It’s rare that a video trending on YouTube actually fits the mission of this blog. But here you have one. As the producer of this video writes, this is a “musical tribute to two great men of science. Carl Sagan and his cosmologist companion Stephen Hawking present: A Glorious Dawn -- Cosmos remixed. Almost all samples and footage are taken from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and Stephen Hawking’s Universe series.” You can download the track here. And, meanwhile, I’ve added this clip to our YouTube Favorites.
The summer before my sophomore year at Ithaca High, a friend and I were walking the path around Beebe Lake on the Cornell campus when we saw a sign pointing to the Cornell Observatory. On our way up to take a look we were met by a young, dapper looking professor wearing a sports coat and turtleneck who suggested we come back at night when we could look through the telescope. We never did revisit the observatory, but a few years later, drawn into The Cosmos on PBS, I realized who we had met. This video is a touching and beautiful tribute to Carl Sagan’s life and work, as it is Dr. Hawking’s. Challenged by its mathematics, I nonetheless carry an abiding curiosity, appreciation and fascination for the power and beauty of our Universe, largely instilled by Drs. Sagan and Hawking–I know I’m not alone. Accompanying this is a cherished memory of a chance encounter with one of the Cosmos’ brightest stars.
If you want to learn more about Carl’s work, and how he might have saved us all from nuclear war, check out the Sagan Appreciation Society (site currently in testing)