Listening to the radio a couple weeks ago, I came across an interview discussing the 25 recordings the US Library of Congress had selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry this year. Among this list were some familiar sounds like Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville,” Mariah Carey’s omnipresent “All I Want for Christmas is You,” John Lennon’s “Imagine” and the theme song for the Super Mario Brothers Game- which immediately took me back to many Saturday mornings trying to save Princess Peach and collect as many gold coins as possible.

But there was one recording that I was especially excited to hear had been selected. It’s the recording of “Pale Blue Dot” by Carl Sagan. You see, the photo of the Pale Blue Dot hangs in my office. And I believe it is the single most important photograph taken in the history of the world. Let me explain.