By: Hilda Yeung

NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.

Brilliantly done, a Montreal composer has followed her dream and aspiration to create a piece of music that depicts our vast universe. Sophie Kastner is a strong believer in how science and art are interrelated when she states, “As humans, we’re always trying to make sense of the world, and one of the ways we make sense of the world is through art, so why shouldn’t science and art be connected?”

Kastner has always found interest in the galaxies and cosmos beyond the planet Earth, which therefore motivated her to work with scientist Kimberly Arcand who specializes in visual images of space. Together, the two worked on translating the stars in the galaxies into sounds to create a visual of what they have seen out in space. Arcand provided the same type of data that NASA uses to create a visual image of their telescopic discoveries and views, fighting to keep the musical piece an accurate representation of how the stars were located in the specific area of choice. 

This collaboration and final music piece has shown the world how art and science can work together to create something memorable and evolutionary. Converting images of space into music has been something new for Arcand.After listening to a sample, she stated,”I almost fell out of my chair, it was so beautiful. It makes me think of the data differently; it makes me process it differently and I really appreciate that.” This further proves how two worlds can collide to create astounding things.

Works Cited

Moran, Padraig. “Want to Hear the Wonder of Deep Space? This Music Is Made from NASA’s Telescope Data | CBC Radio.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 9 Dec. 2023, http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/nasa-composer-space-data-turned-into-music-1.7052315.