Carl Sagan Audio Sample

In the preparatory research for developing the soundscape for the immersive installation Constellations Of Us I have been considering the writings of Carl Sagan.

Emma, as principal artist for the project, had already compiled extracts from the book Cosmos for example:
‘ Science has revealed to us a universe so ancient and so vast that human affairs seem at first sight to be of little consequence.’

Carl Sagan was an American astronomer and science writer. He achieved widespread public notoriety with his television series Cosmos and accompanying book that he co-wrote with his wife, Ann Druyen.
He also wrote the science fiction novel Contact which later became a feature film and also the book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space.

I discovered that The Library of Congress has a freely available audio recording of Sagan speaking about Pale Ble Dot.
https://www.loc.gov/item/cosmos000110

In this recording he describes the primary concept of his book Pale blue dot : a vision of the human future in space. In reflecting on the image of the Earth as a tiny speck he notes "that's us" that the Earth is "a mote of dust, suspended in a sun beam' and a "very small stage in a vast cosmic arena."

These themes of vastness, alongside the idea that we are all connected and have origins in the stars themselves have been at the core of creating the soundscape composition.

I have now approached The Carl Sagan Foundation with a copyright request hopefully so that Incan use this sample within a companion audio piece for Constellations Of Us.

Watch this space……