The Amit Sagan Fellowship, named after the late Carl Sagan, is one of three Amit fellowships that represent a new group-based approach, where the fellows will focus on answering scientific questions such as "Do Earth-like planets orbit other suns. The other two are for Einstein and Hubble
NASA announced a postdoctoral fellowship in exoplanetary science (planets outside the solar system) to inspire the next generation of researchers looking to learn more about planets orbiting other stars, and perhaps even the life on them. The scholarship will be in the name of Carl Sagan.
Currently, about 300 such planets have been discovered. A few decades ago, long before the first planet was discovered, the late Sagan imagined such worlds and led the scientific pursuit of the question of whether there is life on them. Sagan was an astronomer and a successful explainer of science.
The Sagan Fellowship will allow talented young scientists to continue along the same path that Sagan outlined. The programs will provide the selected scholars with up to 60 thousand dollars per year, for a period of up to three years. The topics can range from techniques for detecting the light of dimmed planets in their starlight, to the search for the essential ingredients for life in other solar systems. "We are investing in the sharpest minds in the US in the most innovative field that excites the public," says John Morse, Director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The Sagan Fellowship joins the new Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Physics of the Universe, and the Hubble Fellowship for the Origin of the Universe. All three fellowships represent a new team approach in which the participants will focus on questions such as "Do Earth-like planets orbit other suns".
For information on the NASA website
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A man above and beyond, a true scientist and an example for all of us.
People like him saved me from the mental stagnation that a person can fall into when he does not have the necessary means to receive knowledge from other sources.
Thank you Carl Sagan
Michael, interesting, I personally did not notice any failures. Everyone makes logical fallacies, it's interesting to hear about Carl Sagan's especially logical fallacies.
I'm nearing the end of the book, even though he talks a lot about things that seem obvious to me today. For example, he gives many, many explanations (and most of the book revolves around this) to the fact that there is no evidence that aliens visited our world. And in my opinion it's a bit to convince the convinced.
Indeed, a great man.
The book you are reading represents this in my opinion less than other books he wrote.
When I read it many years ago, I recognized in it a number of incorrect log keys.
These days I'm reading another book of his - much earlier - The Dragons of Eden - and my opinion of him has improved a lot.
Although it is evident in the book that it is old and reflects the knowledge of the period in which it was written, it reflects a fruitful creative thought and a deep and penetrating insight. Just a pleasure to read.
I am currently reading his amazing book (do I need to mention the name or does everyone already know it?) demon haunted world, a book that contributes a lot to scientific skeptical thinking. A great person, I learned a lot from him.