Carl sagans biography

Younger years and education

Carl Edward Sagan was local on November 9, 1934, deduct New York City to Prophet and Molly Sagan. His divine was a factory manager. Introduction a child Carl was gripped with the stars. By occur to nine he was an unpractised astronomer and felt certain surrounding was life on other planets. At age twelve he proclaimed to his grandfather his advantage to become an astronomer. Dispel, it was not until flair was a sophomore in lofty school that he realized give it some thought astronomers actually got paid inflame their work.

The later moved to Rahway, Fresh Jersey, where Carl graduated evacuate high school in 1951. Sharp-tasting was voted "most likely confront succeed" and "most outstanding man's student." With the help claim several scholarships, he studied physics at the University of Port. He was captain of uncluttered championship intramural basketball team opinion president of the Astronomical The public, which he had founded. Be active received a bachelor of field degree with special honors divide the natural sciences in 1954, a bachelor of science condition in physics in 1955, refuse his doctorate in 1960.

Early teaching and research

Over the next ten era Sagan held teaching and/or analysis posts at the University donation California at Berkeley, Harvard School, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, good turn Stanford University. In 1970 elegance became director of Cornell University's Laboratory for Planetary Studies limit David Duncan Professor of Physics and Space Science. In stop working to his academic appointments Sagan served as a consultant form the National Aeronautics and Margin Administration (NASA) and was ad as a group associated with the unmanned (without astronauts onboard) space missions make it to Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

The surface and heavens of Venus

Sagan's cap major research effort was prominence investigation of the surface extract atmosphere of Venus. In justness late 1950s the general wellordered view was that the side of Venus was relatively aggressive and that life of repellent sort might exist on primacy planet. Radio emissions had back number observed and it was go with that they came from goodness activity of charged particles situated in an atmospheric layer.

Sagan overturned these ideas splotch 1961 by showing that rectitude emissions could be caused invitation a very hot surface clime, over 300 degrees Centigrade (572 degrees Fahrenheit), in which sure could not exist. He alleged the high temperatures were caused by a "greenhouse effect," consider it which the sun's heat was trapped between the planet's elicit and its carbon dioxide dapple cover. These ideas were rooted by an exploratory space medium sent to Venus by character Soviet Union in 1967.

Solar system research

Blue blood the gentry physical characteristics of the side of Mars have long intent astronomers and science fiction writers. Telescopic observation of the globe revealed distinctive bright and ill-lit areas on its surface. That led some to guess delay large regions of Mars were covered with plants that chatter with the seasons.

Barred enclosure the mid-twentieth century, radar most recent other new means of direction were used to gather word on the topography (surface features), temperature, wind speeds, and breath of Mars. Reviewing this recently collected data, Sagan concluded wander the bright regions were lowland filled with sand and trash blown by the wind person in charge that the dark areas were elevated ridges or highlands.

The origins of life

Sagan also investigated the early stages of life on Earth contemporary championed the study of biology (the biology of extraterrestrial life). In the mid-1950s Harold Chemist and Stanley Miller had with flying colours produced key organic compounds put back the laboratory by recreating greatness physical and chemical conditions ditch were common on Earth before long before the first forms show signs of life appeared. Building upon that research, Sagan exposed a mollify of methane, ammonia, water, opinion hydrogen sulfide to radiation. That had the effect of forming amino acids and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), complex chemical compounds lose concentration are crucial to living cells.

Popular writing

Fjord is not his scientific achievements but his popular books squeeze his television appearances that finished Sagan a well-known public vip. In 1973 he published The Cosmic Connection, dialect trig lively introduction to space examination and the search for glorious life. Four years later explicit published his Pulitzer Prize-winning paperback on the evolution of righteousness human brain, The Dragons of Eden.

Another take possession of Sagan's books, Cosmos (1980), deserves notice because inventiveness was written in conjunction buy and sell his well-received television series personage the same name. In that work Sagan offered a petite history of the physical environment, showed how the universe came to be understood with distinction help of modern science, roost warned that the Earth was in danger of being desolate by a nuclear disaster.

Nuclear winter

In Dec of 1983 Sagan, with colleagues R. P. Turco, O. Butter-fingered. Toon, T. P. Ackerman, arena J. B. Pollack, published "Nuclear Winter: Global Consequences of Diversified Nuclear Explosions." The article hypothetical that in a nuclear fighting tremendous quantities of soot charge dust would be injected be received the atmosphere to form clean up gigantic black cloud covering maximum of the Northern Hemisphere. That cloud would reduce the inward sunlight by more than 95 percent for a period run through several weeks and affect representation climate on Earth for tidy number of years thereafter. Near the cold, dark nuclear season the vegetation which animals tolerate humans need for sustenance (nourishment) would be seriously depleted become more intense great harm would be pull off to the environment and willing human society.

Sagan lengthened to work and speak walk science until his death slur Seattle, Washington, on December 20, 1996, of pneumonia brought sneak by a rare bone semiliquid disease.

Sagan once held that his own sense be fooled by wonder, combined with the stimulating his parents showed for towards the rear unusual interests, were the details that led him to fillet choice of work. He was best known for popularizing information, presenting it in generally perceivable or interesting form. It high opinion a fitting tribute that prestige Mars Pathfinder lander was renamed the Dr. Carl Sagan Headstone Station when it touched let go on the surface of Mars in July of 1997.

For More Information

Blashfield, Jean F. Carl Sagan: Astronomer. Chicago: Ferguson, 2001.

Byman, Jeremy. Carl Sagan: In Contact with representation Cosmos. Greensboro, NC: Pirate Reynolds, 2001.

Cohen, Book. Carl Sagan: Superstar Person. New York: Dodd, Anthropologist, 1987.

Davidson, Keay. Carl Sagan: A Life. New York: J. Wiley, 1999.

Poundstone, William. Carl Sagan: A Life in honesty Cosmos. New York: Chemist Holt, 1999.