Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980)

Astronomer Carl Sagan's landmark 13-part science series takes you on an awe-inspiring cosmic journey to the edge of the Universe and back aboard the spaceship of the imagination.

The series was written by Carl SaganAnn Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter.

Topics covered include: the 15-billion year history of the Universe; the evolution of life on Earth and what forms life might take on other worlds; Johannes Kepler, the first modern astronomer; the hellish atmosphere of Venus and the threat of the Greenhouse Effect on Earth; the search for life on Mars; the 17th century exploration of the Earth; the Voyager missions to Jupiter and Saturn; the possibility of time travel; Einstein's theories; the life cycle of stars; determining the origin of the Universe; the brain and the evolution of intelligence; how we might communicate with alien civilisations; the continued survival of the human race versus the threat of nuclear destruction.

The series was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980, and was the most widely watched series in the history of American public television until The Civil War (1990). As of 2009, it was still the most widely watched PBS series in the world. It won two Emmys and a Peabody Award, and has since been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people. A book was also published to accompany the series.

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage has been considered highly significant since its broadcast; David Itzkoff of The New York Times described it as "a watershed moment for science-themed television programming"

Buy the DVD

Big Ideas   Philosophy   The Big Picture   Vision
Rate this video 
Vision
Transition Documentaries
Cancel The Apocalypse: Here are 30 Films to Help Unlock the Good Ending
Trending Videos
Louis Theroux: The Settlers (2025)
62 min - Fourteen years after his first visit and 2011 film The Ultra Zionists, Louis Theroux meets some of the growing community of religious-nationalist Israelis who have settled in the West Bank.Louis...
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (2011)
174 min - Adam Curtis directs this 3-part series about how humans have been colonised by the machines we have built.The series begins by unraveling the surprising influence of Ayn Rand's objectivist...
HyperNormalisation (2016)
161 min - We live in a time of great uncertainty and confusion. Events keep happening that seem inexplicable and out of control. Donald Trump, Brexit, the War in Syria, the endless migrant crisis, random...
Class Dismissed: A Film About Learning Outside Of The Classroom (2015) ($2)
90 min - "Class Dismissed shows parents a glimpse into the future of education. Everyone concerned with education would benefit by watching this film." - John Taylor Gatto, Former New York State Teacher of...
Samantha Bee on How Progressives Slept Through the Most Important Election in Recent History
6 min - The boring, who-cares midterm snoozefest that was the most important election of your lifetime. Watch Full Frontal with Samantha Bee all new Mondays at 10:30/ 9:30c on TBS!
Bangkok Barcelona On Foot (2023) ($5)
27 min - A 3.5-Year Journey of Courage, Kindness, and ConnectionWhat happens when two adventurous backpackers trade convenience and comfort for courage and curiosity, and set out to walkyes, walk16,000...
Trending Articles
How to Care for Yourself When You're Feeling Burnout
Documentaries that Inspire Ecological Consciousness
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films
Subscribe $5/mo View All Patron Films

 

Your support keeps us ad-free and financially independent

Our 10,000+ video & article library is 99% free, ad-free, and entirely community-funded thanks to our patron subscribers!


Want to double your impact? You can subscribe for $10/mo or more as an extra show of support.