Carl Sagan

An influential astronomer who explored extraterrestial life

Sagan and a solar system display
(Source: alumni.cornell.edu)

Here's a timeline of the cool things Carl's done:

  • 1960 - Earns his PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.
  • 1962 - Involved with NASA's Mariner 2 mission to Venus.
  • 1968 - Joins Cornell University as a professor.
  • 1973 - Publishes The Cosmic Connection, a book that explores the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence.
  • 1977 - Publishes The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence, which later goes on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1978.
  • 1980 - Releases Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, a TV series that covered topics like the origin of life.
  • 1986 - Testifies to U.S. Congress about climate change and nuclear weapons policy.
  • 1990 - Voyager 1 takes the famous "Pale Blue Dot" photograph. Sagan later expands on the photograph's message.
  • 1996 - Publishes his final major work, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.

Read more about Carl Sagan on his wikipedia page