Starship Asterisk*

Supernova Sonata

Explanation: To create a sonata from supernovae, first you have to find the supernovae. To do that composers Alex Parker and Melissa Graham relied on the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) Legacy Survey data of four deep fields on the sky monitored from April 2003 through August 2006, adopting 241 Type Ia supernovae. Enchanting to cosmologists, Type Ia supernovae are thermonuclear explosions that destroy white dwarf stars. Then, they gave each supernova a note to play, the volume of the note determined by the distance to the supernova. Fainter, more distant supernovae play quieter notes. Each note's pitch was based on a stretch factor measured by how fast the supernova brightens and fades over time relative to an adopted standard time history. Higher stretch factors play higher notes in pitches drawn from the illustrated Phrygian dominant scale. Of course, each supernova note is played on an instrument. Supernovae in massive galaxies were assigned to a stand-up bass, while supernovae in less massive galaxies played their note on a grand piano. Click on the image or follow these links (Vimeo, YouTube) to watch a time compressed animation of the CFHT Legacy Survey data while listening to the Supernova Sonata.

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As long as we get to hear the music of the exploding spheres from afar.....It's ok.
The multi frequency picture looks just like a round swath of multi color shag carpet on a blue backing, but i sure wouldn't want to step on it!!

Some people have nothing better to do!!
How about composing music from flowers growing in a garden? or fish swimming in the sea?

Sorry, but this didn't get me excited like some (most!) APOD's!

Well, someone got creative. Interesting idea to set distance and other things to music, but I made "better" compositions in college. I seem to recognize some "blues" in there.

I prefer Beethoven.

Oh my!

I actually found this pretty interesting.


And now I'm going to see about making it my ringtone.........

universegazer wrote:I prefer Beethoven.

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 87#p134387

Basically isn't this just like listening to the twinkling of the stars? WONDERFUL!

That is soo silly. I liked it though. I tried to play my pedal steel guitar with it but I got lost right in the middle.

I listened to this Sonata, and honestly I am a little horrified. I feel as if I am dishonoring Shiva Destroyer of Worlds, by trivializing the destruction of entire star systems and everything around them.

Each "note" in the Sonata is of course a supernova, an unimaginable cataclysm that rips apart sextillions of particles, leaving nothing in its original form. Who knows what existed in each supernova? The remnants of ancient civilizations? Vast intelligences? Quadrillions of life forms, intelligent or not? Vistas of heart-rending beauty that no one will ever see?

And yet this Sonata trivializes each act of massive destruction as a note on a piano? A few low frequency vibrations to mark the violent death of unknown quadrillions of objects of beauty? Yettabytes of unknowable knowledge ripped apart into meaningless quanta of energy?

To me, this is an ultimate demonstration of human ego, that we must turn something so magnificent into a tiny moment of "music." Let the cosmos play its own sonatas. A fiddle, bass or otherwise, cannot denote Lord Shiva's terrible handiwork.

k1ns wrote:I listened to this Sonata, and honestly I am a little horrified. I feel as if I am dishonoring Shiva Destroyer of Worlds, by trivializing the destruction of entire star systems and everything around them.

Each "note" in the Sonata is of course a supernova, an unimaginable cataclysm that rips apart sextillions of particles, leaving nothing in its original form. Who knows what existed in each supernova? The remnants of ancient civilizations? Vast intelligences? Quadrillions of life forms, intelligent or not? Vistas of heart-rending beauty that no one will ever see?

Yes, a supernova destroys a stellar system. But it is also a key requirement of rebirth in the Universe. Without these events, the Universe would be a far more impoverished place. So instead of seeing supernovas as elements of destruction, I see them as elements of creation. (Since supernovas mainly affect short-lived stars, it seems unlikely that they will destroy civilizations, or even advanced life.)

Interesting correlation… I was amazed to see such an apparent frequency of explosions. Three years is not a very long time astronomically speaking.

Came here to say....a few secs before the end I'd swear I heard the words "Well, THAT sure didn't come out as well as we imagined it might."

\Charlie Parker
\\in grave
\\\spinnin'

Chris Peterson wrote:I see them as elements of creation.

Hear hear!

Y'know all those wonderful heavy elements we love?

-Noel

NoelC wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote:I see them as elements of creation.

Hear hear!

Y'know all those wonderful heavy elements we love?

Weird? Yes, a little. Beautiful? Absolutely.

Thanks, APOD!

NoelC wrote:Y'know all those wonderful heavy elements we love?

You mean like Oxygen, Carbon, and Nitrogen, which, along with Hydrogen, make up over 99% of all organic material?

bystander wrote:

NoelC wrote:Y'know all those wonderful heavy elements we love?

You mean like Oxygen, Carbon, and Nitrogen, which, along with Hydrogen, make up over 99% of all organic material?

We'd have all these without supernovas, but much, much less would be distributed around the Universe to become the raw materials for new systems.

So supernovas are kind of like giant interstellar dandelions

Hey neufer - in regards to "Alien message in NASA Voyager file" -- I wish i could!

I thought this was really neat. It certainly wasn't the most musical piece I've ever heard, but after listening a few times I could create a mental image of what is going on. Astronomy is so visually based that we often leave out those who are visually impaired. This is a great innovative way for astronomy to be more inclusive and for us to 'see' the universe without eyes. Astronomy should be for everyone. Anything that helps in that endeavor, gets my approval.

AstroChick wrote:I thought this was really neat. It certainly wasn't the most musical piece I've ever heard, but after listening a few times I could create a mental image of what is going on. Astronomy is so visually based that we often leave out those who are visually impaired. This is a great innovative way for astronomy to be more inclusive and for us to 'see' the universe without eyes. Astronomy should be for everyone. Anything that helps in that endeavor, gets my approval.

That's an aspect I never regarded....and it's so true! Who knows what those whom are unsighted might thereby 'see' -- and if it gives them delight in some form, BRAVO!!

Bravo to you as well for your innovative thoughts & opening my mind.

Quite beautiful. There was something very evocative about this supernova sonata, although I will say that this is the musical equivalent of false (or mapped) color! But I'm most certainly not complaining. I also rather enjoyed the portrait of the composer (interpreter? translator?) of the supernova sounds, who looked a bit like an elf from the Lord of the Rings.

And neufer, I just loved that alien message you posted for us!

Ann