Want To Create A Space Symphony? Wait For A Solar Storm

In photo from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a major solar eruption is shown in progress Oct. 29, 2003. A large coronal mass ejection is being hurled toward the Earth.

NASA/Getty Images In photo from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a major solar eruption is shown in progress Oct. 29, 2003. A large coronal mass ejection is being hurled toward the Earth.

NASA/Getty Images

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick evokes the immense and powerful nature of outer space with Richard Strauss' score, Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

The music is now inextricably linked to the idea of space exploration. But what if, instead, you could create music from solar eruptions?

That's exactly what sonification specialist Robert Alexander does.

Although you can't hear anything in space, scientists can still use sound to understand the solar system by turning data collected by NASA satellites into sounds and music.

Alexander, who works at the Solar and Heliospheric Research Group at the University of Michigan, spoke to Jacki Lyden, host of weekends on All Things Considered, about what's behind some of the solar music he has composed.

Listen to some of the sounds Alexander has created through a process called sonification.

"Solar Heartbeat" starts with raw audio data. Alexander's filter is then slowly applied, so the low frequency hum of the solar rotation is more audible.

Alexander describes some of the solar events that create the sounds we hear in his work:

"There are a lot of things like solar flares or coronal mass ejections, and these things have the potential to knock out satellites and disrupt the power grid. And, so, when we think of the sun as a very dynamic and turbulent system, when we listen to the unfiltered and the raw data, that's what we're hearing. We're hearing the raw turbulence of the sun."

While the clip above depicts the filtered and unfiltered sounds of the sun, Alexander also uses his work to compose music.

One of his compositions uses different voices to depict the charged states of carbon.

"The charged states of carbon tell us something about the temperature and the energy coming off the sun," Alexander says. " So, it really lends itself to sonification. ... We're always going to have a sort of natural sense of balance between these voices."

Another of his compositions reflects a significant moment in solar history, known as the Halloween Storms of 2003, which NASA described as "some of the most powerful solar storms ever recorded."

"There's this really large increase in this sort of wind sound that I've generated, and also a swelling in the voices," Alexander says, describing how he transformed the storms into music. "We also get this sense of expanse and ... when we get this huge swell in the data is [when] the velocity of the solar winds jumps up. And we have this huge variance in so many of these variables."

You can hear the dynamic changes of the sun in Alexander's music, including this symphony, which he composed with elements of solar data.

The high bell tones represent solar eruptions.

Alexander says he hopes that translating the sound of the sun into audio can help us understand and better relate to the solar system around us.

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Metal Alloys Quiz

Most of the metals you encounter are alloys or a mixture of metals. Usually metals are alloyed to make a product with qualities superior to pure elements. For example, you may think it would be nice to use pure gold or silver as silverware, but these elements are very soft, easily bent, and easily scratched. Most silverware is the alloy stainless steel, because it is strong and easy to keep clean, or sometimes the alloy sterling silver, which is more durable than pure silver.

Although you use alloys every day, how much do you know about them? I've put together a little quiz to test your knowledge of various alloys. Let's see how much you know!

