>I am not wrong. You don't know what you're talking about. But I know you think you do. I'm a research scientist and I lived through his life.

No, you're really very wrong here. Anyone who wants to follow this exchange beyond a "he-said she-said" can browse deeply through Sagan's record on Google Scholar, read about his roles in NASA's planetary science missions, and see for themselves.

However, as it happens, I'm also a research scientist, probably with more experience than you. I'm guessing you're still just a grad student or postdoc with an excessive ego. I'm sure I have more claim to have "lived through his life" than you. Sagan inspired me to go to Cornell and major in astronomy, where I worked as an undergrad in his old office (albeit only when meeting with my supervisor, whose office it was). I later did undergraduate research in radio astronomy for Yervant Terzian, the incredibly kind and brilliant man who hired Sagan at Cornell and held the same professorship Sagan did (David C Duncan Professor of Physical Sciences) at the time I worked for him.

I ended up switching to a different field that better fits the kind of day-to-day work I like to do (quantitative ecology), but I am highly familiar with Sagan's legacy and personally close to it. I know you're wrong, and I'm qualified to know.