Remembering Carl Sagan

Today would have been Carl Sagan’s 75th birthday. His life and work were monumental in astronomy and public outreach, and he had a profound influence on many people. I count myself among those who say they might not be where they are today were it not for Carl Sagan. Reading his books such as “Cosmos” and “Demon Haunted World” broadened my horizons when I needed it most. One of my favorite books of all time is “Pale Blue Dot” which really puts everything in perspective. Above is a video excerpt from the book.

If you choose, there are a few different ways you can remember Sagan and celebrate his life:

Today’s episode on 365 Days of Astronomy includes an interview with Sagan’s wife, Ann Druyan, who shares some reminiscences of “20 trips around the sun with Carl,” and talks about the most recent sensation, an “auto-tune” song “A Glorious Dawn” made from the series “Cosmos,” (which also includes Stephen Hawking “singing.”) The song is being released as a single, and you can find more info on that by listening to the 365 Days podcast. The video is not to be missed, so here it is:

You can watch all 13 episodes of the documentary series Cosmos for free on Cosmo Learning, or at Hulu. It’s also available for purchase on iTunes.

Over the weekend, Broward College in Florida hosted the first annual Carl Sagan Day, and you can watch videos of the talks given by Phil Plait, James Randi and more at this link.

There are also loads of videos on You Tube about Sagan. Just search and you’ll be busy all day.

And feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts on Carl Sagan.