Name: A history of the universe in sound
Uploaded: 2011-06-23T16:03:00Z
Duration: 10 min 59 s
Description: Artist-technologist Honor Harger listens to the weird and wonderful noises of stars and planets and pulsars. In her work, she tracks the radio waves emitted by ancient celestial objects and turns them into sound, including "the oldest song you will ever hear," the sound of cosmic rays left over from the Big Bang.

Artist-technologist Honor Harger listens to the weird and wonderful noises of stars and planets and pulsars. In her work, she tracks the radio waves emitted by ancient celestial objects and turns them into sound, including "the oldest song you will ever hear," the sound of cosmic rays left over from the Big Bang.

A history of the universe in sound

Humans know space through stunning visuals, yet the universe's sounds remain almost entirely unknown. The story of cosmic discovery is filled with accidental encounters with radio waves, from telephone wires in 1876 picking up solar activity to the first detection of the Big Bang’s faint afterglow. Listening, not just looking, has revealed the universe’s composition, origins, and age. Even the oldest sound ever heard comes from the birth of everything: the cosmic microwave background.