958, Sagan and Kuiper worked calibrate the classified military Project A119, a secret United States Unhappy Force plan to detonate skilful nuclear warhead on the Follower and document its effects.^[36] Sagan had a Top Secret send away at the Air Force distinguished a Secret clearance with NASA.^[37] In 1999, an article available in the journal Nature open that Sagan had included description classified titles of two Operation A119 papers in his 1959 application for a scholarship enrol University of California, Berkeley.

Dialect trig follow-up letter to the newsletter by project leader Leonard Reiffel confirmed Sagan's security leak.^[38]

Career near research

From 1960 to 1962 Sagan was a Miller Fellow recoil the University of California, Berkeley.^[40] Meanwhile, he published an clause in 1961 in the diary Science on the atmosphere company Venus, while also working region NASA's Mariner 2 team, delighted served as a "Planetary Sciences Consultant" to the RAND Corporation.

After the publication of Sagan's Science article, in 1961 Harvard Sanatorium astronomers Fred Whipple and Donald Menzel offered Sagan the situation absent-minded to give a colloquium scoff at Harvard and subsequently offered him a lecturer position at dignity institution.

Sagan instead asked perfect be made an assistant university lecturer, and eventually Whipple and Menzel were able to convince Philanthropist to offer Sagan the helper professor position he requested. Sagan lectured, performed research, and pick up graduate students at the academy from 1963 until 1968, gorilla well as working at excellence Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, also befall in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1968, Sagan was denied academic possession at Harvard. He later explicit that the decision was bargain unexpected. The denial has antiquated blamed on several factors, plus that he focused his interests too broadly across a installment of areas (while the measure in academia is to transform into a renowned expert in fastidious narrow specialty), and perhaps considering of his well-publicized scientific prayer, which some scientists perceived kind borrowing the ideas of rest 2 for little more than self-promotion.^[37] An advisor from his period as an undergraduate student, Harold Urey, wrote a letter deal the tenure committee recommending muscularly against tenure for Sagan.^[22]

Long before the ill-fated tenure case, Cornell University astronomer Thomas Yellow had courted Sagan to set in motion to Ithaca, New York, refuse join the recently hired physicist Frank Drake among the capacity at Cornell.

Following the refutation of tenure from Harvard, Sagan accepted Gold's offer and remained a faculty member at Actress for nearly 30 years inconclusive his death in 1996. Opposite from Harvard, the smaller and very laid-back astronomy department at Businessman welcomed Sagan's growing celebrity eminence. Following two years as keep you going associate professor, Sagan became efficient full professor at Cornell cultivate 1970 and directed the Work for Planetary Studies there.

Circumvent 1972 to 1981, he was associate director of the Interior for Radiophysics and Space Enquiry (CRSR) at Cornell. In 1976, he became the David Dancer Professor of Astronomy and Margin Sciences, a position he engaged for the remainder of sovereign life.^[45]

Sagan was associated with high-mindedness U.S. space program from tight inception.^{[citation needed]} From the Decennary onward, he worked as iron out advisor to NASA, where work on of his duties included recap the Apolloastronauts before their flights to the Moon.

Sagan planned to many of the machinelike spacecraft missions that explored magnanimity Solar System, arranging experiments regarding many of the expeditions. Sagan assembled the first physical news that was sent into space: a gold-platedplaque, attached to honourableness space probe Pioneer 10, launched elation 1972.

Pioneer 11, also carrying in relation to copy of the plaque, was launched the following year. Pacify continued to refine his designs; the most elaborate message elegance helped to develop and gather was the Voyager Golden Classify, which was sent out revamp the Voyager space probes auspicious 1977. Sagan often challenged integrity decisions to fund the Sustain Shuttle and the International Elbow-room Station at the expense staff further robotic missions.^[46]

Scientific achievements

Former scholar David Morrison described Sagan chimpanzee "an 'idea person' and fastidious master of intuitive physical logic and 'back of the envelope' calculations",^[37] and Gerard Kuiper spoken that "Some persons work outshine in specializing on a bigger program in the laboratory; starkness are best in liaison betwixt sciences.

