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Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
★ 8.7/10•1980•1h 0m•TP•Documentary
Similars

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.

Carl Sagan covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe.

StatusEnded
Runtime1h 0m
LanguageEN
First Air DateSep 28, 1980

Episodes

Episode 1 - The Shores of the Cosmic OceanE160m

The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean

At the beginning of this cosmic journey across space and time, Dr. Carl Sagan takes us to the edge of the universe aboard a spaceship of the imagination. Through beautiful special effects, we witness quasars, exploding galaxies, star clusters, supernovas and pulsars. Returning to our solar system, we enter a re-creation of the Alexandrian Library, the seat of learning on Earth 2,000 years ago.

Sep 28, 1980

Episode 2 - One Voice in the Cosmic FugueE260m

One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue

Dr. Sagan's cosmic calendar makes the history of the universe understandable and frames the origin of the Earth and the evolution of life. We see the evolutionary process unfold, from microbes to humans. Our understanding of how life developed on Earth enables us to venture to other worlds for imaginative speculations on what forms life might take elsewhere.

Oct 5, 1980

Episode 3 - Harmony of the WorldsE360m

Harmony of the Worlds

This episode is a historical re-creation of the life of Johannes Kepler, the last scientific astrologer, the first modern astronomer and the author of the first science fiction novel. Kepler provided the insight into how the moon and the planets move in their orbits and ultimately how to journey to them. It's also a story about the scientific process of discovery, and how the search for truth is never easy but always worthwhile.

Oct 12, 1980

Episode 4 - Heaven and HellE460m

Heaven and Hell

A descent through the hellish atmosphere of Venus to explore its broiling surface serves as a warning to our world about the possible consequences of the increasing greenhouse effect. Then Dr. Sagan leads us on a tour of our solar system to see how other heavenly bodies have suffered from various cosmic catastrophes.

Oct 19, 1980

Episode 5 - Blues for a Red PlanetE560m

Blues for a Red Planet

Is there life on Mars? Dr. Sagan takes viewers on a tour of the red planet first through the eyes of science fiction authors, and then through the unblinking eyes of two Viking spacecrafts that have sent thousands of pictures of the stunning Martian landscape back to Earth since 1976. Though based on older Mars missions, Sagan's analysis still holds true.

Oct 26, 1980

Episode 6 - Travellers' TalesE660m

Travellers' Tales

Dr. Sagan compares the exhilaration of 17th-century Dutch explorers who ventured in sailing ships halfway around our planet in their quest for wealth and knowledge to an inside view of the excitement around Voyager's expeditions to Jupiter and Saturn. The newly acquired treasures of our present golden age of exploration are the focus of this episode.

Nov 2, 1980

Episode 7 - The Backbone of NightE760m

The Backbone of Night

Humans once thought the stars were campfires in the sky and the Milky Way "the backbone of night." In this fascinating segment Dr. Sagan takes us back to ancient Greece, when the basic question "what are the stars?" was first asked. He visits the Brooklyn elementary school of his childhood, where this same question is still on students' minds.

Nov 9, 1980

Episode 8 - Journeys in Space and TimeE860m

Journeys in Space and Time

A voyage to see how star patterns change over millions of years is followed by a journey to the planets of other stars, and a look at the possibility of time travel. This takes us to Italy, where a young Albert Einstein first wondered what it would be like to ride on a beam of light.

Nov 16, 1980

Episode 9 - The Lives of the StarsE960m

The Lives of the Stars

Using computer animation and amazing astronomical art, Dr. Sagan shows how stars are born, live, die and sometimes collapse to form neutron stars or black holes. We then journey into the future to witness "the last perfect day on Earth," 5 billion years from now, after which the sun will engulf our planet in the fires of its death throes.

Nov 23, 1980

Episode 10 - The Edge of ForeverE1060m

The Edge of Forever

Dr. Sagan leads us on some awesome trips — to a time when galaxies were beginning to form, to India to explore the infinite cycles of Hindu cosmology, and to show how humans of this century discovered the expanding universe and its origin in the big bang. He disappears down a black hole and reappears in New Mexico to show us an array of 17 telescopes probing the farthest reaches of space.

Nov 30, 1980

Episode 11 - The Persistence of MemoryE1160m

The Persistence of Memory

The brain is the focus of this fascinating portion of our journey as Dr. Sagan examines another of the intelligent creatures with whom we share the planet Earth — whales. Then we wind through the maze of the human brain to witness the architecture of thought. We see how genes, brains and books store the information necessary for human survival.

Dec 7, 1980

Episode 12 - Encyclopedia GalacticaE1260m

Encyclopedia Galactica

Are there alien intelligences? How could we communicate with them? What about UFOs? The answers to these questions take us to Egypt to decode ancient hieroglyphics, to the largest radio telescope on Earth and, in the Spaceship of the Imagination, to visit other civilizations in space. Dr. Sagan answers questions such as: "What is the life span of a planetary civilization?" and "Will we one day hook up with a network of civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy?"

Dec 14, 1980

Episode 13 - Who Speaks for Earth?E1360m

Who Speaks for Earth?

Through the use of special effects we retrace the 15-billion-year journey from the big bang to the present. We also hear the tragic story of the martyrdom of Hypatia, the woman scientist of ancient Alexandria. This is the famous episode on nuclear war in which Dr. Sagan argues that our responsibility for survival is owed not just to ourselves, but also to the cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.

Dec 21, 1980

Actors

Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan

Self - Host

Recommendations

The Universe
Life After People: The Series
Universe
The Planets
Horizon
Cosmos
The Planets
NOVA
Solar System
American Experience
One Strange Rock
Prehistoric Planet
How Do They Do It?
Our Universe
The World According to Jeff Goldblum
Our Planet
Nature
Baseball
American Masters
Ancient Apocalypse

Similars

David Attenborough's Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates
Tout s'explique
42: The Answer to Almost Everything
Darwin's Dangerous Idea
Wonders of the Solar System
Day Pass
Alice Roberts: Our Hospital Through Time
First Peoples
Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking
How to Build a Planet
Edge of the Universe
Once Upon a Time in Space
Newton's Apple
How to Die Clever
How the Universe Works
Secret Space Escapes
First Flights with Kate Broug
Viki, Köpi & Henkka - tieteen armoilla
Aux origines de l'humanité
The Wonder of Animals