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‘Cosmos’ author muses over possible worlds

Ann Druyan
Ann Druyan is an executive producer, writer and director of “Cosmos: Possible Worlds,” a National Geographic TV series premiering Monday. She’s also the author of a companion book, and the widow of astronomer Carl Sagan. (National Geographic Photo / Stewart Volland)

How many dimensions does the cosmos have?

If we’re talking about string theory, it could be 10, or 11, or 26 dimensions. But if we’re talking about “Cosmos,” the TV series made famous by the late astronomer Carl Sagan 40 years ago, there are now three dimensions.

It all started with the original “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” which brought cosmic topics such as stellar evolution and extraterrestrial life to prime-time TV in 1980. Eighteen years after Sagan’s death in Seattle, the show entered its second prime-time dimension in 2014 — thanks in large part to the efforts of Ann Druyan, Sagan’s widow and longtime collaborator.

Druyan served as an executive producer, director and co-writer for “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” which aired on Fox and the National Geographic Channel with astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson as host.

The series, which extended and updated Sagan’s original narrative with new discoveries and new graphics, was so well-received that it led to the third dimension. “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” preserves the metaphorical framework built all those years ago by Sagan and Druyan.

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By Alan Boyle

Mastermind of Cosmic Log, contributor to GeekWire and Universe Today, author of "The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference," past president of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.

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