Space-themed music
Encyclopedia
Space-themed music is any music, from any genre or style, with lyrics or titles relating to outer space or space travel.
Songs or other musical forms influenced by the concept of outer space have appeared in music throughout history, both in instrumental and vocal pieces with lyrics. As early as Ancient Greece
, Pythagoras
believed in something called the "harmony of the spheres". He believed that since planets and the stars all moved in the universe according to mathematical equations that these mathematical equations could be translated into musical notes and thus produce a symphony. This idea was explored further throughout Western history under the theories of Musica universalis
. Some more recent and widely different examples are The Planets
by Gustav Holst
, and the song "Space Oddity" by David Bowie
. Outer space also appears as a theme in "space age
" retro pop music, such as Stereolab
's Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music.
Music about outer space attracts entusiastic listeners from all walks of life. Some have created web pages to share their interests. NASA
, JPL, and the US Governmental Centennial of Flight Commission even have a webpages showcasing and discussing music about outer space.
composed an opera Aniara
to a libretto by Erik Lindegren based on the poem Aniara
by Harry Martinson
, a tragedy set aboard a space ship.
The Japanese musician Isao Tomita
has produced many albums with space-based themes, such as The Planets (1976), his version of Holst's suite; Kosmos (1978); Bermuda Triangle (1979); Dawn Chorus (Canon of the Three Stars) (1984); Space Walk - Impressions Of An Astronaut (compilation, 1984); Mind of the Universe - Live at Linz (1985); Back to the Earth - Live in New York (1988); and Nasca Fantasy (supporting Kodo
, 1994).
The Vangelis
album Albedo 0.39
(1976) is entirely devoted to space, while a segment of Heaven and Hell
(1975) was used as the theme to the PBS
television series Cosmos
by Carl Sagan
. His work Mythodea
: Music for NASA's Mars Odyssey Mission is reflective of his interest in space exploration.
Mike Oldfield
's 1994 album The Songs of Distant Earth
was based on Arthur C. Clarke
's SF
novel Songs of Distant Earth
. Pop songs also mention outer space, such as Chris de Burgh
's "A Spaceman Came Travelling
," the Bonzo Dog Band's "I'm the Urban Spaceman
," David Bowie
's "Space Oddity," Elton John
's "Rocket Man," and Deep Purple
's "Space Truckin'.".
Several albums have featured music inspired by the Apollo space program. In 1983, Brian Eno
with his brother Roger Eno
and producer/recording artist Daniel Lanois
, composed the score for the film For All Mankind
, a documentary of NASA's Apollo program; an album of the music, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
, was later released. On The Orb
's 1991 two-disc debut album, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, disc one of features an ambient
musical simulation of the Apollo 11
moon journey, including excerpts of NASA recordings of the radio conversations between Mission Control and the astronaut
s in space.
The filk anthology albums Minus Ten and Counting
(1983) and To Touch the Stars (2003) celebrate and promote the exploration of outer space.
Author and classical music critic David Hurwitz describes Joseph Haydn
's choral and chamber orchestra piece, The Creation, composed in 1798, as space music, both in the sense of the sound of the music, ("a genuine piece of 'space music' featuring softly pulsating high violins and winds above low cellos and basses, with nothing at all in the middle ... The space music gradually drifts towards a return to the movement's opening gesture ... "); and in the manner of its composition, relating that Haydn conceived The Creation after discussing music and astronomy with William Herschel
, oboist and astronomer (discoverer of the planet Uranus).
Another band to use space as musical inspiration is the Christian
"Astro-Rock
" group Brave Saint Saturn
, whose three albums, So Far from Home
, The Light of Things Hoped For
, and Anti-Meridian, form a trilogy
that chronicles the journey of the fictional spaceship, the USS Gloria, on a trip to survey the moons of Saturn. The music uses space narratives, lingo, samples and quotes to portray the journey.
Soundtracks of science fiction movies and television and radio series often feature music associated with outer space, such as Star Wars
, Star Trek
, Doctor Who
, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, Red Dwarf
, The X-Files
, and others.
The theremin is an electronic musical instrument
associated with a very eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks such as those in The Day the Earth Stood Still.
and Planetarium
shows, particularly genres such as Electronic music
, classical music, Space music
, and Space rock
. Some artists, such as Geodesium
, specialize in creating custom music for Planetariums.
