“Contact” is a film that takes place at the intersection of science, politics and faith. Those are three subjects that don’t always fit easily together.
The movie is based on a novel by Carl Sagan, who told us with such joy that there are “billions and billions of stars up there.” As a child fascinated by the stars, Ellie asks her father (David Morse) if there are humans on other planets, and he tells her: “If we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space.” The quote is often attributed to Sagan. Despite her disbelief in an afterlife, Ellie has always yearned to meet her mother, who died in childbirth, and perhaps that was what drew her eyes to the sky as a small girl. Later, as an honored academic, she turns down a teaching post at Harvard to work on a SETI project in Puerto Rico.
What a great movie after the Planets science section of 5th grade… looks like it’s just in time for the WOW anniversary too… following the eclipse… and SETI… here’s how we can put those solar glasses to more eclipse use!
TED-Ed | Seth Shostak: ET is (probably) out there — get ready
From SETI back to eclipse… this topic will stay with us for a while…
Everything you want to know about the eclipse but haven’t gotten around to asking yet . . .
Starting to plan for the next eclipse 🙂
If You Missed This Year’s Eclipse, Chase Another
Meanwhile… here are some terrestrial destinations…
Visiting the Very Large Array
VLA Fall Open House: Contact 20th Anniversary