Overview
It's such a shame David Bowie's not around to see this. Sydney installation artist Michaela Gleave has come up with an app that translates constellations into musical scores so you can 'play' the stars above you. Wherever you are in the world, at anytime of night, A Galaxy of Suns can read your geolocation and plays the music it transcribes from the constellations within your view.
But don't expect space to sound like Ziggy Stardust or Sun Ra. Instead, the app reads the galaxy as though it's a score. The transposing — which has been years in the making — was a collaboration between Gleave, composer Amanda Cole and programmer Warren Armstrong. What's more, every 'song' comes with a matching light display, choreographed according to the stars' movements, as they rise, cross the sky and set.
Gleave launched the A Galaxy of Stars app at Dark Mofo's Dark Park this month, where the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra helped to bring the night sky's songs to life. She'll be doing a similar performance with the Bristol Choir at the Bristol Biennial in September this year for the work's international premiere.
But you don't need a choir to do this thing. You can download the app for yourself via iTunes (for iOS) or Google Play (for Android).