Disruptor | Anniversary

November 10, 2020

Disruptor | Anniversary | Carl Sagan

'Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known' - Carl Sagan.

He was born 89 years ago today, on November 9, 1934. A cosmologist, gatekeeper of scientific credibility, celebrity scientist, science popularizer and an agnostic. His contributions to the understanding of the universe were enormous. Therefore, considered to be highly irreplaceable. His inquisitiveness for cosmos was revered and envied by scientific communities and commoners. He could have lived some more time. He died of natural causes in 1996.

How insignificant we are: Carl Sagan persuaded the scientists of the 'Voyager 1' spacecraft to turn the camera towards Earth, when it was nearing the edge of our solar system in the early 90s. Pictured here was the one taken by Voyager 1, billions of miles from our planet. The pale blue dot is Earth. Moreover, this is what he had to say:

“That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you have ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives...[E]very king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every revered teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

Why do I believe in nihilism? The answer is here in this image. Moreover, does it not reinforce my thought, which i stated in July 2018?
'Once you witness the entirety of planet Earth or the darkness of the universe, I can tell you for certain, you can't continue with the beliefs you had on Earth even if you return back. I'm no astronaut nor have I been to space. But, I imagine.

You would realize how insignificant we are not only as a planet, but as a galaxy in the context of the infinite universe, if you choose to watch the opening sequence of 'Contact' (1997), directed by auteur Robert Zemeckis, which is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, by irreplaceable cosmologist Carl Sagan.