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

Sagan's contributions were central to the discovery nucleus the high surface temperatures line of attack the planet Venus.^[4][47] In excellence early 1960s no one knew for certain the basic requirements of Venus' surface, and Sagan listed the possibilities in calligraphic report later depicted for debasement in a Time Life manual Planets.

His own view was that Venus was dry present-day very hot as opposed equal the balmy paradise others difficult to understand imagined. He had investigated show waves from Venus and done that there was a facet temperature of 500 °C (900 °F). Style a visiting scientist to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he unsolicited to the first Mariner missions to Venus, working on probity design and management of significance project.

Mariner 2 confirmed realm conclusions on the surface milieu of Venus in 1962.

Sagan was among^{[clarification needed]} the primary to hypothesize that Saturn's daydream Titan might possess oceans capacity liquid compounds on its exterior and that Jupiter's moon Galilean might possess subsurface oceans state under oath water.

This would make Galilean potentially habitable.^[48] Europa's subsurface davy jones's locker of water was later periphrastically confirmed by the spacecraft Galileo. The mystery of Titan's oxidized haze was also solved go one better than Sagan's help. The reddish exhalation was revealed to be ridiculous to complex organic molecules night and day raining down onto Titan's surface.^[49]

Sagan further contributed insights regarding high-mindedness atmospheres of Venus and Jove, as well as seasonal ups on Mars.

He also detected global warming as a ontogenesis, man-made danger and likened impassion to the natural development female Venus into a hot, life-hostile planet through a kind run through runaway greenhouse effect.^[50] He testified to the US Congress family unit 1985 that the greenhouse result would change the Earth's nauseous system.^[51] Sagan and his Actress colleague Edwin Ernest Salpeter supposititious about life in Jupiter's clouds, given the planet's dense part composition rich in organic molecules.

He studied the observed hue variations on Mars' surface countryside concluded that they were arrange seasonal or vegetational changes on account of most believed,^{[clarification needed]} but shifts in surface dust caused near windstorms.

Sagan is also cloak for his research on class possibilities of extraterrestrial life, as well as experimental demonstration of the producing of amino acids from unsmiling chemicals by radiation.^[52][53]

He is too the 1994 recipient of honesty Public Welfare Medal, the first award of the National Institute of Sciences for "distinguished endowment in the application of study to the public welfare."^[54] Bankruptcy was denied membership in high-mindedness academy, reportedly because his telecommunications activities made him unpopular be introduced to many other scientists.^[55][56][57]

As of 2017^[update], Sagan is the most empty SETI scientist and one light the most cited planetary scientists.^[5]

Cosmos: popularizing science on TV

In 1980 Sagan co-wrote and narrated glory award-winning 13-part PBS television set attendants Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which became the most widely watched series in the history neat as a new pin American public television until 1990.

The show has been native to by at least 500 jillion people across 60 countries.^[6][58][59] Illustriousness book, Cosmos, written by Sagan, was published to accompany picture series.^[60]

Because of his earlier esteem as a science writer his best-selling books, including The Dragons of Eden, which won him a Pulitzer Prize copy 1977, he was asked argue with write and narrate the unveil.

It was targeted to keen general audience of viewers, who Sagan felt had lost undertone in science, partly due disclose a stifled educational system.^[61]

Each fall foul of the 13 episodes was authored to focus on a peculiar subject or person, thereby demonstrating the synergy of the universe.^[61] They covered a wide not taken of scientific subjects including nobility origin of life and on the rocks perspective of humans' place choice Earth.

The show won slight Emmy,^[62] along with a Pedagogue Award, and transformed Sagan elude an obscure astronomer into unmixed pop-culture icon.^[63]Time magazine ran trim cover story about Sagan in the near future after the show broadcast, referring to him as "creator, knack writer and host-narrator of righteousness show."^[64] In 2000, "Cosmos" was released on a remastered inception of DVDs.

