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Science Talk

Song of the Stars, Part 2: Seeing in the Dark

Science Talk

Scientific American

Science

4.2644 Ratings

🗓️ 27 September 2023

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A blind astronomer “sonified” the universe’s most explosive events: gamma-ray bursts. By listening to, rather than looking at, the data, she made a critical discovery and changed the field of astronomy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

0:05.8

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years.

0:11.0

Yachtold also partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for gut health, an investigator-led research program.

0:20.1

To learn more about Yachtolt, visit yawcult.co.j.

0:23.9

That's y-a-k-U-L-T-C-O-J-P. When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacolt.

0:32.5

Once there was a star, just like everything in life, she reached the end of her regular star days

0:39.8

when her heart, the god of her life, exhausted its fuel. But that was no end. She transformed into a

0:47.6

supernova and in the process releasing a tremendous amount of energy. Okay, Jason, who and what am I listening to?

0:55.6

This is Wanda Diazmer said.

0:57.6

She's a blind astronomer and a pioneer in astronomical sonification.

1:01.9

This is a TED talk she gave about the massive explosions that stars were released when they die.

1:07.5

She's done a lot of work capturing these gamma ray bursts using sound rather than sight.

1:11.6

Oh, so she's like the OG of astronomical soundification.

1:15.6

Like all of this, this entire series we're doing, stems from her and her work.

1:20.6

Yeah, exactly. You're listening to Scientific American Science Quickly.

1:34.3

I'm Jason Trickford.

1:35.5

And I'm Timmy Broderick.

1:36.7

In the previous episode of this three-part fascination, we introduce you to scientists and musicians who are turning comets and galaxies and other stellar goodies into fascinating compositions.

1:49.0

Today, we are telling you about the origins of this nascent field.

1:54.0

So, Wanda, yeah?

1:57.0

I talked to her earlier this year.

2:00.0

I mean, I'm in Paris working at the astroparticle cosmology lab at the University of Paris. That is part of an institution called CERN. And I'm here in the lab. Yeah, so that's Wanda. And she works at the most famous particle accelerator in the world.

...

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