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IMDbPro

Carl Sagan(1934-1996)

  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Carl Sagan
Young boy amazed by the stars in the night sky sets off on a voyage of great discovery.

A short film inspired by the life and work of Carl Sagan.
Play trailer0:32
Star Stuff: A Story of Carl Sagan (2015)
3 Videos
7 Photos
Astronomer, educator and author Carl Sagan was perhaps the world's greatest popularizer of science, reaching millions of people through newspapers, magazines and television broadcasts. He is well-known for his work on the PBS series Cosmos (1980), the Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning show that became the most watched series in public-television history. This was seen by more than 500 million people in 60 countries. The accompanying book, "Cosmos" (1980), was on the New York Times bestseller list for 70 weeks and was the best-selling science book ever published in English.

Carl Edward Sagan was born November 9, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York. Having taught at Cornell University since 1968, Sagan received a bachelor's degree (1955) and a master's degree (1956), both in physics, and a doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics (1960), all from the University of Chicago. He taught at Harvard University in the early 1960s before coming to Cornell, where he became a full professor in 1971. Sagan played a leading role in NASA's Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo expeditions to other planets. He received NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and twice for Distinguished Public Service and the NASA Apollo Achievement Award. His research focused on topics such as the greenhouse effect on Venus; windblown dust as an explanation for the seasonal changes on Mars; organic aerosols on Titan, Saturn's moon; the long-term environmental consequences of nuclear war; and the origin of life on Earth. A pioneer in the field of exobiology, he continued to teach graduate and undergraduate students in courses in astronomy and space sciences and in critical thinking at Cornell.

The breadth of his interests were made evident in October 1994, at a Cornell-sponsored symposium in honor of Sagan's 60th birthday. The two-day event featured speakers in areas of planetary exploration, life in the cosmos, science education, public policy and government regulation of science and the environment -- all fields in which Sagan had worked or had a strong interest. Sagan was the recipient of numerous awards in addition to his NASA recognition. He received 22 honorary degrees from American colleges and universities for his contributions to science, literature, education and the preservation of the environment and many awards for his work on the long-term consequences of nuclear war and reversing the nuclear arms race. Among his other awards were: the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award of the American Astronautical Society; the Explorers Club 75th Anniversary Award; the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Medal of the Soviet Cosmonauts Federation and the Masursky Award of the American Astronomical Society. He also was the recipient of the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences, "for distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare".

Sagan was elected chairman of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, president of the Planetology Section of the American Geophysical Union and chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For 12 years, he was editor of Icarus, the leading professional journal devoted to planetary research. He was co-founder of the Planetary Society, a 100,000-member organization and the largest space-interest group in the world. The society supports major research programs in the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the investigation of near-Earth asteroids and, with the French and Russian space agencies, the development and testing of balloon and mobile robotic exploration of Mars. Sagan also was Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and was contributing editor of Parade magazine, where he published many articles about science and about the disease that he battled for the last two years of his life.

On December 20, 1996, Carl Sagan died at age 62 of pneumonia at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. He was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York.
BornNovember 9, 1934
DiedDecember 20, 1996(62)
BornNovember 9, 1934
DiedDecember 20, 1996(62)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 2 wins & 2 nominations

Photos7

Carl Sagan in The X-Files (1993)
Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan in Cosmos (1980)
Carl Sagan in Cosmos (1980)
Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Carl Sagan
Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Gene Roddenberry, and Carl Sagan

Known for

Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey in Contact (1997)
Contact
7.5
  • Writer
  • 1997
Carl Sagan in Cosmos (1980)
Cosmos
9.3
TV Mini Series
  • Writer
Cosmos: Possible Worlds (2020)
Cosmos: Possible Worlds
9.1
TV Mini Series
  • Writer
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
9.3
TV Mini Series
  • Writer

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer

  • Cosmos: Possible Worlds (2020)
    Cosmos: Possible Worlds
    • written by
    • inspired by "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" written by
    • based on a story by
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2020
  • Filip Tot, Ratimir Rakuljic, and Domagoj Culina in Star Stuff: A Story of Carl Sagan (2015)
    Star Stuff: A Story of Carl Sagan
    • Inspired by the work and life of
    • Short
    • 2015
  • Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)
    Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
    • inspired by "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" written by
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2014
  • FanGirl Academy: 101 (2014)
    FanGirl Academy: 101
    • Writer
    • TV Series
    • 2014
  • Pale Blue Dot (2009)
    Pale Blue Dot
    • writer
    • Short
    • 2009
  • Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey in Contact (1997)
    Contact
    • based on the novel by
    • based on the story by
    • 1997
  • Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams in The Earth Day Special (1990)
    The Earth Day Special
    • Writer (segments Galaxy Intro, Carl Sagan)
    • TV Special
    • 1990
  • Carl Sagan in Cosmos (1980)
    Cosmos
    • creator
    • written by
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1980

Additional Crew

  • Savages in Foreign Lands (2015)
    Savages in Foreign Lands
    • mentor
    • 2015
  • Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams in The Earth Day Special (1990)
    The Earth Day Special
    • science advisor (as Dr. Carl Sagan)
    • TV Special
    • 1990
  • Threads (1984)
    Threads
    • scientific advisor
    • TV Movie
    • 1984

Director

  • Voyager Golden Record (1977)
    Voyager Golden Record
    • Director
    • Video
    • 1977

Videos3

Comic-Con Trailer
Trailer 3:25
Comic-Con Trailer
Cosmos
Trailer 1:09
Cosmos
Star Stuff - The Story of Carl Sagan (Trailer)
Trailer 0:32
Star Stuff - The Story of Carl Sagan (Trailer)

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Carl Sagan Productions
  • Alternative name
    • Dr. Carl Sagan
  • Height
    • 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
  • Born
    • November 9, 1934
    • Brooklyn, New York, USA
  • Died
    • December 20, 1996
    • Seattle, Washington, USA(bone marrow cancer)
  • Spouses
      Ann DruyanJune 1, 1981 - December 20, 1996 (his death, 2 children)
  • Children
    • Sasha Sagan
  • Other works
    Pulitzer prize winning author. Author of more than 20 books.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Biographical Movies
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 2 Interviews
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Despite being known for, and frequently quoted with, his famous phrase "billions and billions...", Carl Sagan never actually said this during the entire single-season run of Cosmos (1980). The actual phrase is "billions UPON billions", and the complete quote which includes this often-misquoted phrase is "A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars - billions upon billions of stars.".
  • Quotes
    Billions upon billions...
  • Trademark
      He mostly wore turtlenecks with suit coats.

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