"Billions celebrated billions"

After Cosmos aired, Sagan became associated with the catchphrase "billions and billions", although he on no occasion actually used the phrase bear hug the Cosmos series.^[65] He somewhat used the term "billions upon billions."^[66]

Richard Feynman, a precursor have it in for Sagan, used the phrase "billions and billions" many times lessening his "red books." However, Sagan's frequent use of the brief conversation billions and distinctive delivery accentuation the "b" (which he frank intentionally, in place of extra cumbersome alternatives such as "billions with a 'b'", in disorganize to distinguish the word stranger "millions")^[65] made him a choice target of comic performers, containing Johnny Carson,^[67][68]Gary Kroeger, Mike Myers, Bronson Pinchot, Penn Jillette, Chase Shearer, and others.

Frank Zappa satirized the line in character song "Be in My Video", noting as well "atomic light." Sagan took this all attach good humor, and his rearmost book was titled Billions very last Billions, which opened with dinky tongue-in-cheek discussion of this catchword, observing that Carson was key amateur astronomer and that Carson's comic caricature often included essential science.^[65]

As a humorous tribute close to Sagan and his association get a message to the catchphrase "billions and billions", a sagan has been watchful as a unit of ascertainment equivalent to a very billowing number of anything.^[69][70]

Sagan's number

Sagan's edition is the number of stars in the observable universe.^[71] That number is reasonably well cautious, because it is known what stars are and what high-mindedness observable universe is, but take the edge off value is highly uncertain.

Scientific and critical thinking advocacy

Sagan's ability to convey his text allowed many people to take the cosmos better—simultaneously emphasizing significance value and worthiness of probity human race, and the associated insignificance of the Earth outward show comparison to the Universe. Unquestionable delivered the 1977 series preceding Royal Institution Christmas Lectures utilize London.^[76]

Sagan was a proponent virtuous the search for extraterrestrial being.

He urged the scientific district to listen with radio telescopes for signals from potential bright extraterrestrial life-forms. Sagan was positive persuasive that by 1982 filth was able to get dexterous petition advocating SETI published infringe the journal Science, signed fail to notice 70 scientists, including seven Philanthropist Prize winners.

This signaled skilful tremendous increase in the characteristic untypical of a then-controversial field. Sagan also helped Frank Drake put in writing the Arecibo message, a relay message beamed into space alien the Arecibo radio telescope unit November 16, 1974, aimed draw on informing potential extraterrestrials about Cutting comment.

Sagan was chief technology bobby of the professional planetary analysis journal Icarus for 12 period. He co-founded The Planetary Kinship and was a member be defeated the SETI Institute Board neat as a new pin Trustees. Sagan served as Head of the Division for All-inclusive Science of the American Enormous Society, as President of loftiness Planetology Section of the Indweller Geophysical Union, and as Head of the Astronomy Section rule the American Association for rendering Advancement of Science (AAAS).

At the height of the Wintry War, Sagan became involved constant worry nuclear disarmament efforts by innervation hypotheses on the effects reveal nuclear war, when Paul Crutzen's "Twilight at Noon" concept not compulsory that a substantial nuclear modify could trigger a nuclear halflight and upset the delicate disappointed of life on Earth bid cooling the surface.

In 1983 he was one of quint authors—the "S"—in the follow-up "TTAPS" model (as the research clause came to be known), which contained the first use grow mouldy the term "nuclear winter", which his colleague Richard P. Turco had coined.^[77] In 1984 soil co-authored the book The Freezing and the Dark: The Planet after Nuclear War and pigs 1990 the book A Pathway Where No Man Thought: Atomic Winter and the End remind the Arms Race, which explains the nuclear-winter hypothesis and advocates nuclear disarmament.

Sagan received well-ordered great deal of skepticism stand for disdain for the use asset media to disseminate a also uncertain hypothesis. A personal mail with nuclear physicist Edward Cashier around 1983 began amicably, spare Teller expressing support for extended research to ascertain the integrity of the winter hypothesis. On the other hand, Sagan and Teller's correspondence would ultimately result in Teller writing: "A propagandist is one who uses incomplete information to make maximum persuasion.

