We are made of star stuff
Today (sort of, time being relative n'all), the 9th of November, is the birthday of a great man.
Carl Sagan - born in Brooklyn in 1934 - was an astronomer, author, educator, dreamer and science advocate. He chaired the panel that created the gold records that have flown, with Voyager, past the heliopause. He persuaded NASA to turn around Voyager for one last look at Earth from six billion kilometres. He studied Nuclear Winter and the conditions on Venus. And, more than anyone else, he kindled the love of science.
In 1980 PBS released Cosmos - a personal journey discovering the universe with science. I'm not sure when exactly I saw it - but I think it was on an old black and white TV (that's right kids - they didn't always come in colour 3D) in the back room of our old rental house in outback New South Wales. Each Sunday I'd wait eagerly for the next episode and marvel at the wonders of space and the Earth. Tonight I took a break from my hardcore podcast catchup to watch the first episode of Cosmos again. There was Carl, fluffy and amiable in his turtleneck sweater explaining how Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the world in 200BCE. Video interlacing and fuzziness on the big screen TV didn't detract from Carl sharing his love of science, knowledge and astronomy.
Cosmos is a story of wonder and loss, of the discovery of the circumference of the Earth and tragedies such as the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria. There are moments when the simple animations almost bring me to tears, and past times when my daughter would cry "I don't want the Earth to end up like Venus". That's the secret of being a great science advocate, bring the wonder and mystery of the universe to the unknowing (but hopefully not willfully ignorant) inhabitants of this pale blue dot. Carl was my science advocate. I hope his legacy lives on.
We are made of star stuff. We are a way for the universe to understand itself.
- Carl Sagan (1934-1996)
Carl Sagan - born in Brooklyn in 1934 - was an astronomer, author, educator, dreamer and science advocate. He chaired the panel that created the gold records that have flown, with Voyager, past the heliopause. He persuaded NASA to turn around Voyager for one last look at Earth from six billion kilometres. He studied Nuclear Winter and the conditions on Venus. And, more than anyone else, he kindled the love of science.
In 1980 PBS released Cosmos - a personal journey discovering the universe with science. I'm not sure when exactly I saw it - but I think it was on an old black and white TV (that's right kids - they didn't always come in colour 3D) in the back room of our old rental house in outback New South Wales. Each Sunday I'd wait eagerly for the next episode and marvel at the wonders of space and the Earth. Tonight I took a break from my hardcore podcast catchup to watch the first episode of Cosmos again. There was Carl, fluffy and amiable in his turtleneck sweater explaining how Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the world in 200BCE. Video interlacing and fuzziness on the big screen TV didn't detract from Carl sharing his love of science, knowledge and astronomy.
Cosmos is a story of wonder and loss, of the discovery of the circumference of the Earth and tragedies such as the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria. There are moments when the simple animations almost bring me to tears, and past times when my daughter would cry "I don't want the Earth to end up like Venus". That's the secret of being a great science advocate, bring the wonder and mystery of the universe to the unknowing (but hopefully not willfully ignorant) inhabitants of this pale blue dot. Carl was my science advocate. I hope his legacy lives on.
We are made of star stuff. We are a way for the universe to understand itself.
- Carl Sagan (1934-1996)
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