Please join us for a UW Data Science Seminar event on Wednesday, May 11th from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The seminar will feature Juan Pampin, UW Professor and Chair of the Department of Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS); Daniela Huppenkothen, staff scientist, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research; James Davenport, UW Astronomy Research Assistant Professor; and James Wenlock, composer and software developer.
The event will be held in the UW Physics and Astronomy Auditorium (PAA 118). The presentation will be also streamed via Zoom, please use this link to connect.
“Star Sounder: An Auditory Exploration of the Milky Way”
Abstract: Sonification is the process of turning data into sound to provide new tools for exploration. We have produced a cross-discipline exploration of astronomical time series data from the NASA Kepler mission, which monitored the brightness of thousands of stars every 30 minutes for 4 years. These data have been used to discover changes in brightness from eclipsing binary systems and young energetic flare stars, to white dwarfs and massive pulsating stars near the end of their lives. The physics of each type of “variable star” creates a unique pattern of brightness changes, which results in an enormous variety of sounds. In this presentation we will discuss our methodology, in particular the way astronomical time series data was translated into sound. We will also present a guided tour of our Star Sounder website, which allows users to explore an interactive “H-R” diagram and listen to the sonified light curves from over 2000 stars.