September 18, 2009 #073 - Astronomy Music

Listening to Last FM Radio and found one of my favorite songs. If you haven't listened to Amethysium you have missed a treat. Try "Autumn Interlude" for a star observation listening treat.

"Feels like I could reach up into dark October skies
Scoop up seven of Orion’s stars, hold them like shiny diamonds
Then I turn and return to a world less than I’d like it to be
Strange thoughts staring at the stars on an autumn’s night "


http://www.last.fm/music/Amethystium/_/Autumn+Interlude


Clear Sky - Rich

December 15, 2008 #065 - Red Shift Suite

My music collection has another selection that might be of interest to astro music fans. In the late 1990's I purchased a version of planetarium software called Red Shift from Maris Software. They included a bonus Music CD. It was composed by Jean-Pierre Garatoni and was called "Redshift Suite - A Space Age Symphony". It contains 12 tracks which I would say are new age in timbre and play well in an astronomical setting or just casual listening. I have not been able to locate any place on the net where the CD is for sale save as a companion to the software. I did locate a site for the composer on iLike and Facebook. They indicate that the title is available on ITunes. I have included the site address if anyone would like to hear these selections.

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Jean-Pierre+Garatoni


Clear Sky - Rich

December 12, 2008 #062 - Voyager Grand Tour Suite

Today I would like to refer you to another CD that presents some sounds from space, intermixed with music. It commemorates the Voyager Grand Tour of the solar system. The composition was produced to archive 12 years of planetary exploration in music. Launched on August 20, 1977 and traveling out beyond Neptune's moon Triton on August 25, 1989, the two Voyager's photographed five planets and fifty seven moons.

The composition was composed by Michael Lee Thomas and is titled "Voyager- Grand Tour Suite". It was recorded by Bainbridge Records and is cataloged as BCD2503. It is still available on the net.


Clear Sky - Rich

December 9, 2008 #059 - The Sentinel

Yesterday I wrote about the unused original sound track for "2001 A Space Odyssey". If you want to have some fun next time you are out walking across the lunar surface with your telescope, download and play "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke. This is the original short story, he wrote in 1951, which he expanded for the movie.

It was produced as a radio program for the series named Mind Webs. It is now public domain and can be obtained just for the downloading as an mp3. The production and quality are first class. It is my favorite of the hundreds of old time radio programs available for free on the Internet. If you are like me you will get a thrill as you listen and watch the moon drift across your field of view!

Go to:

http://www.archive.org/details/MindWebs-SciFi

Scroll down to:

Mindwebs-790128_TheSentinel

Download the 6.7 mb file and you can play it with a portable player or computer.


Clear Sky - Rich

December 8, 2008 #058 - 2001 A Space Odyssey

The mid-western sky has been very cloudy and lake effect snow continues to make sky watching problematical in the early winter. As the Great Lakes cool down later, we can have very cold clear skies at mid-winter. As a result my outdoor observation time is scarce. So, I have been going through and listening to my music collection as I spend more time indoors.

If you are like me you purchase CD's, play them over and over for a time, then put them away to be rediscovered again at a later date. As I was preparing the last two blog entries, I came across one that I had forgotten for a few years. Everyone has probably seen the movie "2001 A Space Odyssey" by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The sound track is one of the most memorable from my boyhood movie trips. I remember my father taking me to see it at the theater. I was one of those who came out with my eyes glazed and jaw dropping. The effect lasted for several days.

I am not sure how well known this information is, but I doubt many know that the actual music soundtrack was the second written for the movie. Composer Alex North wrote the original score, but it was never used. If you would like to hear it, the CD was released in 1993 by Varese Sarabande Records as "2001 The Legendary Original Score", performed by Jerry Goldsmith and The National Philharmonic Orchestra. The CD is #VSD-5400. It is still available on the net.


Clear Sky - Rich

December 7, 2008 #057 - Music From The Galaxies

Yesterday I wrote about a NASA recording. This time I would like to tell you about another interesting CD made by Dr. Fiorella Terenzi. She is a Doctor of Physics with a specialization in Astrophysics. The radio emanations were recorded from a galaxy located 180 million light years away in Abell 6697. The observations were made by the staffs of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and the Very Large Array. The data was manipulated and synthesized and then digitally recorded. The CD was released in 1991 as 'Music From the Galaxies' by Island Records and is #422-848 768-2.

The composition is a little different from the NASA CD but I find it very interesting and easy to listen to. It is still available last time I looked at Barnes & Nobles in the New Age section.


Clear Sky - Rich

December 6, 2008 #056 - Symphonies of the Planets

As a wildlife biologist, I have always enjoyed listening to natures sounds. Having astronomy as a hobby, I also enjoy the sounds of space. I hear someone saying you have got to be nuts. Let me explain. NASA has sent many probes throughout the solar system and beyond, which carry instruments that record frequencies above and below the human hearing range. Many radio telescopes also record these frequencies. Scientists have taken this data, shifted these frequencies into the human hearing range and in a few cases arranged them in artistic ways akin to a symphony. These presentations can be quite haunting and pleasing.

One of my favorites is a 5 CD set of sounds recorded during the two Voyager flights to the limits of the solar system. From the box, "Share the journey of a 5 billion mile trek to the outer limits of the solar system. Hear the beautiful sounds of the solar planets. The complex interactions of the cosmic plasma of the universe, charged electromagnetic particles from the solar wind, planetary magnetosphere, rings and moons create vibration 'soundscapes' which are utterly alien and deeply familiar to the ear. Some sounds are hauntingly like human voices singing, giant Tibetan bowls, wind, waves, birds and dolphins". If you can find this set either new, used, or maybe in a library, it is a unique and wonderful way to find out what we human beings are missing, due to our limited senses.

The set is 'Symphonies of the Planets' and was produced in 1990 by LaserLight Digital and is #15 925. It is still available on the net.


Clear Sky - Rich