During the 1970s, IMAX
's OMNIMAX (now IMAX Dome) film system was conceived to operate on planetarium screens. More recently, some planetariums have re-branded themselves as "dome theaters," with broader offerings including wide-screen or "wraparound" films, fulldome video
, and laser shows that combine music with laser-drawn patterns.
, such as lightning, can produce sounds (sferics, tweeks, and whistlers
) in the very low frequency (VLF
) radio band.
Objects in space
- the Sun
, planet
s, star
s, quasar
s, pulsar
s, galaxies
, and active galaxies
- all produce signals
that, if received (usually through radio astronomy dishes and processed), can be used by a musician as the basis for any kind of composition imaginable.
Scientists with an interest in space-based sounds include:
Artists/bands who have included such sounds in their works include:
Songs or other musical forms influenced by the concept of outer space have appeared in music throughout history, both in instrumental and vocal pieces with lyrics. As early as Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
believed in something called the "harmony of the spheres". He believed that since planets and the stars all moved in the universe according to mathematical equations that these mathematical equations could be translated into musical notes and thus produce a symphony. This idea was explored further throughout Western history under the theories of Musica universalis
Musica universalis
Musica universalis is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies—the Sun, Moon, and planets—as a form of musica . This 'music' is not usually thought to be literally audible, but a harmonic and/or mathematical and/or religious concept...
. Some more recent and widely different examples are The Planets
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...
by Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
, and the song "Space Oddity" by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. Outer space also appears as a theme in "space age
Space Age
The Space Age is a time period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events. The Space Age is generally considered to have begun with Sputnik...
" retro pop music, such as Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
's Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music.
Music about outer space attracts entusiastic listeners from all walks of life. Some have created web pages to share their interests. NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, JPL, and the US Governmental Centennial of Flight Commission even have a webpages showcasing and discussing music about outer space.
Music about outer space
In 1958, Karl-Birger BlomdahlKarl-Birger Blomdahl
Karl-Birger Blomdahl was a Swedish composer and conductor born in Växjö. He was educated in biochemistry, but was primarily active in music and by his experimental compositions he became one of the big names in Swedish modernism. His teachers included Hilding Rosenberg...
composed an opera Aniara
Aniara (opera)
Aniara is an opera in two acts by Karl-Birger Blomdahl, with a libretto by Erik Lindegren based on the poem Aniara by Harry Martinson, that was premiered in 1959. The opera was described by the composer as a "review about Man in Time and Space"....
to a libretto by Erik Lindegren based on the poem Aniara
Aniara (poem)
Aniara is a poem of science fiction written by the Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson in 1956. It was published on 13 October 1956...
by Harry Martinson
Harry Martinson
Harry Martinson was a Swedish sailor, author and poet. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson. The choice for Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson was very controversial as both were on the...
, a tragedy set aboard a space ship.
The Japanese musician Isao Tomita
Isao Tomita
, often known simply as Tomita, is a Japanese music composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements...
has produced many albums with space-based themes, such as The Planets (1976), his version of Holst's suite; Kosmos (1978); Bermuda Triangle (1979); Dawn Chorus (Canon of the Three Stars) (1984); Space Walk - Impressions Of An Astronaut (compilation, 1984); Mind of the Universe - Live at Linz (1985); Back to the Earth - Live in New York (1988); and Nasca Fantasy (supporting Kodo
Kodo (taiko group)
is a professional taiko drumming troupe. Based on Sado Island, Japan, they have had a role in popularizing taiko drumming, both in Japan and abroad...
, 1994).
The Vangelis
Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
album Albedo 0.39
Albedo 0.39
Albedo 0.39 is an album by the artist Vangelis, released in 1976. It is a concept album around space and space physics.Albedo 0.39 was the second album produced by Vangelis in Nemo Studios, London, which was his creative base until the late 1980s...
(1976) is entirely devoted to space, while a segment of Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell (Vangelis album)
Heaven and Hell, released in 1975, is the fifth solo album by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. It got worldwide recognition through the use of "Movement 3" as the theme for the television documentary series Cosmos....
(1975) was used as the theme to the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television series Cosmos
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David...
by Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
. His work Mythodea
Mythodea
Mythodea: Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey is a choral symphony by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. Originally premiered in concert in 1993, it was published in 2001 by Vangelis' new record label Sony Classical, which also set up the NASA connection and promoted a new...
