Remembering Carl Sagan

By Nancy Atkinson - November 9, 2012 at 3:57 PM UTC | uncategorized

Today would have been Carl Sagan's 78th birthday, and the past few years November 9th, the anniversary of his birth, has been designated as "

Carl Sagan Day"

by people who appreciate Sagan's influence — not only on science, but also the public's understanding of it. Sagan passed away 16 years ago, but his words and inspiration live on for many of us through his books and recordings.

Sagan was a co-founder of The Planetary Society, and this evening (Friday, Nov. 9, 2012) at 7 pm PST TPS will be

webcasting a live event

to commemorate Sagan's life and influence.

Click here for the webcast link,

as well as additional information.

Below is part one of a 3 part series of Sagan's final interview with Charlie Rose on May 27, 1996. He discussed science, pseudo-science, religion, and his struggle with the disease that ultimately ended his life, myelodysplasia.

If you have a favorite Sagan quote or memory, feel free to share it in the comments.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com