His warning was not unlike those we hear from climate scientists today, especially when it comes to the melting of the polar ice caps and the rise of sea levels. Heĭiscussed how burning fossil fuels and using aerosol led to an increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. In 1985, Sagan testified in front of Congress on the impact of climate change on Earth. Later on, as technology advanced, it was found that the surface of Venus was closer to 900☏. But the reports from Mariner 2 determined that the surface of Venus ranged from 300-400☏, proving that Venus was heated due to a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere trapping the heat from the sun. Venus was once thought to have a climate similar to that of Earth’s tropical regions. In 1962, Mariner 2 made its way to Venus. Tyson is now regarded in a similar way that Sagan was. The popular astrophysicist appears regularly on late-night talk shows and even hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, the 2014 series a follow-up to Sagan’s own series.

“I already knew I wanted to become a scientist, but that afternoon I learned from Carl the kind of person I wanted to become,” Tyson said in an interview with Insider. He offered up his home to Tyson. Tyson would go on to study at Harvard, but he never forgot the impact Sagan’s gesture had on his life. Twenty-one years before his death. Sagan was impressed by Tyson’s application to Cornell University and hoped to recruit him to join the school. Sagan even gave Tyson his home phone number in case the bus couldn’t make it through the snow. Tyson met Sagan when he was 17, after Sagan invited him to visit Cornell one snowy Saturday in December. If you grew up loving Bill Nye’s show, you owe much of that love to Carl Sagan.

Now, Nye gets to continue part of Sagan’s legacy. Nye later went on to be the CEO of The Planetary Society, an organization founded by Sagan. ” Bill Nye the Science Guy premiered in 1993, winning numerous accolades (including 19 Emmy awards ) and inspiring a generation of future scientists. Sagan advised him to “focus on pure science, kids resonate with pure science. At his 10-year class reunion in 1987, Nye told Sagan about his idea for a TV show that he wanted to gear towards children. Nye learned much about the universe from Sagan, saying that his lectures were like Cosmos episodes. While Nye was studying at Cornell University in the late 70s, Sagan was his astronomy professor. How would you like to have Carl Sagan as your astronomy professor? For Nye, this was reality. Two of today's most popular scientists, Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson, each claim Sagan as their inspiration.

Cosmos sagan