Carl Sagan (1934–1996), a Cornell University astronomy and space science professor, became known to many Americans via his 13-part television program, Cosmos, which first aired on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) affiliates in the fall of 1980. The show covered a variety of science topics, including the origin and evolution of life on Earth, the evolution of the human brain, black holes, time travel, space exploration, and the ultimate fate of the universe. The program did so well—for a while ranking as the highest-rated regular series in public television history—that it also spun off a book by the same name. Cosmos, the book, became a best-seller and is still in print.