MAGAZINE SECONDS SECONDS #26, 1994 • interview by George Petros Dr. Fiorella Terenzi

Tune in with the luscious astrophysicist DOCTOR FIORELLA TERENZI to the coolest radio station from outer space, originating in the galaxy UGC 6697 (“UGC” stands for Universal Galactic Catalog). UGC 6697 is an irregular spiral galaxy, accompanied by a smaller companion galaxy, located about 180,000,000 light-years from Earth. UGC 6697 and its orbiting companion share a cloud of ionized gas. Violent interactions between these galaxies trigger very high rates of star formation. The UGC 6697 system is one of the most powerful radio sources in the universe. Within the torrent of incoherent incoming intergalactic information, Fiorella identified frequencies and intensities of waveforms in which she heard rhythm, and from there it was just a matter of groovin’ with the galactic vibrations as if they were any other form of electronic impulses fed into a synthesizer and summoned up as music. To produce the ultimate ambient vibe, Fiorella literally played the galaxy UGC 6697. Its intensity can now soothe us after a hard day listening to retro rap rock radio bullshit — making this one of the most powerful releases I’ve ever had — I mean, heard. 518 “There is a strong analogy between cosmic noise and music.”

SECONDS: Are the rhythms of the universe on Earth and from that we analyze the reflected in the biological rhythms of the universe. From very little we get so much. human body? SECONDS: What celestial phenomena TERENZI: In a way, I would say yes. I generate radio waves? don’t know what exactly the relationship is. TERENZI: Radio waves are generated by Scientifically speaking, it looks like there is particle acceleration and particle collision. some effect the planets have on our systems, So it’s the same phenomenon — the on our bodies, and on our minds. The sun, electromagnetic spectrum is always the same for instance — we have a solar wind that phenomenon. interferes not only with our radios, but also SECONDS: Are radio sources in the universe with our bodies. We are regulated by the generally within galaxies that have collided? moon in the same manner. Jupiter — there TERENZI: One of the objects that emit are some strong magnetic storms generated radio waves in the universe is a radio galaxy there. Particles coming through the deep — very faraway objects. The radio objects universe reach Planet Earth and we study sometimes are very mysterious. If you look these particles and we understand the with your eyes at the universe, you don’t modern universe. see anything — and then when you look SECONDS: Is there an equivalent wave with the radio telescope you see big nebulae, form for these biological and electromagnetic big explosions. So radio objects are very rhythms? intriguing. Sometimes the radio objects are TERENZI: I can answer you scientifically the same things as the visual objects. Most and from a personal point of view. of the radio objects are invisible. You can Scientifically, there is a reflection. I don’t scan the universe with your eyes and not see know if you’d call it rhythm or symmetry, but anything, but then when you tune in on a there is a reflection between our solar system radio frequency — in gigahertz — a complete and atoms. We have electrons orbiting universe comes out. around the nucleus and we have planets SECONDS: That’s because the wavelengths orbiting around the sun, so there is some of radio waves are so long, and can travel symmetry that is reflecting in our micro through dust and gas clouds. little world. Now if we’re talking about some TERENZI: Yes. other kind of rhythm, I don’t know — maybe SECONDS: Now how big are some of the big yes, maybe no. Maybe time can be a rhythm. wavelengths? The deeper you can go into matter, into TERENZI: A kilometer. the particle, the more far out you go in the SECONDS: Are radio waves affected by the universe. dust and gas that hinders the travel of light? SECONDS: So maybe the heartbeat is the TERENZI: The dust particles are very small. same rhythm as a pulsar, on a different scale? They trap the light because the wavelength TERENZI: On a different scale. of light is similar to the size of the dust SECONDS: Maybe the same thing makes particles, and in these cases we have what both beat. we call absorption nebulae. The dust is not TERENZI: Well, yes, the universe runs on a able to absorb the larger radio waves. I think heartbeat. Take a pulsar, for instance. Maybe an advantage of radio waves is that we are it’s a different periodicity, different intervals able to receive them on Earth, because the of time, but it’s still similar to a human atmosphere does not absorb them. So we heart. are lucky. Still, there are some microwave, SECONDS: In a nutshell, what is the nature X-ray and infra-red observations for which of the electromagnetic radiation which fills it is very useful to be able to go outside our the