Alex Harrison Parker, a PhD in astronomy, and Melissa L. Graham, has created a music – based on a three year observation of four parts of the sky from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope – called, the Supernova Sonata.
There are many types of supernova, and Alex H.P. chose the type Ia supernova to represent the notes in his piece. Type Ia supernova is a kind of supernova which is created as a result of a lengthy gravitational tug between dying binary stars, one is supersized, one is dwarfed.
That famous moment when the dwarf star decided to explode as a supernova type Ia. Source: Mars Daily
These supernovas are caught in the four ‘parts’ of the sky determined by the telescope, 241 of them to be exact (between April 2003 and August 2006), which is amazing considering these four parts of the sky are only roughly bigger than the size of a full Moon (as seen in the video below as a comparison).
So to make the music, Alex H.P. decided that:
- One second = roughly two weeks of real time
- Distance = Amplitude. Distant supernova creates quiet sound, closer one has louder sound.
- “Stretch” (a property of how the supernova brightens and fades) = Pitch. Higher stretch values played higher notes. The pitches were drawn from a Phrygian dominant scale.
The scale chosen by Alex H.P., a scale that is heard mostly in eastern music such as Arabic or Jewish music. Source: Wikipedia
- Size of mother galaxy (where the supernova perched on) = Music instrument. Massive galaxies are played with a double bass, smaller galaxies played with a piano.
The result is the Supernova Sonata, a soothing music from a violent death of stars, not different with the Solarbeat.
Source:
