In Brief

President Obama Hopes 'Cosmos' TV Reboot Inspires Next Generation of Scientists (Video)

By Miriam Kramer
published

Neil deGrasse Tyson in 'Cosmos' Spaceship
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts the new show "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" on FOX. He is seen here in his ship of the imagination. (Image credit: Patrick Eccelsine/FOX)

Even the president of the United States is into the new "Cosmos."

President Barack Obama introduced the new TV series "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" last night (March 9) during the FOX premiere of the new show, a reboot of Carl Sagan's original "Cosmos" series.

"America has always been a nation of fearless explorers who dream bigger and reach farther than others imagine," Obama said during his introduction. "That's the spirit of discovery that Carl Sagan captured in the original 'Cosmos.' Today, we're doing everything we can to bring that same sense of possibility to a new generation because there are new frontiers to explore and we need Americans eager to explore them. There are no limits. So, open your eyes, and open your imagination. [Carl Sagan's Astronomical Legacy in Photos]

The Carl Sagan Institute: Pale Blue Dots and Beyond, at Cornell University, is named after the late astrophysicist and science popularize, and will assist in the search for life elsewhere in the cosmos. (Image credit: Photo by Eduardo Castaneda)

The first episode of "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" kicked off the 13-episode season with a sweeping overview of the history of time as told using a "cosmic calendar." The show uses animation to bring scientific history to life. Sunday's episode paid homage to Sagan's unique brand of science education through subtle and overt references to the late astronomer's legacy. Neil deGrasse Tyson (the new host of "Cosmos") even explained that Sagan changed his life with a touching story at the end of the show about how they met. 

COSMOS FirstScope Telescope, Celestron Newtonian reflector optical system features a spherical mirror with a generous 76 mm of aperture. Buy Here (Image credit: Space.com Store)

"I already knew I wanted to be a scientist, but that afternoon, I learned from Carl the kind of person I wanted to become," Tyson said of his visit to Sagan's lab at Cornell University in upstate New York. "He reached out to me and to countless others, inspiring so many of us to study, teach and do science. Science is a cooperative enterprise spanning the generations."

Tyson was just in Washington D.C. with Obama for the first ever White House student film festival. Actor and Obama Administration employee Kal Penn, TV personality and CEO of the Planetary Society Bill Nye, and Tyson hosted the film festival at the White House.

The new "Cosmos" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. You can catch a replay of the premiere today (March 10) on National Geographic at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Miriam Kramer
Miriam Kramer
Staff Writer

Miriam Kramer joined Space.com as a Staff Writer in December 2012. Since then, she has floated in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight, felt the pull of 4-Gs in a trainer aircraft and watched rockets soar into space from Florida and Virginia. She also served as Space.com's lead space entertainment reporter, and enjoys all aspects of space news, astronomy and commercial spaceflight.  Miriam has also presented space stories during live interviews with Fox News and other TV and radio outlets. She originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee where she and her family would take trips to dark spots on the outskirts of town to watch meteor showers every year. She loves to travel and one day hopes to see the northern lights in person. Miriam is currently a space reporter with Axios, writing the Axios Space newsletter. You can follow Miriam on Twitter.