Try the Quiz | 10 Interesting Alloy Facts

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Valentine's Day Chemistry

Romance is all about chemistry, right? Valentine's Day is February 14th, so you've still got time to find a great gift for your sweetie and impress him or her with your holiday knowledge. Here's some Valentine's Day chemistry content to help you out: Vanishing Valentine Demo - Make a chemical solution go from blue to pink to clear. Hot and Cold Valentine - A chemical solution goes from colorless to hot pink! Crystal Heart - Grow a crystal heart as a decoration or gift. Gallium Beating Heart - It's like the mercury beating heart chemistry demo, except it's not toxic! How Mood Rings Work - Can a mood ring tell if you're feeling passion? Gifts Science Geeks Can Make - Hint: fizzy baths bombs tend to be a better gift for this particular holiday than glow-in-the-dark slime. Of course, colored fire is good for every holiday... Is There really a 'Chemistry of Love'? - If you don't know the answer, then this FAQ is for you. Make Colored Flowers - Flowers are a traditional Valentine's Day gift. You can color your flowers for your Valentine yourself. Make a Floral Preservative - Keep your Valentine's Day flowers beautiful longer. Actually, there are many easy recipes for making cut flower preservative. Paper Chromatography with Flower Petals - Unless you're giving silk flowers, they won't last forever, even if you use a floral preservative. If your Valentine is into chemistry, then include instructions for how to separate out plant pigments with your roses in addition to a sweet card. Make Perfume - Perfume is a romantic gift. If you apply your command of chemistry, you can make a signature scent, which is a personal and meaningful gift. Jacobson's Organ & the Sixth Sense - Do humans respond to pheromones? Chemistry of Diamond - Learn about the properties of this popular gift choice. Grow a Silver Crystal - Are you up for a challenge? A silver crystal dangling from a silver chain is a thing of beauty. It takes some time and skill to grow a large crystal, so if this is something that interests you, start growing your crystal early. Jewelry Chemistry - Learn about crystals, gems, and precious metals. Theobromine Chemistry - Chocolate is the 'food of the gods' (and well-liked by Valentine goddesses, too). if(zs>0){if(zSbL250)gEI("spacer").style.height=Math.floor(e[0].height/12)+17.5+'em';else{var zIClns=[];function walkup(e){if(e.className!='entry'){if(e.nodeName=='A'||e.style.styleFloat=='right'||e.style.cssFloat=='right'||e.align=='right'||e.align=='left'||e.className=='alignright'||e.className=='alignleft')zIClns.push(e);walkup(e.parentNode)}}walkup(e[0]);if(zIClns.length){node=zIClns[zIClns.length-1];var clone=node.cloneNode(true);node.parentNode.removeChild(node);getElementsByClassName("entry",gEI("articlebody"))[0].insertBefore(clone,gEI("spacer"))}}}};zSB(2);zSbL=0

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Broadway Motown musical features civil rights, love story

By Noreen O'Donnell

NEW YORK | Thu Feb 7, 2013 4:40pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. watched with approval on Thursday as the cast of upcoming Broadway show "Motown: The Musical" tore through the storied record label's hits at a 42nd Street rehearsal studio.

The show traces Gordy's rise from a struggling boxer and autoworker to a music mogul who made stars of Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5 and others.

"So many other people were telling the story in different ways who were never there and never understood it, just for the sake of exploitation," Gordy, 83, a producer of the show, told Reuters.

The media preview featured hits ranging from The Contours' "Do You Love Me" - sung as a segregated audience in Birmingham, Alabama, breaks through a rope to hear the group - to "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas.

Director Charles Randolph-Wright, who grew up in South Carolina in the 1960s, said Motown was in his DNA.

"Motown opened the emotional door to the civil rights movement," he told Reuters. "Motown is the thing that brought people together. We started dancing to the same music and listening to the same music."

Gordy's relationship with Ross - the couple had a daughter together - is shown beginning in Paris, to the hit "My Girl" by The Temptations.

"That's the love story in our show," Randolph-Wright said.

The musical begins previews on March 11 and officially opens on April 14. It features a book by Gordy and music and lyrics from the Motown catalog.

Although the show is from Gordy's perspective, it doesn't duck some of the criticism that surrounded him, especially in Motown's early days, Randolph-Wright said.

As Gordy explained: "At one time, people were feeling that how could a black kid from Detroit do a Motown without being a crook, without being in the Mafia, without being something bad, because it was such a big endeavor."

Gordy, the creator of what was once the largest black-owned business in the United States, was an inspiration to him, Randolph-Wright said.

"Berry Gordy was someone who had his own company, who literally changed the world with what he did," he said. "And to see that, it gave me and so many people like me - black, white, whatever color - that gift of possibility."

Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Gordy, said it was "hard to have a greater honor than having Berry Gordy respect you as an artist."

Valisia LeKae, who appeared in "The Book of Mormon," plays Ross. "It is the soundtrack of people's lives," LeKae said of the music. "I definitely expect people to sing along."

