November 9 would have been Carl Sagan’s 75th birthday. To celebrate the man, his work and the awesome wonderment of science, Broward College in Davie, Florida is hosting the first ever Carl Sagan Day tomorrow (Saturday the 7th). If you’re in that area, they’ve got a whole day’s worth of activities going on—from planetarium shows and stargazing, to a “Cosmos” marathon, to appearances by Bad Astronomy blogger Phil Plait and James “The Amazing” Randi (who was a personal friend of Sagan’s).
The majority of us not conveniently located in southern Florida, however, will have to find other ways to celebrate. Perhaps you’ve already got a Beethoven’s Birthday-style public march planned, but, if not, you can at least enjoy some fine video tributes. BoingBoing already linked to the soothing memorial techno remix of Sagan’s “Cosmos” PBS show, so I’m going to go in a different direction and offer you one of his last interviews, from May of 1996, on Charlie Rose. Among other things, Sagan talks about his (then) new book (and one of my favorites), “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark”. Enjoy.
Thanks to the Bad Astronomy blog for the holiday tip-off!