Previous Research

Although there is little research on this topic specifically, there have been similar experiments that utilize music and astronomy. Specifically, two theories developed by ancient scientists Pythagoras and Kepler. Their research helped me develop several aspects of my project, including

• Methodology

• Notation definition

• Star Characteristics

• Tuning System

Significance

Being first introduced to this class, I had no idea where to start. All I knew was that I wanted to research one of my favorite topics: astronomy.

Idea after idea, I could not find anything that worked for my data collection. I could not find anything that had not been done before. After a month, I finally decided to combine astronomy and music. This idea arose from my love for orchestra and my most recent concept of examining constellations.

Searching for any research done on this topic, I scoured the internet for any trace of this kind of project, to no avail.

The combination of these two topics inspired me to commence this research, and the creation of this project.

Methodology

I plan to collect data through identifying characteristics of stars based on their

• Size

• Age

• Brightness

Where size corresponds to the pitch of the note, age to the length of the note, and brightness to the volume of the note.

Then, I will utilize Kepler's Harmony of the Planets theory along with Pythagoras' tuning system to place these notes into sheet music, creating a composition.

I will apply this method to the stars within a set of randomly-chosen constellations, effectively creating a song made of stars.