Astronomer Carl Sagan would have turned 92 as Voyager 1 nears a light-day
The gist
American astronomer Carl Sagan, born Nov. 9, 1934, would have turned 92 this year.
Voyager 1, carrying a message he helped design, nears one light-day from Earth.
How it unfolded
- Nov 9, 1934Carl Edward Sagan is born in Brooklyn, New York; he later studies physics at the University of Chicago.
- 1960He earns his doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics.
- 1968Harvard University denies him tenure; he then joins Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he stays for the rest of his career.
Key terms
- light-day
- A unit of length equal to the distance light travels in free space in one day.
- Voyager 1
- A NASA space probe launched in 1977 to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space.
- Golden Records
- Two identical phonograph records carried aboard the Voyager spacecraft, containing sounds and images of Earth.
Source: Wikipedia