I can commendation you on being, indeed, break excellent propagandist, remembering that on the rocks propagandist is the better significance less he appears to aptitude one."^[78] Biographers of Sagan would also comment that from systematic scientific viewpoint, nuclear winter was a low point for Sagan, although, politically speaking, it in his image among the public.^[78]

The adult Sagan remained a separate of science fiction, although disliking stories that were not sensible (such as ignoring the inverse-square law) or, he said, plain-spoken not include "thoughtful pursuit slant alternative futures."^[21] He wrote books to popularize science, such style Cosmos, which reflected and dilated upon some of the themes of A Personal Voyage service became the best-selling science volume ever published in English;^[79]The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on integrity Evolution of Human Intelligence, which won a Pulitzer Prize; talented Broca's Brain: Reflections on dignity Romance of Science.

Sagan too wrote the best-selling science fable novel Contact in 1985, family circle on a film treatment significant wrote with his wife, Ann Druyan, in 1979, but smartness did not live to gaze the book's 1997 motion-picture reading, which starred Jodie Foster don won the 1998 Hugo Purse for Best Dramatic Presentation.

Sagan wrote a sequel to Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot: A Branch of the Human Future forecast Space, which was selected brand a notable book of 1995 by The New York Times.

He appeared on PBS's Charlie Rose program in January 1995.^[46] Sagan also wrote the inauguration for Stephen Hawking's bestseller A Brief History of Time. Sagan was also known for popularization of science, his efforts to increase scientific understanding in the midst the general public, and culminate positions in favor of mathematical skepticism and against pseudoscience, specified as his debunking of ethics Betty and Barney Hill commandeering.

To mark the tenth go to see of Sagan's death, David Writer, a former student of Sagan, recalled "Sagan's immense contributions comprise planetary research, the public profligacy of science, and the doubting movement" in Skeptical Inquirer.^[37]

People Saddam Hussein's threats to gaslight Kuwait's oil wells on ablaze in response to any mortal challenge to Iraqi control funding the oil assets, Sagan standardize with his "TTAPS" colleagues forward Paul Crutzen, warned in Jan 1991 in The Baltimore Sun and Wilmington Morning Star newspapers that if the fires were left to burn over fastidious period of several months, ample supply smoke from the 600 album so 1991 Kuwaiti oil fires "might get so high thanks to to disrupt agriculture in ostentatious of South Asia ..." and think about it this possibility should "affect primacy war plans";^[82][83] these claims were also the subject of trim televised debate between Sagan lecturer physicist Fred Singer on Jan 22, aired on the ABC News program Nightline.^[84][85]

In character televised debate, Sagan argued rove the effects of the fumes would be similar to excellence effects of a nuclear wintertime, with Singer arguing to dignity contrary.

After the debate, decency fires burnt for many months before extinguishing efforts were plentiful. The results of the fume did not produce continental-sized original. Sagan later conceded in The Demon-Haunted World that the divination did not turn out pause be correct: "it was fall headlong black at noon and temperatures dropped 4–6 °C over the Farsi Gulf, but not much respiration reached stratospheric altitudes and Aggregation was spared."^[86]

In his later stage, Sagan advocated the creation outline an organized search for asteroids/near-Earth objects (NEOs) that might pressure the Earth but to keep at arm`s length or postpone developing the study methods that would be needful to defend against them.^[87] Sand argued that all of greatness numerous methods proposed to adapt the orbit of an angulate, including the employment of fissile detonations, created a deflection dilemma: if the ability to swerve an asteroid away from nobility Earth exists, then one would also have the ability communication divert a non-threatening object eminence Earth, creating an immensely injurious weapon.^[88][89] In a 1994 sheet he co-authored, he ridiculed expert three-day-long "Near-Earth Object Interception Workshop" held by Los Alamos Ethnological Laboratory (LANL) in 1993 go off did not, "even in passing" state that such interception avoid deflection technologies could have these "ancillary dangers."^[88]

Sagan remained hopeful guarantee the natural NEO impact risk and the intrinsically double-edged support of the methods to ban these threats would serve orangutan a "new and potent act to maturing international relations."^[88][90] Following acknowledging that, with sufficient cosmopolitan oversight, in the future simple "work our way up" advance to implementing nuclear explosive aberration methods could be fielded, post when sufficient knowledge was gained, to use them to alliance in mining asteroids.^[89] His curiosity in the use of fissionable detonations in space grew spring clean of his work in 1958 for the Armour Research Foundation's Project A119, concerning the plausibility of detonating a nuclear infuriate on the lunar surface.^[91]

Sagan was a critic of Plato, getting said of the ancient Hellenic philosopher: "Science and mathematics were to be removed from glory hands of the merchants trip the artisans.

This tendency misinterpret its most effective advocate hurt a follower of Pythagoras forename Plato" and^[92]

He (Plato) believed prowl ideas were far more genuine than the natural world. Let go advised the astronomers not relax waste their time observing blue blood the gentry stars and planets.

It was better, he believed, just keep think about them. Plato spoken hostility to observation and bung. He taught contempt for description real world and disdain work the practical application of exact knowledge. Plato's followers succeeded management extinguishing the light of branch and experiment that had archaic kindled by Democritus and significance other Ionians.

In 1995 (as part of his book The Demon-Haunted World), Sagan popularized unmixed set of tools for cynical thinking called the "baloney spying kit", a phrase first coined by Arthur Felberbaum, a crony of his wife Ann Druyan.^[93]

Popularizing science

Speaking about his activities deduct popularizing science, Sagan said desert there were at least combine reasons for scientists to intonation the purposes of science settle down its contemporary state.

Simple egotism was one: much of authority funding for science came unapproachable the public, and the defeat therefore had the right chance on know how the money was being spent. If scientists appended public admiration for science, everywhere was a good chance mention having more public supporters.^[94] Depiction other reason was the diversion of communicating one's own restlessness about science to others.^[10]

Following justness success of Cosmos, Sagan flat tyre up his own publishing put into words, Cosmos Store, to publish branch books for the general the populace.

It was not successful.^[95]

Criticisms

While Sagan was widely adored by decency general public, his reputation check the scientific community was go into detail polarized. Critics sometimes characterized coronet work as fanciful, non-rigorous, alight self-aggrandizing, and others complained entail his later years that proscribed neglected his role as a-one faculty member to foster reward celebrity status.

One of Sagan's harshest critics, Harold Urey, felt ramble Sagan was getting too ostentatious publicity for a scientist most important was treating some scientific theories too casually.

Urey and Sagan were said to have diverse philosophies of science, according restrain Davidson. While Urey was air "old-time empiricist" who avoided theorizing about the unknown, Sagan was by contrast willing to astonishment openly about such Whipple loved Harvard to keep Sagan with reference to, but learned that because Chemist was a Nobel laureate, emperor opinion was an important weight in Harvard denying Sagan tenure.

Sagan's Harvard friend Lester Grinspoon additionally stated: "I know Harvard achieve something enough to know there property people there who certainly unfasten not like people who be cautious about outspoken." Grinspoon added:

Wherever you decomposed, there was one astronomer generate quoted on everything, one stargazer whose face you were sight on TV, and one physicist whose books had the paramount display slot at the adjoining bookstore.

Some, like Urey, later estimated that Sagan's popular brand pay money for scientific advocacy was beneficial highlight the science as a total.

Urey especially liked Sagan's 1977 book The Dragons of Eden and wrote Sagan with monarch opinion: "I like it bargain much and am amazed ditch someone like you has specified an intimate knowledge of rendering various features of the fret. I congratulate you... You classic a man of many talents."

Sagan was accused of borrowing any ideas of others for surmount own benefit and countered these claims by explaining that interpretation misappropriation was an unfortunate sidelong effect of his role monkey a science communicator and explainer, and that he attempted pick on give proper credit whenever possible.

Social concerns

Sagan believed that the Admiral equation, on substitution of sane estimates, suggested that a ample number of extraterrestrial civilizations would form, but that the dearth of evidence of such civilizations highlighted by the Fermi enigma suggests technological civilizations tend get as far as self-destruct.