: Music for NASA's Mars Odyssey Mission is reflective of his interest in space exploration.
Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's 1994 album The Songs of Distant Earth
The Songs of Distant Earth (album)
The Songs of Distant Earth is the 16th album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1994. It is based on Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction novel The Songs of Distant Earth.- Release details :...
was based on Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's SF
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel Songs of Distant Earth
Songs of Distant Earth
The Songs of Distant Earth is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1986. Clarke has claimed that it is his own favourite novel. He also wrote a short story and a short movie synopsis with the same title.-Plot summary:...
. Pop songs also mention outer space, such as Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".-Early life:...
's "A Spaceman Came Travelling
A Spaceman Came Travelling
"A Spaceman Came Travelling" is a song by Chris de Burgh released on the album Spanish Train and Other Stories in 1975 . It became a popular Christmas song in the UK, and has been released numerous times as a single, first in 1976, then 1981, 1984 and 1986...
," the Bonzo Dog Band's "I'm the Urban Spaceman
I'm the Urban Spaceman
"I'm the Urban Spaceman" was the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's most successful single, released in 1968. It reached #5 in the UK charts. The song was written by Neil Innes and produced by Paul McCartney and Gus Dudgeon under the pseudonym "Apollo C. Vermouth". The B-side was written by Viv Stanshall...
," David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Space Oddity," Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's "Rocket Man," and Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
's "Space Truckin'.".
Several albums have featured music inspired by the Apollo space program. In 1983, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
with his brother Roger Eno
Roger Eno
Roger Eugene Eno was born in Woodbridge, England in 1959. He is known primarily as an ambient composer.He began euphonium lessons at twelve and at sixteen entered Colchester College to study music...
and producer/recording artist Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
, composed the score for the film For All Mankind
For All Mankind
For All Mankind is a 1989 documentary film documenting the Apollo missions of NASA. It was directed by Al Reinert.Music for the film was originally composed in 1983 by Brian Eno and released as an album entitled Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks...
, a documentary of NASA's Apollo program; an album of the music, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
-Credits:* Musicians: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Roger Eno* Cover Art : Russel Mills* Mastered by Greg Calbi, at Sterling Sound-Versions:-Chart performance:-Uses in other media:* "An Ending ":** TV - James May on the Moon - opening sequence...
, was later released. On The Orb
The Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
's 1991 two-disc debut album, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, disc one of features an ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
musical simulation of the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
moon journey, including excerpts of NASA recordings of the radio conversations between Mission Control and the astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s in space.
The filk anthology albums Minus Ten and Counting
Minus Ten and Counting
Minus Ten and Counting: Songs of the Space Age is an influential album of filk songs composed and performed by a variety of artists, released as a cassette tape in 1983 by Off Centaur Publications. It was the first anthology of space filk songs, and both inspired a flowering of performance of the...
(1983) and To Touch the Stars (2003) celebrate and promote the exploration of outer space.
Author and classical music critic David Hurwitz describes Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
's choral and chamber orchestra piece, The Creation, composed in 1798, as space music, both in the sense of the sound of the music, ("a genuine piece of 'space music' featuring softly pulsating high violins and winds above low cellos and basses, with nothing at all in the middle ... The space music gradually drifts towards a return to the movement's opening gesture ... "); and in the manner of its composition, relating that Haydn conceived The Creation after discussing music and astronomy with William Herschel
William Herschel
Sir Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was a German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and composer. Born in Hanover, Wilhelm first followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, but emigrated to Britain at age 19...
, oboist and astronomer (discoverer of the planet Uranus).
Another band to use space as musical inspiration is the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
"Astro-Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
" group Brave Saint Saturn
Brave Saint Saturn
Brave Saint Saturn is a Christian rock band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1999. The band is a side-project of former members of Five Iron Frenzy started by Reese Roper...
, whose three albums, So Far from Home
So Far from Home
So Far from Home is the first installment in a space-themed trilogy released by Christian rock band Brave Saint Saturn. This release contains less elements of the trilogy's plot that was developed in the two subsequent albums, opting for a more general feeling of darkness and loneliness...
, The Light of Things Hoped For
The Light of Things Hoped For
The Light of Things Hoped For is the second album by Christian rock band Brave Saint Saturn, released in 2003 .The album is described as "astro-rock" and tells a story dealing with many personal struggles of the band members...
