Carl Sagan—astronomer, astrophysicist, and author—insisted on
reaching out as far as we can in both thought and exploration. At the same time, he wished for us to always reflect
all explorations back at ourselves.
We are, after all, a lucky, fragile, and miraculous lot here on
our blue planet.
Perhaps one of Sagan’s greatest contributions to humanity was a
single photograph called “Pale Blue Dot.”
On February 14, 1990, at the request of Carl Sagan, scientists in
command of the Voyager 1 space probe turned its camera back around to take one
last photograph of earth—this just as the craft skirted Neptune and whisked out
of our Solar System.
Leaving our Solar System was the probe's primary mission.
Looking back was humbling.
Posted below is the photograph Sagan requested. Earth is but a tiny blue mote of dust in a
band of sunlight across the camera lens.
For Sagan’s own words, watch the three-minute video of Carl Sagan’s
“Pale Blue Dot” posted here.
—Mitchell Hegman
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5FwsblpT8
I always found his voice to be very soothing. This video never fails to be a grounding influence for me, the perspective it conveys is almost terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI agree on all counts. The vastness surrounding us--that without end--is difficult to grasp.
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