These final words in Sharon Begley’s 1977 “Newsweek” profile on famed astronomer Carl Sagan have often been misattributed to the scientist himself. But the phrase was actually written by Begley, to summarize Sagan’s interest in exploring the cosmos for electromagnetic waves to determine if extraterrestrial life exists. Begley concludes the profile by admitting that while “there may be no galumphing green Barsoomian giants to satisfy the fantasies of a romantic Brooklyn boy,” there was “no doubt” that there were “even stranger discoveries to be made. Some totally new phenomenon, perhaps.” Begley’s ending statement invites us to remain eternally curious. Our most far-fetched imaginings (galumphing green giants, for example) may pale in comparison to the wonders of what the universe — and our lives — hold in store.
