Cosmos

Sagan begins his introduction, like every ensuing chapter of Cosmos, with multiple epigraphs, or introductory quotations. The introduction’s epigraphs show that humans have historically connected small Earthly events with major cosmic ones, seeking patterns to explain phenomena. In pre-science times, gods and superstition played key roles in these connections. Science created a new perspective of a universe far vaster and more ancient.

When the 1976 Viking Mars explorations resulted in spectacular new vistas and knowledge of Mars, but received little attention, Sagan became certain that television could be the medium to develop a more engaged interest in the cosmos and in humanity’s integration in that cosmos. Sagan therefore collaborated with Viking Data Analysis and Mission Planning Director B. Gentry Lee to develop a production company designed to communicate science in an “engaging and accessible way” (xiii). They eventually collaborated with Los Angeles’s Public Broadcasting Service outlet to produce a 13-part television series. 140 million people viewed the series, and the combined series and book Cosmos represent “a hopeful experiment in communicating some of the ideas, methods and joys of science” (xiii).