An Excerpt from Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan (High School)

This excerpt from Pale Blue Dot was inspired by an image taken, at Sagan's suggestion, by Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990.

This a hands-on kit to develop a Close, Critical and Generative Reading Activity – Developing Guided Highlighted Reading Prompts,

and Experiencing the Power of Conceptual Thinking.

As the spacecraft left our planetary neighborhood for the fringes of the solar system, engineers turned it around for one last look at its home planet. Voyager 1 was about 6.4 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) away, and approximately 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane, when it captured this portrait of our world. Caught in the center of scattered light rays (a result of taking the picture so close to the Sun), Earth appears as a tiny point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

-- Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994

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Analysis of Text for Close, Critical and Generative Reading

10th Grade Level Text: Pale Blue Dot

Reading Comprehension: Content Analysis

Write a summary that includes the development of the central idea and evidence that gives the strongest support for what the text says explicitly and inferences from the text.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Analyze how the text makes connections among and distinctions between ideas or events.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Critical Reading

Identify the figurative, connotative and technical meanings in this text.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The student analyzes how the author unfolds a series of ideas or events including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed as well as connections that can be drawn between them. RI 3

The student delineates and evaluates the argument and specific claims in the text assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identifies false statements and fallacious reasoning. RI 8

The student’s summary includes the development of the central idea and how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details including textual evidence and any inferences from the text.RI and R2

The student determines the figurative, connotative, and technical meanings of the words or phrases and how they are used in the text. The student analyzes the impact of specific word choice on meaning and tone. RI 4

The student identifies the author’s point of view and purpose in the text and analyzes how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. RI 6

Identify the author’s point of view and purpose and, if and how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoint

Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in the text. Determine whether the reasoning is sound and evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claim. Also, if present, recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Generative Reading

Conceptual Connections: Shows how two or more major concepts are reflected in the text.

How are the identified concepts or pairs of concepts reflected in the text?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Using the concepts create some generalizations to explain and abstract the text.

Possible Concepts Possible Generalizations

A Concept is an organizing idea; a mental construct.

Concepts are timeless, universal, abstract, represented by 1 or 2 words

and the examples share common attributes.

PrejudicePerspectiveConflict CooperationPower RelationshipsEnvyEmotionsOppressionInfluence

Conflict/CooperationPatternsPopulationsChangeCultureEvolutionCivilizationMigration/ImmigrationInterdependenceSurvival

CostInterdependenceBeliefs/ValuesGoods/ServicesConflictCooperationPerceptionsPatternsPowerSystems

Relationships require tolerance.Advocacy requires responsibility.Relationships develop interdependence.Survival depends on change.Power changes relationships.Change alters perspective.Conflict alters perspective.Relationships determine survival.Systems dictate interactions.

Analysis of Text for Close, Critical and Generative Reading

Using 9th - 10th Grade CCR Rubric: Pale Blue Dot

Reading Comprehension: Content Analysis

Write a summary that includes the development of the central idea and evidence that gives the strongest support for what the text says explicitly and inferences from the text.

Carl Sagan asked that Voyager 1 take a picture of Earth from the edge of our solar system on February 14, 1990. To Sagan, Earth looked like a pale blue dot, but he points out that the dot is our home, everyone we know lives here. Earth is small but “endless cruelties” have been done by one group of people to another. We imagine that we are very important, but it is unlikely that anyone will come and save us. Sagan states that astronomy is humbling. He concludes that our responsibility is to be kinder to one another and to “…preserve and cherish…” our pale blue dot.

Analyze how text makes connections among and distinctions between ideas or events.Carl Sagan’s exposition sets the circumstances under which he chose the name “a pale blue dot”—a request to NASA. Sagan continues with a list of who and what lives owu7n our Earth. He illustrates why, even though we think of Earth as very important, it is but a “lonely spec.” He concludes that our responsibility is to be kinder to one another and to “…preserve and cherish…” our pale blue dot.