, and Anti-Meridian, form a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
that chronicles the journey of the fictional spaceship, the USS Gloria, on a trip to survey the moons of Saturn. The music uses space narratives, lingo, samples and quotes to portray the journey.
Soundtracks for movies and TV shows about outer space
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
, Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
, The X-Files
The X Files (film)
The X-Files is a 1998 American science fiction-thriller film written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. It is the first feature film based on The X-Files series created by Carter that revolves around a fictional FBI paranormal investigation unit called the X-Files...
, and others.
The theremin is an electronic musical instrument
Electronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
associated with a very eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks such as those in The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Music played in planetariums and observatories
Many forms of music are used ObservatoryObservatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
and Planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
shows, particularly genres such as Electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, classical music, Space music
Space music
Space music, also called spacemusic, is an umbrella term, synonymous with a segment of New Age Music and Ambient Music, used to describe music that evokes a feeling of contemplative spaciousness. Space music can be found within a wide range of genres. It is particularly associated with ambient, New...
, and Space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
. Some artists, such as Geodesium
Geodesium
Geodesium is the name of a music project by composer and recording artist Mark C. Petersen. The word is formed by combining the terms "geodesic dome" and "planetarium" and refers to the space music Petersen creates specifically for use as scores for planetarium shows.Peteresen has produced...
, specialize in creating custom music for Planetariums.
During the 1970s, IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
's OMNIMAX (now IMAX Dome) film system was conceived to operate on planetarium screens. More recently, some planetariums have re-branded themselves as "dome theaters," with broader offerings including wide-screen or "wraparound" films, fulldome video
Fulldome
Fulldome refers to immersive dome-based video projection environments. The dome, horizontal or tilted, is filled with real-time or pre-rendered computer animations, live capture images, or composited environments....
, and laser shows that combine music with laser-drawn patterns.
Music made with sounds of outer space
Energy sources in the atmosphereEarth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
, such as lightning, can produce sounds (sferics, tweeks, and whistlers
Whistler (radio)
A whistler is a very low frequency electromagnetic wave which can be generated, for example, by lightning. Frequencies of terrestrial whistlers are 1 to 30 kHz, with maximum usually at 3 to 5 kHz. Although they are electromagnetic waves, they occur at audio frequencies, and can be...
) in the very low frequency (VLF
Very low frequency
225px|thumb|right|A VLF receiving antenna at [[Palmer Station]], Antarctica, operated by Stanford UniversityVery low frequency or VLF refers to radio frequencies in the range of 3 kHz to 30 kHz. Since there is not much bandwidth in this band of the radio spectrum, only the very simplest signals...
) radio band.
Objects in space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
- the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s, star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s, quasar
Quasar
A quasi-stellar radio source is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than...
s, pulsar
Pulsar
A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name...
s, galaxies
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
, and active galaxies
Active galactic nucleus
An active galactic nucleus is a compact region at the centre of a galaxy that has a much higher than normal luminosity over at least some portion, and possibly all, of the electromagnetic spectrum. Such excess emission has been observed in the radio, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and...
- all produce signals
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
that, if received (usually through radio astronomy dishes and processed), can be used by a musician as the basis for any kind of composition imaginable.
Scientists with an interest in space-based sounds include:
- Don Gurnett.
- Stephen P. McGreevy.
- Alexander Kosovichev, a Stanford scientist whose researches into the sun's oscillations (and who uploaded the sounds to the net) encouraged Stephen Taylor (see below) to create his album.
- Dr. Fiorella TerenziFiorella TerenziFiorella Terenzi is an Italian astrophysicist, author and musician who is best known for taking recordings of radio waves from galaxies and turning them into music...
has created several works that use sounds derived from celestial radio signals homepage , Space.com entry. - NASA produced a CD in 1992 from Voyager 1Voyager 1The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. Operating for as of today , the spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. At a distance of as of...
& 2Voyager 2The Voyager 2 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977 to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space...
recordings of electromagnetic fields processed with digital sampling techniques.
Artists/bands who have included such sounds in their works include:
- Terry RileyTerry RileyTerrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
, along with the Kronos QuartetKronos QuartetKronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
, in their album Sun Rings, which used "sounds of the planets recorded by the Voyager mission on its journey to deep space" . - Stephen Taylor, in the album The Heart of the Sun.
- Robert Schroeder's album Galaxie Cygnus-A used interstellar noise from the distant galaxy in the title