Stephen Colbert and Neil deGrasse Tyson in an Awesome Interview. Carl Sagan. Carl Edward Sagan (/ˈseɪɡən/; November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences.
His contributions were central to the discovery of the high surface temperatures of Venus. However, he is best known for his contributions to the scientific research of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation.
Stephen Hawking. Michael Shermer. Others. Daniel Dennett. Sam Harris. Christopher Hitchens. Richard Dawkins.