universe? atmosphere. TERENZI: It’s mostly caused by the SECONDS: Could you give us a brief history acceleration and collision of particles. of radio astronomy? So when protons, electrons, and simple TERENZI: Radio astronomy started around molecules travel the universe, they accelerate 1933. The most well-known researcher in the presence of a gravitational and in radio astronomy was Karl Jansky. He magnetic field. There is an emission of was working on some kind of radio noise electromagnetic waves which we receive generated someplace he couldn’t locate. He 519 D r . F I O R E L L A T E R E N Z I was working with radio communication I hear melody. There is a microtonality, so between Europe and America, so he was not only does cosmic noise speak to us as working with headphones most of the time, European music, but it also speaks to us as checking out the signals, and all the time he Indian and Arabic music. That is a source of was hearing some strange background noise. inspiration. He was thinking, “where did it come from?” SECONDS: Within this noise, what is the So he started to analyze and found that the physical basis of the changes in intensity? ghost radio station emitting these noises TERENZI: First, the radio waves are unique was changing with the seasons, and was not for each celestial object. Each spectrum is located on Planet Earth. It was in the like a signature for a star, so we can catalog Milky Way, the center of our galaxy. That different stars. In the same way that you opened up a new field of research. have a visible light spectrum, you should SECONDS: What’s the primary function of be able to obtain an acoustic spectrum — a radio astronomy? unique signature. If you listen to plasma TERENZI: The primary function of radio waves, they’re completely different from astronomy is to analyze and to study the pulsars. universe by means of radio telescopes and to SECONDS: So acoustic astronomy will derive chemical and physical information. allow each celestial object to have an SECONDS: For your CD, how were cosmic acoustic signature. Were you the first to come signals collected? up with that? TERENZI: The radio waves were collected TERENZI: Yes, it’s my technique. You need with radio telescopes, like the large one in my software to do it. I did an alteration and New Mexico. extension of a program called cmusic by SECONDS: How do radio telescopes work? Professor Richard Moore at the University TERENZI: Radio telescopes are big radio of California San Diego Computer Audio receivers. With the Very Large Array Radio Research Laboratory. Telescope, there are twenty-seven separate SECONDS: Intensity and frequency are antennae — twenty-seven different radio the common denominators between galactic telescopes. You use interferometry because signals and music. you have twenty-seven different signals. TERENZI: I love your term “the common SECONDS: What does interferometry do? denominator.” It’s perfect. Listen to musical TERENZI: It combines the outputs of two or notes — you have intensity, which gives you more antennae. a loud sound or a less loud sound, and you SECONDS: So it synchronizes two or more have frequency, which gives you pitch. We antennae? tune our musical instruments to the note A TERENZI: It synchronizes two or more at 440 Hertz — 440 vibrations per seconds antennae spread over great distances, — and you can play that A very loud or effectively creating one large antenna. very soft. It’s the same thing with galactic SECONDS: So you essentially use a radio radiation. You have frequencies that are very, receiver like the one a person would have at very high. As for intensity, some are weak, home? some are strong. TERENZI: Yes. The receiver is a little bit SECONDS: What other types of different, and the antenna is like the satellite electromagnetic radiation can be transformed dishes you see for television — exactly the into earthly music? same but fifty times bigger. TERENZI: I would say all of the SECONDS: And millions of times more electromagnetic functions, from gamma to sensitive. X-ray to ultraviolet to infrared. You just TERENZI: Exactly. need the technique. The gamma ray universe SECONDS: What is the relationship of has been so little observed because our celestial noise to earthly music? technology is limited. It’s only in the last TERENZI: That’s an interesting question. six or seven years we’ve been able to do For me, having converted these radio signals something significant, but still we don’t have into sound using acoustic astronomy, there is any clue of what really is in the gamma a strong analogy between cosmic noise and universe. The more technology pushes music. Even in this strange galactic noise against the barrier, the more we are able 520 “I think I’m going to be a galactic star — or maybe a galaxy.” to go farther out in space — not only with contact. All the time, stay open. Do not shut the robot and satellite, but also with human down the