President Jimmy Carter, a man known for his faith and his political career, harbored a lesser-known passion: astronomy. After navigating the complexities of the White House, from diplomatic calls to legislative sessions, Carter often sought solace on the roof. There, with a telescope set up by his son Jeffrey, he would gaze at the stars, contemplating his place in the cosmos, as detailed in his memoir, *A Full Life*. One such evening, December 18, 1977, found him on the roof with astrophysicist Carl Sagan, discussing everything from nebulae to black holes, a fitting conversation for a former president who had studied engineering and nuclear physics. This shared interest provided a welcome respite from the weight of earthly concerns.
Carter’s fascination with space began early, during his freshman year of college while working as a lab assistant for an astronomy professor. His time in the U.S. Navy further fueled this passion, where he learned celestial navigation and even managed to borrow a sextant from his ship’s captain to enhance his observations. However, his presidency saw his astronomical pursuits overshadowed by political priorities. While his first budget funded the program that led to the Hubble Space Telescope, he faced criticism for not prioritizing human spaceflight on the scale of the Apollo program. Steven Hochman, a former Carter Center staffer, suggests that this was due to Carter’s focus on robotic exploration and cost-effective research, prioritizing domestic spending over the immense expense of manned deep-space missions. Hochman believes NASA hasn’t fully acknowledged Carter’s contributions to the field.
Ironically, Carter’s interest in astronomy became intertwined with a widely circulated anecdote about a UFO sighting in 1969. This incident, initially reported to UFO investigation groups, led to years of ridicule and the persistent myth of Carter wearing a tinfoil hat. Despite never claiming alien contact, the incident colored public perception. In a 2007 interview, Carter clarified that the object was indeed unidentified, dispelling the persistent misconception that he had mistaken Venus for an extraterrestrial craft. This incident even sparked speculation about a 1977 White House request to NASA to investigate UFOs, a request NASA surprisingly declined. Richard Henry, NASA’s deputy director of astrophysics under Carter, explored this unanswered question in an essay, with Carter himself denying involvement in the proposal.
However, Henry’s essay revealed another aspect of Carter’s astronomical enthusiasm: the president’s borrowing of a Questar telescope from NASA in November 1977. The telescope, transported to the White House via a NASA plane, was used for observations – even though the initial night was cloudy – and later taken to Camp David for Thanksgiving. The amusing juxtaposition of this personal interest against the backdrop of his political life is striking. This personal pursuit stands in contrast to the prevailing narrative surrounding his presidency.
This seemingly mundane event highlights a profound point: Carter, despite the political pressures and controversies of his time, remained a man with a deep and abiding curiosity about the universe. This is powerfully symbolized by his message aboard Voyager 1, a gold-plated record carrying sounds and greetings from Earth, including a letter from him. This message, a testament to humanity’s hope and determination, underscores his enduring belief in the potential for a future galactic community – a sentiment that simultaneously reflects both his scientific curiosity and his unwavering faith. The poems he wrote, such as “Considering the Void,” reveal a complex interplay of faith and scientific understanding, a contemplation of the vastness of the cosmos and the mysteries it holds. His legacy extends beyond the political arena, into the boundless expanse of space, a silent testament to a president whose life touched both the earthly and the celestial.