Total Solar Eclipse Sonification w/Kronos Quartet | Exploratorium

When the moon passed between the sun and the Earth on August 21, it didn't make a sound—but Exploratorium composer Wayne Grim and the world-famous Kronos Quartet turned the total solar eclipse into a piece of music unlike any other.

Grim’s composition, titled “233rd Day,” began at 9:15 a.m. PDT on August 21st, 2017 and lasted three hours, ending at 12:15 p.m. PDT. Kronos Quartet joined the composition at 10:30 a.m. PDT, and played live for thirty minutes before, during, and after the totality occurred in Casper, WY.

To create the soundscape, Grim will process digital information collected from an array of telescopes and translate that information into an auditory experience. The Exploratorium will stream feeds of the eclipse over Casper from four different telescopes using two different filters. When the telescope feeds switch, the digital information coming in causes the tonal range of the sound to change as well; to hear the music leap and stabilize with each feed transition allows for a piece of music that is not only responsive, but dynamic and fascinating to hear. Grim also incorporates algorithms based on the movement of the planets visible during the dark sky of totality to create the sonification.

Видео Total Solar Eclipse Sonification w/Kronos Quartet | Exploratorium канала Exploratorium