channel. exploration. SECONDS: Why are some galaxies more SECONDS: Are you disappointed at the active than others? course human space exploration has taken? TERENZI: It is very complex, and we do not TERENZI: I’m disappointed because there understand it completely. But some of the is not much funding for human space variables are galaxies undergoing collision exploration. with another object or SECONDS: Has the galaxy, star formation, golden age of space possible black holes, the exploration ended? interstellar medium, and TERENZI: As the age of the stellar everything in life, it population. goes up and down. SECONDS: To what They were at a very other celestial objects do high peak with the you hope to turn your moon landing, and attention? I know they are TERENZI: I hope to planning the Mars turn next to a pulsar, mission after 2000 mostly because I need a or 2010. The recent cosmic drummer for my NASA Space Shuttle compositions. I would love mission for Hubble and to experience the sun, the Mission To Planet Jupiter, our solar system Earth radar surveys and some other radio were great successes galaxies. and historical SECONDS: When you’re achievements. listening, do you like some SECONDS: Is it signals more than others? frustrating to see Is it aesthetic at some money spent in other point? places while science Photo by Richard Kern TERENZI: From the languishes? analytical point of TERENZI: America view, what I look for is is still the top country for research. The repetition. I watch the visual presentation universities are the best in the world. But I and I try to corollate it with the acoustic wish scientists and researchers could have representation. From the creative point of more attention, not only from the politicians, view, I sing along. I sit at the piano and but from everyday people. I would like to see play along and all the time I play I have the space be more for the people — for everybody. computer recording what I’m playing. I try to Space is our property. I really hope to imitate the galaxy and I create the melody. give back what human beings own — the SECONDS: When you produce music, do you universe. It’s ours. use it for your own therapeutic reasons? SECONDS: What’s your reaction going to be Do you use it for meditative purposes? when you discover evidence of extraterrestrial TERENZI: I’m addicted to it. It talks to me. intelligence? It puts you in a different state of mind. If TERENZI: It would be mind-blowing. It you’re flying on an airplane while listening would be very difficult to conceive — It’s to it, it’s just beautiful. In the dark, it’s just something I hope for. The search for extra- great. It is very good to work to, when you terrestrial life is now known as SETI-HRMS, are driving in traffic. Sometimes I turn on Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence- the TV and play the album because I like High Resolution Microwave Survey. We have to listen while watching TV. In personal such a great system and we’re scanning life, you start to watch what you’re doing the universe with high resolution on many from a different point of view that is much channels. We’re looking for some sort of more universal. You realize that some of

521 D r . F I O R E L L A T E R E N Z I our everyday problems are not such big how do you make the music. problems. When you’re up there in space, TERENZI: I use the galaxy sound loaded you realize there are no frontiers. All Planet into several samplers and I compose with it. Earth is one nation, the same human race. SECONDS: You compose using a palette From space you don’t see any Black, any of sounds from the universe, as opposed to White, any Yellow. One unique kind, maybe palette of Earthly noises. the only kind. Planet Earth should be re- TERENZI: Exactly. named Planet Life, because there’s life in SECONDS: How do the dynamics of the everything. It’s amazing how much life we sounds differ? generate. TERENZI: With the galaxy, you can sample SECONDS: Maybe it’s our job to seed the so many different parts and each sample whole universe. tells you something different. It’s a galactic TERENZI: Exactly for that reason I want orchestra. human space exploration to bring out what SECONDS: What effect should your music to we have. Let’s create a new human kind. have on the listener? Genetically speaking, the human race might TERENZI: I want people to use it. I really not survive. fought to release such an avant-garde SECONDS: Without life, everything would experimental album. The galaxy is yours so come to zero, right? you can do whatever you want. You want to TERENZI: Zero. It’s the concept of yin and dance to it? Great. You want to meditate? It’s yang. yours. Do you want to trip? It’s your project. SECONDS: Have you applied to go on the SECONDS: Have you done all those things Space Shuttle? to it? TERENZI: I did when I was in San Diego. TERENZI: Yes, and many, many other I applied as a mission specialist. I did the things. I did an experiment with Timothy questionnaire, took the test for eyes, and Leary called Galactic Multi-Brain, and the then there was a question that said, “Are you people were really in trances. We had a US citizen?” So I wrote no and that was the trobe lights flashing at high frequencies reason they dropped me out. They said, “You and I was talking about the macro-universe are an Italian citizen — you need to apply and Leary was talking about our mind — a through ESA, European Space Agency.” I micro-universe. At the end, all the universe didn’t even try to apply through ESA. was inside our minds. It was a beautiful SECONDS: Why? experience. We did a song together called TERENZI: Because it’s very complicated “Search For Life.” and because Italy’s bureaucratic system is SECONDS: So you’re going to be a rock star. impossible. TERENZI: I think I’m going to be a galactic SECONDS: Anyway — since galactic radio star, or maybe a galaxy. signals occur at billions of hertz, could SECONDS: Or maybe a shooting star. you tell us how you scale them down to TERENZI: Well, a shooting star goes away frequencies that we can work with? quickly. I want to be a big galaxy containing TERENZI: We can hear sounds between many different stars. 20 and 20,000 hertz. These radio waves are SECONDS: What’s your background in billions of hertz. Put into words, the process science and music? is simple. But when you load it down to TERENZI: I have a doctorate in physics, the computer, it’s not so simple anymore. so I’m a physicist with a specialization in It comes down to frequency reduction from astrophysics. In music I don’t have any billions of hertz into the human hearing degree. I studied for three years at the range. conservatorio — at the Corsi Popolari. SECONDS: At what point are the signals I studied opera, piano, composition and converted to an audible range? harmony. TERENZI: It’s converted in the computer. SECONDS: What’s the best music for erotic If you want to listen, you have to use a behavior? sound synthesis computer language. It’s my TERENZI: The best erotic music is the modification of cmusic. natural music. Since human beings are part SECONDS: Once you’ve processed signals, of this natural environment, it might be the 522 “Genetically speaking, the human race might not survive.” sounds of a river or the ocean or the galaxies! SECONDS: Are you interested in psychedelia? SECONDS: What would be the worst TERENZI: I think so. I’m interested because reaction a critic or listener could have to your it’s a mind experiment. I like it because you music? see things you never saw before. I like it TERENZI: Due to my analytical because there are some medical and physical preparation, it’s difficult for me to distinguish applications to it. good reactions from bad reactions. I think if SECONDS: Have you had a psychedelic someone said it was boring, I would say to experience with a drug? listen to it once more and open your mind. I TERENZI: No. I don’t need a chemical to don’t take it personally because with science be out there. Sometimes people drag me you have good and bad things all the time. down, but otherwise I keep on flying, going SECONDS: Do you get some hot letters? exploring new galaxies. TERENZI: They’re hot. It’s important to let SECONDS: What’s going to be the next the imagination go. discovery in I read them and astrophysics? sometimes I say, TERENZI: I believe “Oh my God, what’s it comes down to the that!?!” Big Bang theory. SECONDS: Are SECONDS: So you they telling you think the next big about something discovery will be a that happened confirmation of the during your music? Big Bang? TERENZI: Yes, TERENZI: Or some they write what middle step — a they were doing higher knowledge and what they felt. about the Big Bang Maybe they’ll tell phenomenon. More me about their data. girlfriends or maybe SECONDS: What they talk about are your favorite some fantasy they planets? have while looking at my picture. They ask TERENZI: Saturn and Neptune. many, many questions. SECONDS: Far out. In conclusion, what SECONDS: You’re gorgeous. Are you the best Kepler described as music of the spheres is looking astrophysicist? not where your music is coming from. His TERENZI: Oh, I don’t know. music was based on vibrations produced SECONDS: Are you willing to exploit this by the friction of planets moving through sexual attractiveness to help the music? an ether-like medium. Yours is based on TERENZI: Sincerely, it doesn’t matter what electromagnetism. I wear. Actually, even if I wear a t-shirt and TERENZI: It’s not like the music of the jeans, due to the shape I have, it all comes spheres, but instead we saw the music of the out — it gets worse. universe. We saw harmony relating to each SECONDS: Or better. object — and harmony relating to human TERENZI: But I’m not going to use it like beings. ••• Madonna.

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