Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Scientists Turn Star Data Into Reggae

Reggae-rock group Echo Movement composes astral melody

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 17, 2012 8:44 AM CDT

(Newser) – What do stars in outer space sound like? Try listening to the 6-second melody (note: that's a .wav file) that will be used on a track due this fall by the reggae-rock group Echo Movement. The band wanted to create its own space jam, so it asked researchers at Georgia Tech's Sonification Lab to transform NASA data into a musical construction. The scientists entered numerical values assigned to the dimming and brightening of a binary star as another star crossed its path into software that created "sonified musical pitches."

The scientists eliminated some ambient noise, then Echo Movement orchestrated the result into a looped, four-part harmony, reports Space.com. The star data was captured by the high-powered Kepler telescope, which continues to hunt for Earth-like planets. “People have made music with space sounds before, but largely using pulsars and space events that can be recorded in the radio spectrum. We wanted something completely off the chart," explained one of Echo Movement's members.

An artist's rendition of NASA's Kepler telescope.
An artist's rendition of NASA's Kepler telescope.   (AP Photo/NASA)
A file photo of the Milky Way galaxy as seen from Australia.
A file photo of the Milky Way galaxy as seen from Australia.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
2%
9%
2%
78%
0%
9%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
Radman
Jun 17, 2012 9:41 PM CDT
The link's already broken.
JackNelsonSteward
Jun 17, 2012 10:32 AM CDT
If you sift the raw data in just the right way ... you get "The Music of the Spheres." I'll bet we'll see more of this ...
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   World History Project   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne