FOCAL POINT
Carl Sagan: An Appreciation
On the Cover
Magnificent whorls of nebulosity flank 1.8-magnitude Zeta Orionis, the easternmost star in Orions
Belt and the dominant sun seen here. To its lower
right is the Flame Nebula, NGC 2024; the reddish
glow from IC 434 and its distinctive Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) appear above center. NGC 2023
lies in between. Beginning on page 112, avid observer Tom Polakis peruses these and other, somewhat
neglected spectacles near the Orion Nebula. Observing from Sentinel, Arizona, Jerry Lodriguss used his
5-inch f/6 Astro-Physics Starfire EDT refractor to
make a pair of 45-minute exposures on gas-hypered
Fujicolor Super HG 400 film. He then copied the
stacked negatives onto Kodak 5072 emulsion. South
is up. Copyright 1995 Jerry Lodriguss.
Sky & Telescope March 1997
FTER BATTLING a rare disease, openness to alternative views brought
Carl Sagan died as 1996 ended him full circle, to a point that distressed
a a year remarkable for our prog- his colleagues but made him uniquely
ress toward understanding the prevalence able to explain science to the public. Most
of life in the universe. We learned evi- planetary scientists, for instance, regard
dence of possible past life on Mars, and the supposed stone face of Mars as a
extrasolar planets were being discovered ludicrous joke. Yet in his recent book,
monthly. After years of government ne- The Demon-Haunted World, Carl treated
glect and even ridicule of research con- popular fascination with the face recerning extraterrestrial life, NASA head spectfully and refused to declare that it
Daniel Goldin announced that astrobiol- cannot exist. Some researchers oppose
ogy will become the space agencys lead- taking even a few pictures of the edifice
ing focus. Unfortunately, sciences most with the two spacecraft now en route to
eloquent spokesman will not witness the Mars. Yet Carl advocated doing so, if only
to help the awestruck face-believers to
resurgence of the topic he championed.
Born in 1934, Carl grew up on the understand that this humanoid feature is
streets of Brooklyn, developing a remark- (almost) surely a creation of our yearnable talent to connect with ordinary peo- ings and imagination, just like elephants
ple around the world. He often wrote of perceived in the clouds. Carls willingness
the awe he felt about science since the to entertain possibilities that popular
time, as a kid, when he sought explana- fancies might prove true gave him access
tions in the local library for questions to the broader public that is abandoned
by more narrowly righis parents couldnt
id academics.
answer like What are
Carls advocacy of
the stars? Despite paWe astronomers are
exobiology was conrochial roots, Carl apfortunate that such an
sidered disreputable
proached his science
by some scientists and
globally, starting with
eloquent spokesman
drew criticism, further
his mid-1960s collabshould have come
fueled by their jealoration with Soviet
from our midst.
ousy of his public reastronomer Iosif S.
nown. I recall, with
Shklovskiy that culmisome shame, publically
nated with their stillcompelling book, Intelligent Life in the poking fun at Carls idea of floating life
Universe. As president of The Planetary forms in Jupiters atmosphere. And Carl
Society, Carl fostered Russian/American could desert logic, as when he privately
dialogue in order to achieve mutual un- bet me that the soon-to-arrive Viking
derstanding and lessen the chances of nu- landers had a 50-50 chance of photoclear winter the planetary catastrophe graphing polar bears on Mars, a prospect he raised in his 1975 paperback
he researched and feared most.
Carl was a humane, responsible citi- book, Other Worlds. (Carl never paid
zen, always battling prejudice, narrow- up; he would probably say that we still
mindedness, and irrationality. He op- havent explored Mars enough to disposed ethnocentrism and chauvinism of prove the hypothesis.)
Nonetheless, Carl practiced science
any sort. A voice for moral responsibility
in the scientific community, he recently with rigor. His studies of greenhouse
expressed concern that efforts to defend heating on Venus, windblown dust on
Earth from asteroids would violate Unit- Mars, hydrocarbon seas on Titan, and
ed Nations protocols against using nu- dark stuff in the outer solar system exclear weapons in space and could be emplify the best of planetary research.
turned, by a future despot, into weapons Yet Carl was sometimes wrong, as we all
against humanity. Carls political efforts are, and his work may not have such lastwere tempered by scientific rationality. ing significance as that of a few of his
Unlike many scientists, he could modify contemporaries, including the late James
Pollack and others among his many exhis views in response to new research.
Carl was innately skeptical of authori- students. Parochial astronomers, unappretative teachings, whether from common ciative of Carls multidisciplinary breadth,
sense, the Bible, or other scientists. His could not handle the mismatch between
1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
MICHAEL OKONIEWSKI, COPYRIGHT 1994
his fame he was the most famous astronomer, perhaps scientist, in the world
and his mere A achievements in
planetary astronomy.
I believe that Carl was a greater scientist than any other American astronomer.
Our lives are increasingly dominated by
science and technology, whether the machines of war, the computer revolution, or
civilizations impact on the ecosphere.
Meanwhile, public education in science
has retreated steeply from the post-Sputnik era. One can hardly find a science
book to buy (except by Sagan), or a television show to watch, amid the shelves of
books on the occult and X Files copycats.
Carl exemplified the highest calling of a
scientist, not merely writing narrow research papers but ensuring that his or her
work is done and communicated within
the context of human culture.
I recall an evening spent one-on-one
with him in Pasadena, soon after his first
appearance on Johnny Carsons Tonight
Show. We dined at a Japanese restaurant, then saw a movie. Carl told me that
he was at a crossroads in his life, torn between whether to embark on a new direction as a public explicator of science
or to continue giving his scientific career
top priority. He wisely realized that he
couldnt do both effectively. He asked
me what he should do, as Im sure he
asked other friends and colleagues. I told
him to go public. He would have done so
even if everyone had counseled otherwise. The world is richer for his choice.
Yet it took Carl years to relinquish the
time-consuming editorship of Icarus, the
undistinguished publication he had transformed into the respected chief journal
of planetary science. He rationalized that
retaining the editorship, his Cornell professorship, and his NASA principalinvestigator status would underpin his
public role with scientific legitimacy. But
research was Carls first love, and I think
he simply could not fully abandon it.
I first met Carl when, as an undergraduate, I took his course The Planets in
1965. Even then he had the unique speaking style that became his trademark. I recall vividly his teaching that one cause for
Earths far-out-of-equilibrium abundance
of methane is bovine flatulence, as he
put it, intoning bovine like his now-infamous billions. My lecture notes are
mostly equations and rigorous proofs in
planetary physics, but they show that
Carls applications were as often to Earth
as to all the other planets combined. His
early concern for our world plus his gift
for teaching science foreshadowed his
rise as the superstar of Cosmos. Can we
imagine anyone else captivating so many
millions to the marvels of science?
We astronomers amateur, armchair, professional are fortunate that
such an eloquent spokesman for science
should have come from our midst. With
Carl Sagan gone as post Cold War civilization approaches the next millennium, the world sorely requires new writers, scientists, and educators to emulate
Carls efforts to bring about a more rational, humane, and wondrous future for
the inhabitants of this pale blue dot
called Earth.
CLARK R. CHAPMAN
Chapman studies planets at the Southwest
Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and is
a widely read author and science popularizer.
1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
March 1997 Sky & Telescope
