Carl Sagan Day – November 9, 2026

History of Carl Sagan Day

The day was created in 2009 by the Center For Inquiry in Fort Lauderdale, as well as Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists (FLASH), and other groups. Events held in Florida have helped spread the celebrations around the world. Events such as star parties — where people come together and view the sky — astronomy lectures, science fairs, and workshops are held every year.

Sagan worked in many scientific fields, such as astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, and astrobiology. He is best known for his ability to communicate scientific ideas to the general population without intimidating the common man. This is probably most exemplified by his 1980 PBS documentary series, “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage”, which was the most widely viewed PBS program of its time! It won two Emmys and a Peabody Award, and has been viewed by over a billion people in 60 countries. Sagan also published a book to go along with the series. In fact, Sagan wrote more than 20 books, including “The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence”, which won a Pulitzer Prize, “Contact”, which was made into a film, and “The Demon-Haunted World”. For 12 years, he was the editor-in-chief of “Icarus”, and published 600 scientific papers and articles in publications such as “Skeptical Inquirer”. Beginning in the 1950s, Sagan was a consultant and adviser to NASA. He received countless honors and awards and was a professor of astronomy, as well as director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies, at Cornell University. He passed away in 1996.