American scientist astrophysicist Carl Sagan is one of those people who form the intellectual atmosphere of the era. A brilliant scientist and popularizer of science, he dealt with the problems of space research, communication with extraterrestrial civilizations, and exobiology. In his books, he raised philosophical problems about the place of man in the universe, about his purpose and role in the universe.
Sagan was born in New York in 1934. He graduated from the University of Chicago, where he received bachelor's and master's degrees, and then became a doctor of astrophysics and astronomy. He worked at Berkeley, taught at Harvard, and at Cornell University became the head of the planetary research laboratory. The range of his scientific interests is unusually wide.
Exobiology
Exobiology is the science of living outside the atmosphere of the earth. So far, the only biological objects that we know are terrestrial organisms. And the final answer about the origin of life on Earth still does not exist. Karl Sagan conducted experiments on the emergence of compounds in the primordial atmosphere of the earth. Subsequently, when information was received from space probes, he studied the possibility of such a synthesis in the matter of comets and on Saturn’s satellite Titan.
Space exploration
Karl Sagan was engaged in research of objects of the Solar system. He suggested that oceans exist on Titan and Europe (the satellite of Jupiter). And in these oceans, life can be under a layer of ice. Sagan studied seasonal changes on Mars, and proposed a hypothesis about their nature. In his opinion, these changes are caused not by vegetation, as previously thought, but by dust storms.
The place of landing on Mars of the American ship Mars Passfinder in 1997 was named Karl Sagan Memorial Station.
The landing site of Mars Pasfinder is shown in the movie Star Trek. There we see a quote from Sagan:
Whatever the reason you are on Mars, I am glad that you are here and would like to be with you.
Studying the atmosphere of Venus, he modeled the possibility of a greenhouse effect on Earth from an excess of carbon dioxide.
Simultaneously with the Soviet academician N.N. Moiseev, Sagan expressed the idea of a nuclear winter that threatens the Earth as a result of a nuclear war.
Are we alone in the universe?
Does intelligent life exist in the universe? Many would like to answer this question in the affirmative.
Carl Sagan dealt a lot with this issue. Published in the Soviet Union in 1962, I. Shklovsky's book "The Universe, Life, Mind", made a great impression on Sagan. He was the co-author of her translation into English in 1966. The book was published under the title: "Intelligent Life in the Universe." Sagan shared with Shklovsky his article "Problems of Interstellar Communications". He was a supporter of Seti, a space signal search program. As part of the program, radio telescopes scanned the sky and sent signal blocks to users' computers around the world. Those wishing to participate had to install a small client program on their computer that processed the signal in the background. Over more than twenty years of work, there have been several points of interest that have not yet been fully clarified.
Despite his fascination with alien life forms, Sagan was very skeptical of the so-called. ufology. He considered most of the information about UFOs to be speculative and quack.
Pioneers
The Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft were launched from Earth to study the outskirts of the solar system.
"Pioneer 10" was supposed to be the first artificial body to leave the solar system. Knowing this, Sagan suggested sending a message on these devices to sentient beings of other worlds. The messages were aluminum gilded plates measuring 6 x 9 inches. They depict a man and a woman against the backdrop of a spaceship, a hydrogen atom (the most common bound atomic system in the universe). The wavelength of hydrogen radiation (21 cm) is a measure of all objects in the figure. The solar system with the flight path of the device is also shown. The coordinates of the solar system are given by an icon with reference to the most noticeable pulsars, which can be considered as peculiar beacons. The author of the drawings was the wife of Karl Sagan.
In 1983, Pioneer 10 crossed the orbit of Pluto and left the solar system. Signals from it arrived on the Earth until 2003. Now the station is moving towards Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. He needs about two million years to fly there.
Popularizer of science
Desiring to make the fantastic successes of science known to a large number of people, Sagan wrote books and directed popular science films.
Posted by Karl Sagan "A World Full of Demons." This book is dedicated to the story of the basic principles of scientific knowledge. It talks about how to distinguish true scientific knowledge from pseudoscientific, formulates principles that allow you to distinguish true knowledge from scientific speculations. This book was published in 1995. The principles set forth in the book can be used in everyday life. They will help to solve problems that, at first glance, seem unsolvable.
Karl Sagan "The Blue Dot. The Cosmic Future of Humanity" - this book appeared in 1994. The book is dedicated to debunking the myth of the exclusivity of our planet, tells about the prospects of a possible space expansion of mankind. He talks about the planets of other systems, discusses the possibility of life on them. Knowledge of these planets allows you to better know our Earth, to see its problems from the side. The book of Karl Sagan "Blue Point" is a warning to humanity.
Sagan’s bibliography contains many more interesting books. They are waiting for their reader.
Karl Sagan, whose books brought many scholars to science, was actively involved in social activities. He participated in the struggle for peace. Criticized American attempts to launch weapons systems into space. He and the USSR inherited a totalitarian regime and a lack of democracy.
Karl Sagan passed away in 1996. He was buried in New York.