Founded to find life in our universe

Carl Sagan Institute

The Carl Sagan Institute (CSI) was founded to find life in the universe. Based on the pioneering work of Carl Sagan at Cornell, our interdisciplinary team is developing the forensic toolkit to find life in the universe, inside the Solar System and outside of it, on planets and moons orbiting other stars.

CSI news

An orange-yellow sun with spheres of exoplanets silhouetted against it.

Is there water on an Earth-sized exoplanet? Study offers clues

TRAPPIST-1 e may have an atmosphere that could support having liquid water on the planet’s surface in the form of a global ocean or icy surface, according to new research.

Carl Sagan Medal awarded to astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger

The award recognizes and honors outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the public.

In the sky, a perfect half circle appears around a rising sun with two bright "sun dogs" on either side

Sun dogs, other celestial effects could appear in alien skies

Phenomena common to Earth’s atmosphere can appear in the skies over some exoplanets of the “hot Jupiter” variety.

SPROUT Awards cultivate early-stage engineering research

From designing a reversible male contraceptive to detecting life on distant ocean worlds, the latest Cornell Engineering SPROUT Awards are cultivating breakthroughs across medicine, space exploration, robotics and environmental sensing.

A telescope in space: topped by a circular yellow mirror, the object is boat-shaped, with a background of stars

Cornell astronomers win time on James Webb Space Telescope

“It’s the cutting edge of what we can achieve, with better precisions and resolutions than other instruments.”

Concert celebrates the wonders of space March 2

In a musical journey through the cosmos, the Cornell Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of “Ex Terra, Ad Astra,” a new work commissioned especially for this year’s Young Person’s Concert.

This image shows an updated version of the iconic Pale Blue Dot image taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Memories of Carl Sagan on the 35th Anniversary of the Pale Blue Dot

In November, we celebrated 90 years since Carl Sagan was born. On Valentine’s Day today, we celebrate 35 years since the birth of—thanks to Prof. Sagan’s persuasion—one of the greatest photographs of all time.

Illustration showing a mountain, clouds and nearby rocks spewing vapor

Scientists compile library for evaluating exoplanet water

Cornell scientists are developing a library of basalt-based spectral signatures that not only will help reveal the composition of planets outside of our solar system, but also could demonstrate evidence of water on those exoplanets.

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Founded to find life in the universe

The Carl Sagan Institute was founded in 2015 at Cornell University to find life in the universe and explore other worlds – how they form, evolve and if they could harbor life both inside and outside of our own Solar System.

Are we alone in the universe? We're close to finding out

Are super-earths enhabited?

CSI Founding Director, Lisa Kaltenegger appeared on the StarTalk podcast with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Matt Kirshen to discuss the potential for inhabited super-earths: