Carl Sagan
American astronomer and influential science communicator.
Born on November 9, 1934, and passing away on December 20, 1996, Carl Edward Sagan was a U.S. astronomer, planetary scientist, and communicator of science.[1] According to one source, Sagan is considered a top-tier science communicator from his era.[2] The 1980 TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which Sagan co-wrote and narrated, reached an audience of at least 500 million across 60 nations.[3]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Carl Edward Sagan
- Born
- 9 November 1934
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Died
- 20 December 1996
- Place of death
- Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- Resting place
- Lake View Cemetery
- Education
- University of Chicago (BA, BS, MS, PhD)
- Field
- Astronomy
- astrophysics
- cosmology
- astrobiology
- space science
- planetary science
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Sagan was born in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of New York City's Brooklyn borough.[4] He co-wrote and narrated the 1980 documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.[3] Sagan obtained a Bachelor of Science in physics in 1955 and a Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics in 1960 from the University of Chicago.[5][6] Beginning with The Cosmic Connection, Sagan authored numerous popular science books and over 600 scientific papers and articles.[7]
In his book The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan particularly advocated for skepticism and the scientific method.[8]
What the cited sources add
The Smithsonian Magazine account notes Sagan was the house astronomer on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show”.[9] The same source states Sagan co-created and hosted a 13-part PBS television series, “Cosmos,” which aired in fall 1980 and reached hundreds of millions worldwide.[9] The StarChild account describes Sagan as "the scientist who made the universe clearer to the ordinary person"[10] The Planetary Society account states Sagan received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and for Distinguished Public Service twice.[11]
The same source notes asteroid 2709 Sagan is named after him.[11] The Planetary Society account also states Sagan served as Chairman of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society.[11] The Smithsonian Magazine account reports Sagan's papers include a 1953 questionnaire where he gave himself the highest ratings for being “dominant” and “reflective”.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dicke, "Carl Sagan, an Astronomer Who Excelled at Popularizing Science, Is Dead at 62", The New York Times, December 21, 1996 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "6 Inspiring Science Communicators", FROMTBOT (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "StarChild: Dr. Carl Sagan", StarChild (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Poundstone 1999, pp. 363–364, 374–375.; Dicke, "Carl Sagan, an Astronomer Who Excelled at Popularizing Science, Is Dead at 62", The New York Times, December 21, 1996; "Carl Sagan", Internet Accuracy Project; Davidson 1999. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carl Sagan – website of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Spangenburg, "Carl Sagan: A Biography", Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sagan, "Physical Studies of the Planets", University of Chicago, 1960, p. ii; Spangenburg & Moser 2004, p. 28.; ; Tatarewicz, "Space Technology & Planetary Astronomy", Indiana University Press, 1990, p. 22 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carl Sagan", Google Scholar; Achenbach, "Why Carl Sagan is Truly Irreplaceable", Smithsonian Magazine, March 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carl Sagan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Popova, "The Baloney Detection Kit", The Marginalian, January 3, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Achenbach, "Why Carl Sagan is Truly Irreplaceable", Smithsonian Magazine, March 2014. facts only, no text reused. smithsonianmag.com
- "StarChild: Dr. Carl Sagan", StarChild. facts only, no text reused. starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov
- "Carl Sagan", The Planetary Society. facts only, no text reused. planetary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Carl Sagan (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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