Celebrating Carl Sagan’s Birthday With the Best Tributes Around

Seventy-eight years ago today the world was graced with the first breaths of Carl Sagan—researcher, communicator, scientist extraordinaire. Throughout his years as both a scientist and a science communicator, Sagan brought the Cosmos to the people in his characteristic, quirky style. His charisma has created tons of spinoffs and inspired artists and musicians all over the world. Here are some of our favorite tributes.

Here’s how Sagan would make an apple pie:

And here’s how he would make it if he were a techno musician:

Carl Sagan - 'A Glorious Dawn' ft Stephen Hawking (Symphony of Science)

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Here’s what he would be like if he were a super hero, via XKCD.

Here’s Sagan’s portrait based on his pale blue dot series:

Sagan’s science set to music and epic space photographs is pretty inspiring:

THE SAGAN SERIES - The Frontier Is Everywhere

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THE SAGAN SERIES - Life Looks for Life

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Less inspiring, but equally creative, is this segment with Sagan as a puppet.

Star Stuff

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And if you want to see Sagan in action, watch the whole Cosmos series, check out the Carl Sagan Channel on YouTube.

More from Smithsonian.com:

Carl Sagan and “The Sounds of Earth”
Long Before Curiosity, Carl Sagan Had Something to Say to Kids About Mars

Rose Eveleth | | READ MORE

Rose Eveleth was a writer for Smart News and a producer/designer/ science writer/ animator based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, Story Collider, TED-Ed and OnEarth.