Since 2020, the “sonification” project at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center has translated the digital data taken by telescopes into notes and sounds. This process allows the listener to experience the data through the sense of hearing instead of seeing it as images, a more common way to present astronomical data. Working with composer Sophie Kastner, the team has developed versions of the data that can be played by musicians. Sophie Kastner’s Galactic Center piece is entitled “Where Parallel Lines Converge.”
If you are a musician who wants to try playing this sonification at home, check out the sheet music at: https://chandra.si.edu/sound/symphony.html.
