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13 Episodes 1980 - 1980
Episode 1
Sun, Sep 28, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan opens the program with a description of the cosmos and the Spaceship of the Imagination. The ship journeys through the universe's hundred billion galaxies, the Local Group, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way, the Orion Nebula, our Solar System, and finally the planet Earth. Eratosthenes' successful calculation of the circumference of Earth leads to a description of the ancient Library of Alexandria. Finally, the Ages of Science are described, before pulling back to the full span of the Cosmic Calendar.
Episode 2
Sun, Oct 5, 198060 mins
Sagan discusses the story of the Heike crab and artificial selection of crabs resembling samurai warriors, as an opening into a larger discussion of evolution through natural selection, and the pitfalls of intelligent design. Among the topics are the development of life on the Cosmic Calendar and the Cambrian explosion, the function of DNA in growth, genetic replication, repairs, and mutation, the common biochemistry of terrestrial organisms, the creation of the molecules of life in the Miller-Urey experiment, and speculation on alien life, such as life in Jupiter's clouds.
Episode 3
Sun, Oct 12, 198060 mins
Beginning with the separation of the fuzzy thinking and pious fraud of astrology from the careful observations of astronomy, Sagan follows the development of astronomical observation. Beginning with constellations and ceremonial calendars (such as those of the Anasazi), the story moves to the debate between Earth and Sun-centered models: Ptolemy and the geocentric worldview, Copernicus' theory, the data-gathering of Tycho Brahe, and the achievements of Johannes Kepler (Kepler's laws of planetary motion and the first science-fiction novel).
Episode 4
Sun, Oct 19, 198060 mins
Sagan discusses comets and asteroids as planetary impactors, giving recent examples of the Tunguska event and a lunar impact described by Canterbury monks in 1178. It moves to a description of the environment of Venus, from the previous fantastic theories of people such as Immanuel Velikovsky to the information gained by the Venera landers and its implications for Earth's greenhouse effect. The Cosmos Update highlights the connection to global warming.
Episode 5
Sun, Oct 26, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan looks at the search for life on Mars from the speculations of Percival Lowell and H.G. Wells to the arrival of the Viking probes.
Episode 6
Sun, Nov 2, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan looks at the planets Jupiter and Saturn by examining the work of Galileo, Huygens, and the Voyager probes.
Episode 7
Sun, Nov 9, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan looks at the work of ancient Greek scientists and astronomers including Thales, Anaximander, Democritus, and Pythagoras.
Episode 8
Sun, Nov 16, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan explains scientific concepts like relativity and examines the possibility of time travel.
Episode 9
Sun, Nov 23, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan examines the life cycle of stars from their creation to their deaths.
Episode 10
Sun, Nov 30, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan focuses on the origin of the universe by discussing the Big Bang, Galaxies, Dimensions, and the expansion of the universe.
Episode 11
Sun, Dec 7, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan examines life on earth discussing genes, DNA, the brain, and human social development.
Episode 12
Sun, Dec 14, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan examines the possibility extraterrestrial life and discusses his skepticism about UFOs.
Episode 13
Sun, Dec 21, 198060 mins
Carl Sagan considers the significance of science and discuss the importance of human survival in the nuclear age.