(Reporting By Noreen O'Donnell, editing by Jill Serjeant and Xavier Briand)

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Top 10 Tips To Pass a Chemistry Test

How do you pass a chemistry test? Of course, the most important step is to study for the test! Yet, you may have studied for a test, felt like you were going to ace it, and then gotten a big fat "F" on the returned exam. Okay, maybe it was just a "C" or a "D", but my point is: you didn't do as well as you thought you would. Do you know why? It likely had to do with the way you took the test. Chemistry tests usually a mixed bag of memorization, understanding the concepts, and working problems. It can greatly help your grade to go into the test with a test-taking strategy... Here's what you doif(zs>0){if(zSbL250)gEI("spacer").style.height=Math.floor(e[0].height/12)+17.5+'em';else{var zIClns=[];function walkup(e){if(e.className!='entry'){if(e.nodeName=='A'||e.style.styleFloat=='right'||e.style.cssFloat=='right'||e.align=='right'||e.align=='left'||e.className=='alignright'||e.className=='alignleft')zIClns.push(e);walkup(e.parentNode)}}walkup(e[0]);if(zIClns.length){node=zIClns[zIClns.length-1];var clone=node.cloneNode(true);node.parentNode.removeChild(node);getElementsByClassName("entry",gEI("articlebody"))[0].insertBefore(clone,gEI("spacer"))}}}};zSB(2);zSbL=0

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Conditions Allow For More Sustainable-Labeled Seafood

Capt. Gordon Botkin, aboard the Miss Delta in the Fraser River near Vancouver, is helping researchers study the sockeye salmon population. The MSC recently certified sockeye as "sustainable," even though scientists argue that their population is declining.

Brett Beadle for NPR Capt. Gordon Botkin, aboard the Miss Delta in the Fraser River near Vancouver, is helping researchers study the sockeye salmon population. The MSC recently certified sockeye as "sustainable," even though scientists argue that their population is declining.

Brett Beadle for NPR

Part two of a three-part series by Daniel Zwerdling and Margot Williams.

Next time you walk up to the seafood counter, look for products labeled with a blue fish, a check mark, and the words "Certified Sustainable Seafood MSC." Then ask yourself, "What does this label mean?"

The MSC — Marine Stewardship Council — says that the "sustainable" label means that fishermen caught the seafood with methods that don't deplete its supply, and help protect the environment in the waters where it was caught.

But many environmentalists who have studied the MSC system say that label is misleading. "We're not getting what we think we're getting," says Susanna Fuller, co-director of marine programs at Canada's Ecology Action Centre. She says the consumer, when purchasing seafood with the blue MSC label, is "not buying something that's sustainable now."

If the label were accurate, Fuller says, it would include what she says is troubling fine print: The MSC system has certified most fisheries with "conditions." Those conditions spell out that the fishermen will have to change the way they operate or study how their methods are affecting the environment — or both. But they have years to comply with those conditions after the fisheries have already been certified sustainable.

Gerry Leape, an oceans specialist who sits on the MSC's advisory Stakeholder Council on behalf of the Pew Charitable Trusts, says the MSC's policy is baffling. "It's misleading," he says, "to put a label of sustainability on a product where you still don't have the basic requirements."

Rupert Howes is CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council. He says that the MSC has set up its certification system to be as objective, scientific and independent as possible.

Courtesy of Marine Stewardship Council Rupert Howes is CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council. He says that the MSC has set up its certification system to be as objective, scientific and independent as possible.

Courtesy of Marine Stewardship Council

Representatives from major foundations and environmental groups have repeatedly asked the MSC's board of directors to change its label. As long ago as February 2004, more than two dozen representatives drafted a list of urgent reforms that they said the MSC needed to carry out to establish "credibility." One of those reforms says the "MSC should remove the word sustainable from its claim." Environmentalists have continued to pressure the MSC to label seafood with positive but vaguer terms — proclaiming, for example, that the products come from fisheries that are "well managed" or use "best practices."

But MSC executives have refused to change their label. Rupert Howes, the MSC's chief executive, says even though most fisheries have conditions, the sustainable label "means people can go on catching" that seafood knowing that "they can be confident they can continue doing that into the future, as will their children."

Howes says, "If I see that logo, I've got assurance that the seafood products or fish that I'm buying with that label has come from a well-managed sustainable fishery."

