Dirge of the planets

Johannes Keppler was a brilliant mathematician and astronomer, although you could be forgiven for writing the old master off as a cosmic loon after listening to the ‘music’ he inferred that the planets of our solar system must be singing to themselves. In his Harmonices Mundi of 1619, Keppler described the music of the spheres – a planetary music so high pitched that were it possible in the vacuum of space, it would still largely be inaudible even to dogs.

Come 1979, and one Geologist who clearly had too much time on their hands decided to transpose the music of the spheres to a pitch audible to humans and made a recording of the ‘music’ produced.

When playing this video, bear in mind that even Keppler said that it was music “to be perceived by the intellect, not by the ear”.

(via FutilityCloset)