Cosmic noise header.

Cosmic Noise

Description

Most "sounds from space" we encounter are sonifications -- that is, they're data translated into sound. Because we as humans are incapable of appreciating the range and scope of electromagnetic fluctuations with our own senses, we translate the feedback into something we can perceive. It becomes a way of understanding the awesome forces that govern our universe, whether it's the arcing and spinning fields around planets or the menacing yawn of black holes.

Although I know they're, one again, just sonifications, I've always been drawn to the "eeriness" of some of these recordings. Translated into a mechanical hum, Jupiter sounds almost bestial, like something lurking just on the periphery of human understanding-- like something impossibly large and light-deprived squatting at the bottom of the ocean.

There's something that's really compelling to me about this. I don't think a lot of sci-fi horror is able to successfully capture this feeling, that there is something quietly menacing about space. I won't pretend that I'm going to be the creator who comes in and hits it out of the park, but I'd like to see what I can do.

Connections

  • The Genesis Tone is an example of cosmic noise that can be found in the Interstitium setting. It's used as a navigational aid amongst spacefaring cultures, with many ships being outfitted with sonifiers to interpret data received from it into spatial sound. This helps pilots orient themselves in space.

Sources