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Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 - December 20, 1996), born in Brooklyn, NY, was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. His best-known scientific contribution was his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by exposure to light. He assembled the first physical messages sent into space, the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, which were universal messages that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them. The following is a lecture Sagan gave in 1977 during which he discussed the place, scale and geometry of earth--the third planet from the Sun, formed 4.5 billion years ago--in our solar system.
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About Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) was professor of astronomy and space sciences and director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, and Voyager spacecraft expeditions, for which he received the NASA medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the highest awards of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation, as well as many other awards for his contributions to science, literature, education, and the preservation of the environment. His book Cosmos, the companion book to his Emmy– and Peabody Award–winning television series of the same name, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and the bestselling science book ever published in the English language, and his bestselling novel Contact was turned into a major motion picture.