‘Cosmos,’ a pulitzer, and more: fascinating facts about Carl Sagan
Astronomy
By |
Joe Wilensky
,
Cornellians
11/13/2024
Noted astronomer Carl Sagan would have turned 90 in 2024. To mark that milestone and honor his legacy, the University and the scientific institute that bears his name hosted a celebration on the Hill in mid-November. (The keynote program can now be watched online.) With those festivities in mind, Cornellians has gathered not quite “billions and billions”—but a plethora—of factoids about the astronomer, who passed away in 1996.
Read on in Cornellians for 14 fascinating facts about Sagan—one of Cornell’s most famous faculty members, and one of the most effective science communicators of all time!
More News from A&S
Sam Mann/Unsplash
Africana studies
6/23/2026
A&S Communications
Provided
Anunya Kasliwal ’27 and the Samara team in the company’s showroom.
Undergraduate experience
6/23/2026
Simon Wheeler
Participants at the 2024 SCT banquet.
Interdisciplinary conversations
6/23/2026
A&S Communications
Yu SciVis & Art LLC
Schematic illustration of the magnon–exciton interaction
Chemistry & Chemical Biology
6/18/2026
A&S Communications
View all news
Cornellians/Provided
Carl Sagan
Related articles
Astronomy
2/13/2020
Cornell Chronicle
Jason Koski/Cornell University
Gerry Monaghan is an unofficial tender of Sagan’s grave at Lake View Cemetery in Ithaca, stopping by to tidy the astronomer's gravesite and those of his parents, buried nearby.
Jason Koski/Cornell University
Gerry Monaghan is an unofficial tender of Sagan’s grave at Lake View Cemetery in Ithaca, stopping by to tidy the astronomer's gravesite and those of his parents, buried nearby.
Sreang Hok/Cornell University.
Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute, associate professor of astronomy and author of “Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos,” said the thousands of exoplanets detected to date suggest there are “billions and billions” of possibilities for life beyond Earth.
Sreang Hok/Cornell University.
Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute, associate professor of astronomy and author of “Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos,” said the thousands of exoplanets detected to date suggest there are “billions and billions” of possibilities for life beyond Earth.
Related department or program
Related people
Professor, Director of the Carl Sagan Institute
Astronomy, Carl Sagan Institute, CCAPS
