Growing up, I was fascinated and intrigued by Carl Sagan. I read many of his books like “Cosmos,” “Pale Blue Dot,” and “Billions & Billions.” Sagan, an astronomer, cosmologist and author of many books inspired me and gave me great ideas to ponder as a youngster, ideas that I continue to explore today. My personal favorite book is “Cosmos” and Cosmos: A personal Voyage was a favorite television show in the 1980’s. How pleased I was to see that the series was remade in 2014 with Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, hosted by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (also influenced in a big way by Sagan). Here is a fun fact: Executive Producer for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was none other than Seth McFarlane (yes, the creator of Family Guy).
The exploration of our galaxy and the cosmos still appeals to many and inspires us to consider our own existence and, indeed, our future. As a young person reading about the chemical elements of life such as carbon, magnesium, and calcium that were originally “created in the interior furnaces of stars” and then released by stellar explosions and now found all around us in our world – well that was a thrilling concept
During his lifetime, Carl Sagan made great contributions to the scientific research of extraterrestrial life. As professor of astronomy at Cornell University, he directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. Sagan and his works received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal.
You may already be familiar with some of Dr. Sagan’s quotes:
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.”
“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”
Whether you are a fan of Dr. Sagan’s or not, I thought I would share this video (via the link below) with you. Take a look. I hope you find it as beautiful as I do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=923jxZY2NPI
Click here to read a National Geographic article about Dr. Carl Sagan.
And in the end, perhaps “We are made of Star-Stuff.”