Comet

Comet

by Carl Sagan
Comet

Comet

by Carl Sagan

Paperback(Revised Edition)

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Overview

What are these graceful visitors to our skies? We now know that they bring both life and death and teach us about our origins.

Comet begins with a breathtaking journey through space astride a comet. Pulitzer Prize-winning astronomer Carl Sagan, author of Cosmos and Contact, and writer Ann Druyan explore the origin, nature, and future of comets, and the exotic myths and portents attached to them. The authors show how comets have spurred some of the great discoveries in the history of science and raise intriguing questions about these brilliant visitors from the interstellar dark.

Were the fates of the dinosaurs and the origins of humans tied to the wanderings of a comet? Are comets the building blocks from which worlds are formed?

Lavishly illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned full-color paintings, Comet is an enthralling adventure, indispensable for anyone who has ever gazed up at the heavens and wondered why.

Praise for Comet


"Simply the best." The Times of London

"Fascinating, evocative, inspiring." The Washington Post

"Comet humanizes science. A beautiful, interesting book." —United Press International

"Masterful . . . science, poetry, and imagination." —The Atlanta Journal & Constitution

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780345412225
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publication date: 02/25/1997
Edition description: Revised Edition
Pages: 432
Sales rank: 603,697
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Carl Sagan served as the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo spacecraft expeditions, for which he received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and (twice) for Distinguished Public Service.   His Emmy- and Peabody–winning television series, Cosmos, became the most widely watched series in the history of American public television. The accompanying book, also called Cosmos, is one of the bestselling science books ever published in the English language. Dr. Sagan received the Pulitzer Prize, the Oersted Medal, and many other awards—including twenty honorary degrees from American colleges and universities—for his contributions to science, literature, education, and the preservation of the environment. In their posthumous award to Dr. Sagan of their highest honor, the National Science Foundation declared that his “research transformed planetary science . . . his gifts to mankind were infinite.” Dr. Sagan died on December 20, 1996.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1
(Continues…)



Excerpted from "Comet"
by .
Copyright © 1997 Carl Sagan.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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