Cool!

Listen to the “sound” of a star. It’s rather musical.

About 6,500 light years away, there’s a star known as RS Puppis, a Cepheid variable star that’s rather cool. The Hubble Space Telescope took a picture of it and the light was “sonified.” A sci-art project called SYSTEM Sounds took the data from the light emitted by Puppis, It took the light from the centre of the star and assigned it pitch. Volume came from the brightness of the star (the key thing about Cepheids is that they brighten and dim on a consistent basis.)

This was the result. (A deeper dive can be found here.)

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38025 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

One thought on “Listen to the “sound” of a star. It’s rather musical.

  • Who’s the artist who’s going to sample this first? It’s just a perfect lead-in…

    Reply

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