Critical Reading

Identify the figurative, connotative and technical meanings in this text.Sagan uses imagery to paint pictures for his readers: “planetary neighborhood,” “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.” and “a tiny point of light.” He uses similes: “Earth appears as a tiny point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size.” and metaphors: “The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena” and “It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience.” Also used are repetition and onomatopoeia: “suspended in a sunbeam” and “momentary masters.” Sagan uses connotation to make a point: “Earth appears as a tiny point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size.” He also makes good uses of domain specific vocabulary: “ecliptic,” “aggregate,” and “species.” Sagan’s choice of words adds to the power of this piece: “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”

The student analyzes how the author unfolds a series of ideas or events including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed as well as connections that can be drawn between them. RI 3

The student’s summary includes the development of the central idea and how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details including textual evidence and any inferences from the text. RI and R2

The student determines the figurative, connotative, and technical meanings of the words or phrases and how they are used in the text. The student analyzes the impact of specific word choice on meaning and tone. RI 4

Identify the author’s point of view and purpose and, if and how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.Carl Sagan wants readers to feel the importance of this pale blue dot we live on. He puts it this way, “To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.” Sagan advances his point of view and purpose through the use of rhetoric: repetition, short, cropped sentences, and the formal language of an expert. Sagan is a master at using repetition to build reader interest and momentum: “On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.” and “Our posturings, our imagined self-importance …, Our planet…, In our obscurity…. He uses short, chopped sentences to great effect: “Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. Sagan also uses formal language appropriate to his expertise: “ecliptic,” “cosmic,” and “folly of human conceits.”

Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in the text. Determine whether the reasoning is sound and evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claim. Also, if present, recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Carl Sagan’s claim is: “To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.” His evidence and reasoning include that Earth is our only home and everyone we know and love lives here: “The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” He also adds: “The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.” There are no false statements or fallacious reasoning.

Generative Reading Conceptual Connections: Shows how two or more major concepts are reflected in the text.How are the identified concepts or pairs of concepts reflected in the text?

Generalization: Survival requires civility and preservation.References: Lines 30-31—“… it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”

The student delineates and evaluates the argument and specific claims in the text assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identifies false statements and fallacious reasoning. RI 8

The student identifies the author’s point of view and purpose in the text and analyzes how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. RI 6

Lines 15-20: Sagan decries the atrocities people have committed against one another, “Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Other Possible Generalizations: Perspective alters reality.

Survival requires tolerance.

Relationships determine survival.

Power creates conflict.

Survival depends on change.

The following text and graphics would provide opportunities to assess standards #7 and #9:

Earth: Our 'Pale Blue Dot' by Kieran Mulvaney

Apr 22, 2015 08:51 AM ET from DISCOVERY Newsletter, NASA

Check out the image above. Doesn't seem like much, does it? Maybe someone snapped a picture while the lens cap was still on.

Take another look. On closer examination, the picture resolves into four bands of light. Check out the band farthest to the right. Look about halfway down. There is a small dot, brighter than its surroundings. It isn't a speck of dust, it isn't a smudge on the camera lens or on your monitor.

It's us.

It's all of us.

It's Earth.

In 1990, at the request of famed astronomer and broadcaster Carl Sagan, NASA sent a command to the Voyager 1 spacecraft, on its way out of the Solar System, to turn its camera in the direction from which it came. The above image is the result.

Voyager: Goodbye Solar System, Hello Interstellar Space

The picture is frequently referred to as the "pale blue dot," and provided both the frontispiece and the title for one of Sagan's most celebrated books, published in 1994. Sagan himself, as was his wont, expressed its significance with an eloquence to which most of us can only aspire:

From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of particular interest. But for us, it's different. Look again at that dot. [...] On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

Everything in our history – the Age of Dinosaurs, the rise of mammals, ice ages and mass extinctions, and the evolution and geographic expansion of one particular primate – has taken place on that insignificant spot.

The point at which one year yields to the next is often a time of reflection and resolution. There can be few things more deserving of either than the world we share, that our ancestors shared, that our descendants will share: our home, tiny and vulnerable, a pale blue dot in the vastness of space.

DISCOVERYnewsletter

View Related Gallery »

Our home -- as seen by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, on its way out of the Solar System.

NASA

Gallery

DistantEarth:AHistoryof'PaleBlueDots':Photos

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