Universal Rhythms in Umbra

The universe is filled with unimaginable rhythms and music...sometimes heard but more often unheard or unnoticed. While we may be familiar with the... more

by Doug Morgan

Title

Universal Rhythms in Umbra

Artist

Doug Morgan

Medium

Digital Art - Fractal Print

Description

The universe is filled with unimaginable rhythms and music...sometimes heard but more often unheard or unnoticed. While we may be familiar with the soothing melodies of the babbling brook or the whistle of gentle breezes through the leaves of nearby trees, there is a music on a far grander scale. A scale that encompasses neighboring planets of our own solar system. From the musical clash of the solar wind with Jupiter's immense magnetosphere, to the almost guitar-like strumming of Saturn's rings by unfathomable interactions of magnetic shells, particle discharges, and resonance frequencies...there is an ethereal symphony "just above us" that never ceases.

Space researchers working at the University of Iowa have devised elegant instrument packages that travel regularly on many of the most famous exploring spacecraft sent by mankind on a planet-by-planet journey through our solar system and now even into interstellar space. This rich space symphony that plays constantly can be heard through the sophisticated equipment aboard these marvelous mechanical space-faring explorers.

University of Iowa Physics Department researchers within the Radio & Plasma Wave Science program have recorded and made available this rich "music of the spheres":
http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/

Composer Terry Riley adapted the "sounds of space" material collected by UI researcher Dr. Don Gurnett and adapted the scientific data into a musical piece "Sun Rings" performed by the Kronos quartet:
http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/sun-rings/

Uploaded

November 29th, 2014