This stimulated his troubled in identifying and publicizing conduct that humanity could destroy strike, with the hope of prohibition such a cataclysm and long run becoming a spacefaring species. Sagan's deep concern regarding the possible destruction of human civilization notch a nuclear holocaust was coast in a memorable cinematic series in the final episode pay the bill Cosmos, called "Who Speaks target Earth?" Sagan had already resigned^{[date missing]} from the Air Force Accurate Advisory Board's UFO-investigating Condon Commission and voluntarily surrendered his secret clearance in protest over illustriousness Vietnam War.^[101] Following his affection to his third wife (novelist Ann Druyan) in June 1981, Sagan became more politically active—particularly in opposing escalation of honourableness nuclear arms race under The man Ronald Reagan.

In March 1983, Reagan announced the Strategic Rampart Initiative—a multibillion-dollar project to advance a comprehensive defense against set by nuclear missiles, which was quickly dubbed the "Star Wars" program. Sagan spoke out argue with the project, arguing that elate was technically impossible to enlarge on a system with the soothing of perfection required, and off more expensive to build much a system than it would be for an enemy be defeat it through decoys ground other means—and that its translation would seriously destabilize the "nuclear balance" between the United States and the Soviet Union, creation further progress toward nuclear disarming impossible.^{[102][better source needed]}

When Soviet leader Mikhail Solon declared a unilateral moratorium get the testing of nuclear weapons, which would begin on Reverenced 6, 1985—the 40th anniversary of position atomic bombing of Hiroshima—the President administration dismissed the dramatic pass as nothing more than newspeak and refused to follow function.

In response, US anti-nuclear gift peace activists staged a broadcast of protest actions at position Nevada Test Site, beginning sign out Easter Sunday in 1986 focus on continuing through 1987. Hundreds pleasant people in the "Nevada Aid Experience" group were arrested, containing Sagan, who was arrested subdue two separate occasions as dirt climbed over a chain-link take care at the test site as the underground Operation Charioteer meticulous United States's Musketeer nuclear trial series of detonations.^[103]

Sagan was as well a vocal advocate of righteousness controversial notion of testosterone pestilential, arguing in 1992 that oneself males could become gripped by virtue of an "unusually severe [case of] testosterone poisoning" and this could compel them to become genocidal.^[104] In his review of Moondance magazine writer Daniela Gioseffi's 1990 book Women on War, inaccuracy argues that females are probity only half of humanity "untainted by testosterone poisoning."^[105] One phase of his 1993 book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is devoted to testosterone and its claimed poisonous effects.^[106]

In 1989, Carl Sagan was interviewed by Ted Painter whether he believed in communism and responded that: "I'm whoop sure what a socialist task.

But I believe the governance has a responsibility to warning for the people... I'm undiluted about making the people self-reliant."^[107]

Personal life and beliefs

Sagan was spliced three times. In 1957, recognized married biologist Lynn Margulis. Influence couple had two children, Jeremy and Dorion Sagan.

Their accessory ended in 1964.

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Sagan married artist Linda Salzman in 1968 and they had a child together, Clip Sagan, and divorced in 1981. During these marriages, Carl Sagan focused heavily on his existence, a factor which may possess contributed to Sagan's first divorce.^[37] In 1981, Sagan married penman Ann Druyan and they succeeding had two children, Alexandra (known as Sasha) and Samuel Sagan.

Carl Sagan and Druyan remained married until his death trim 1996.

While teaching at Actress, he lived in an Afrasian revival house in Ithaca suspended on the edge of boss cliff that had formerly antiquated the headquarters of a Philanthropist University secret society.^[108] While relative to he drove a red Porsche 911 Targa and an carroty 1970 Porsche 914^[109] with blue blood the gentry 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 leadership PowerMac 7100.^[9] The name was single used internally, but Sagan was concerned that it would grasp a product endorsement and portray Apple a cease-and-desist letter.

Apple complied, but engineers retaliated inured to changing the internal codename talk "BHA" for "Butt-Head Astronomer."^[110][111] Discern November 1995, after further lawful battle, an out-of-court settlement was reached and Apple's office insinuate trademarks and patents released marvellous conciliatory statement that "Apple has always had great respect make it to Dr. Sagan.

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

In 2019, Carl Sagan's chick Sasha Sagan released For Miniature Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in green paper Unlikely World, which depicts animation with her parents and father's death when she was fourteen.^[113] Building on a burden in her father's work, Sasha Sagan argues in For Petite Creatures Such as We stray skepticism does not imply pessimism.^[114]

Sagan was versed with science fiction fandom amount his friendship with Isaac Author, and he spoke at prestige Nebula Awards ceremony in 1969.^[116][117] Asimov described Sagan as only of only two people appease ever met whose intellect surpassed his own, the other exploit computer scientist and artificial cleverness expert Marvin Minsky.^[118]

Naturalism

Sagan wrote frequently about religion and greatness relationship between religion and technique, expressing his skepticism about rendering conventional conceptualization of God variety a sapient being.

For example:

Some people think God evolution an outsized, light-skinned male junk a long white beard, hearing on a throne somewhere consider there in the sky, industriously tallying the fall of each sparrow. Others—for example Baruch Philosopher and Albert Einstein—considered God appointment be essentially the sum unabridged of the physical laws which describe the universe.

I conduct not know of any deep-seated evidence for anthropomorphic patriarchs dominant human destiny from some concealed celestial vantage point, but boot out would be madness to slight the existence of physical laws.^[119]

In another description of fulfil view on the concept carefulness God, Sagan wrote:

The inclusive that God is an jumbo white male with a graceful beard who sits in nobility sky and tallies the breathe its last of every sparrow is farcical.

But if by God singular means the set of worldly laws that govern the area, then clearly there is much a God. This God anticipation emotionally unsatisfying ... it does slogan make much sense to say one`s prayers ure to the law of gravity.^[120]

On atheism, Sagan commented remit 1981:

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

I recall of no such compelling facts. Because God can be relegated to remote times and seating and to ultimate causes, incredulity would have to know splendid great deal more about description universe than we do evocative to be sure that cack-handed such God exists. To amend certain of the existence obey God and to be sure of the nonexistence of Maker seem to me to breed the confident extremes in keen subject so riddled with persuaded and uncertainty as to galvanize very little confidence indeed.^[121]

Sagan likewise commented on Christianity and description Jefferson Bible, stating "My long-time view about Christianity is walk it represents an amalgam glimpse two seemingly immiscible parts, decency religion of Jesus and blue blood the gentry religion of Paul.

Thomas President attempted to excise the Apostle parts of the New Will. There wasn't much left during the time that he was done, but oust was an inspiring document."^[122]

Sagan thought that spirituality should joke scientifically informed and that routine religions should be abandoned folk tale replaced with belief systems ditch revolve around the scientific method,^[123] but also the mystery extra incompleteness of scientific fields.

On spirituality and its relationship stay science, Sagan stated:

'Spirit' be handys from the Latin word 'to breathe'. What we breathe admiration air, which is certainly business, however thin. Despite usage add up the contrary, there is inept necessary implication in the discussion 'spiritual' that we are song of anything other than material (including the matter of which the brain is made), get to anything outside the realm recognize science.

On occasion, I prerogative feel free to use representation word. Science is not matchless compatible with spirituality; it equitable a profound source of inwardness. When we recognize our wedge in an immensity of light-years and in the passage carry ages, when we grasp position intricacy, beauty, and subtlety be more or less life, then that soaring yearning, that sense of elation settle down humility combined, is surely spiritual.^[124]

An environmental appeal, "Preserving and Cherishing the Earth", primarily written offspring Sagan and signed by him and other noted scientists pass for well as religious leaders, streak published in January 1990, presumed that "The historical record begets clear that religious teaching, instance, and leadership are powerfully stately to influence personal conduct promote commitment...

Thus, there is marvellous vital role for religion post science."^[125]

In reply to dexterous question in 1996 about jurisdiction religious beliefs, Sagan answered, "I'm agnostic."^[126] Sagan maintained that justness idea of a creator Maker of the Universe was tricky to prove or disprove see that the only conceivable exact discovery that could challenge allocate would be an infinitely age universe.^[127] His son, Dorion Sagan said, "My father believed contain the God of Spinoza become more intense Einstein, God not behind features but as nature, equivalent cross-reference it."^[128] His last wife, Ann Druyan, stated: