The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for future humans, who may find them. The records are considered as a sort of a time capsule.
Although neither Voyager spacecraft is heading toward any particular star, Voyager 1 will pass within 1.6 light-years' distance of the star Gliese 445, currently in the constellation Camelopardalis, in about 40,000 years.
Carl Sagan noted that "The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced space-faring civilizations in interstellar space, but the launching of this 'bottle' into the cosmic 'ocean' says something very hopeful about life on this planet."
Voyager 1 passed the orbit of Pluto in 1990, and left the Solar System (in the sense of passing the termination shock) in November 2004. It is now in the Kuiper belt. In about 40,000 years, it and Voyager 2 will each come to within about 1.8 light-years of two separate stars: Voyager 1 will have approached star Gliese 445, located in the constellation Camelopardalis; and Voyager 2 will have approached star Ross 248, located in the constellation of Andromeda. In March 2012, Voyager 1 was over 17.9 billion km from the Sun and traveling at a speed of 3.6 AU per year (approximately 61,000 km/h (38,000 mph)), while Voyager 2 was over 14.7 billion km away and moving at about 3.3 AU per year (approximately 56,000 km/h (35,000 mph))
The two media player above feature selections from the content of the Voyager Golden Records and mixed with some music from 1977.
LINKS
Music From Earth
The following music was included on the Voyager record.
- Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor. 4:40
- Java, court gamelan, "Kinds of Flowers," recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43
- Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08
- Zaire, Pygmy girls' initiation song, recorded by Colin Turnbull. 0:56
- Australia, Aborigine songs, "Morning Star" and "Devil Bird," recorded by Sandra LeBrun Holmes. 1:26
- Mexico, "El Cascabel," performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14
- "Johnny B. Goode," written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38
- New Guinea, men's house song, recorded by Robert MacLennan. 1:20
- Japan, shakuhachi, "Tsuru No Sugomori" ("Crane's Nest,") performed by Goro Yamaguchi. 4:51
- Bach, "Gavotte en rondeaux" from the Partita No. 3 in E major for Violin, performed by Arthur Grumiaux. 2:55
- Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser, soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor. 2:55
- Georgian S.S.R., chorus, "Tchakrulo," collected by Radio Moscow. 2:18
- Peru, panpipes and drum, collected by Casa de la Cultura, Lima. 0:52
- "Melancholy Blues," performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05
- Azerbaijan S.S.R., bagpipes, recorded by Radio Moscow. 2:30
- Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor. 4:35
- Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48
- Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20
- Bulgaria, "Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin," sung by Valya Balkanska. 4:59
- Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. 0:57
- Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, "The Fairie Round," performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London. 1:17
- Solomon Islands, panpipes, collected by the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service. 1:12
- Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38
- China, ch'in, "Flowing Streams," performed by Kuan P'ing-hu. 7:37
- India, raga, "Jaat Kahan Ho," sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30
- "Dark Was the Night," written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. 3:15
- Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Opus 130, Cavatina, performed by Budapest String Quartet. 6:37
Sounds of Earth
The following is a listing of sounds electronically placed onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
- Music of The Spheres
- Volcanoes, Earthquake, Thunder
- Mud Pots
- Wind, Rain, Surf
- Crickets, Frogs
- Birds, Hyena, Elephant
- Chimpanzee
- Wild Dog
- Footsteps, Heartbeat, Laughter
- Fire, Speech
- The First Tools
- Tame Dog
- Herding Sheep, Blacksmith, Sawing
- Tractor, Riveter
- Morse Code, Ships
- Horse and Cart
- Train
- Tractor, Bus, Auto
- F-111 Flyby, Saturn 5 Lift-off
- Kiss, Mother and Child
- Life Signs, Pulsar
Music that was popular in 1977 (on these podcasts but not on the Records)
- No One Receiving - Brian Eno
- The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
- Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
- Keep Me Turning - Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane
- V-2 Schneider - David Bowie
- Here Comes the Flood - Peter Gabriel
- Dangerous Bacon - Stackridge
- Gloria - Patti Smith
- Samson & Delilah - Grateful Dead
- 2-4-6-8 Motorway - Tom Robinson
- Talk to Me - Joni Mitchell
- You Gotta Make It Through The World - Van Morrison
- Gotta Get A Meal Ticket - Elton John
- Nightingale - Carol King
- Same Time Next Week - Phil Manzanera
- Give A Little Bit - Supertramp
- We Will Rock You - Queen
- The Passenger - Iggy Pop
- Birdland - Weather Report
- Black Napkins - Frank Zappa
According to the list of the music that was popular in the 70s, not all songs and musicians were familiar to me. But I do spot one song and music band that I know was very legendary back then. We will rock you by Queen is probably the most classic rock songs in all times. The band itself, Queen, happened to be very famous with its unique music. Queen became a successful band by releasing songs with lyrics that were very meaningful. Another famous song sand by Queen is we are the champions. This song tells about victory and often used as the back sound for winners when they achieved their success in movies or events. Whereas my favorite song by Queen is crazy little thing called love. I love this song because it has a unique sound of music that really suits my ear. It’s funky and it is a very fun song to listen to.
ReplyDeleteI too find this list of songs unfamiliar. But I would say that We Will Rock You by Queens, is a song I’m accustomed to. To me, Queens are one the most memorable music groups in the world, with works of art that stood the test of time. I find great satisfaction listening to Don’t Stop Me Now, or listening to We Will Rock You before going into an interview or an event which requires great courage to face social pressure. I’ve also Radio Ga Ga and Too Much Love Would Kill You, though I don’t listen to them. There’s also Another One Bites the Dust which remain iconic. And there’s nothing compared to the satisfaction of winning something big like a sports game, and playing We Are the Champions to add insult to injury to the opposing party. But to me, the most memorable and iconic song of all time, by Queens, is Bohemian Rhapsody. This song has remained in our ears for decades, and would likely Last much longer. It was featured in many movies and TV shows, and became an anthem of the iconic 70s. So much so that there’s even a meme that state that you should not trust someone that doesn’t sing Bohemian Rhapsody out loud when it came on the radio. I was introduced to this song when a student, which would become one of my closest friends, came to my school many years ago with a taste in classic oldies. After the course of Junior and Senior high school, this song became an anthem of sorts to my high school social group. It has also been claimed that Bohemian Rhapsody is the ideal song to test new headphones or headsets because of the diversity of high and low notes. All in all, I think Queens live up to their name, and are the literal queens of music and pop culture history.
DeleteNASA had done a really good work to include popular songs from the 70's. But I reckon that most of the songs on the list are classic rock, there are also a few grammy-award winning artist on the list such as Sir Elton John, Queen, and David Bowie. I think the most interesting of all is Elton John, his works has already affected millions of people in a career that has spanned more than 5 decades. I love listening to Elton John's songs from the well-known 'Tiny Dancer' to 'Your Song', his songs are range from ballad to pop or even rock, and with his platinum-award album he is considered as the greatest musician of all time. His piano skill also magnificent, just listen to the intro of 'Tiny Dancer' his flawless rhythm makes the piano sounds really good, which includes him on the list of the best british pianist pop.
ReplyDeleteNote that it says Music that was popular in 1977 (on these podcasts but not on the Records).
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article I didn’t know that the voyager 1 and 2 brings sounds and music with them. All I know was the voyager brings diverse pictures that tried to explain how lives on earth works. Seeing the list of sounds and music from gives me the same idea of how this spacecraft is trying to explain earth in the simplest way. I am actually really curious about how they decide what they want to bring to space, Especially for the sounds of earth. Think about it, there are billions type of unique sounds on earth and yet they only brought 21. The selection of music is also unique giving the idea of earth having this really diverse society. this was shown through the selection of music such as Java, court gamelan, "Kinds of Flowers," recorded by Robert Brown and Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser, soprano.
ReplyDelete