The debate swirling around the MSC and "sustainable" seafood echoes the debates about other industry programs that promise to protect the environment, from organic farming to energy-efficient appliances. Are the promises genuine or hype?

Since it was founded in 1997, the MSC has become the most influential organization in the world that tells consumers which seafood is supposed to be good or bad for the environment. Today, MSC-certified fisheries account for roughly 8 percent of the world's seafood catch, worth more than $3 billion, according to the MSC website.

Howes and the MSC's supporters say the organization has helped push fishing companies to use better, more ecologically sound methods. Many environmentalists and scientists agree that the MSC has made progress, but they say it's deceiving consumers into thinking that the choices they make at the market have a bigger impact than they really do. And consumers are often paying more when they make that choice. Industry executives say MSC-labeled seafood often costs more than other products.

Mike Donaldson takes scale samples from a sockeye salmon as part of research for the Pacific Salmon Commission. The commission is a joint body formed by the U.S. and Canadian governments to conserve, manage and encourage production of Pacific salmon.

Brett Beadle for NPR Mike Donaldson takes scale samples from a sockeye salmon as part of research for the Pacific Salmon Commission. The commission is a joint body formed by the U.S. and Canadian governments to conserve, manage and encourage production of Pacific salmon.

Brett Beadle for NPR

Case Study: The Fraser River Sockeye Salmon

To see how those perspectives clash, consider the battle over sockeye salmon from the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. The Fraser River is one of the world's most important sources of wild salmon — and sockeye are one of the most economically valuable species. Chefs love sockeye's texture and flavor. The fish generate thousands of jobs in the fishing and processing industries. They're a valuable export. And Fraser River sockeye are an important food and ceremonial symbol for Canada's First Nations, or native tribes.

So it was international news in late 2009 when government researchers reported that the Fraser's sockeye population had collapsed. Scientists predicted that almost 11 million sockeye would return from the ocean that year and fight their way back upstream to reproduce. Studies suggested that fewer than 2 million actually came back.

The population of Fraser River sockeye has zigzagged like an EKG since humans began keeping track, but their average productivity has steadily declined since the early 1990s. When the population went into free fall, Canada's leaders formed a commission to investigate.

Canadian officials appointed a Supreme Court judge, Bruce Cohen, to lead the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River. They gave him the power to subpoena documents and witnesses, and the power to compel them to testify under oath. By their own count, the commission staff would eventually end up calling 170 witnesses to testify during 133 days of hearings. They pored through thousands of pages of studies, reports and government documents — some of them previously secret.

So many researchers were stunned when the MSC made an announcement just after the Cohen commission started its investigation: The MSC would label sockeye from the Fraser River "certified sustainable seafood." Industry leaders said they needed the label to sell Canadian sockeye in Europe, where supermarket chains were demanding sustainable-labeled products.

"Here we are, seeing this precipitous decline in Fraser sockeye, and then this crash, absolute crash," says Craig Orr, executive director of Watershed Watch, a prominent Canadian conservation group. "And then you have [the MSC] coming in on behalf of the commercial fishing industry saying that the Fraser River sockeye industry is certifiably sustainable. You know, it just didn't seem to make sense."

Conditions Allow Sockeye Approval

A sockeye salmon that was caught from the research vessel Miss Delta off the coast of Vancouver is examined. The MSC has certified the fish as "sustainable" even though there is concern from scientists and environmentalists.

Brett Beadle for NPR A sockeye salmon that was caught from the research vessel Miss Delta off the coast of Vancouver is examined. The MSC has certified the fish as "sustainable" even though there is concern from scientists and environmentalists.

Brett Beadle for NPR

Orr says to see why it doesn't make sense, read the list of more than two dozen conditions that the Fraser River sockeye industry has to meet under the MSC's rules. Some of those conditions require the salmon industry and Canadian government's fisheries department to conduct basic research on sockeye salmon — research that critics say should have been done long ago.

For example, scientists say there are roughly 30 different kinds of sockeye, or stocks, caught in Canada's Fraser River. Studies show that while some appear to be in good shape, several species have been declining dramatically. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has "red listed" some of them because they are "threatened." Yet the certification team from the firm that evaluated the fishery for the MSC, Intertek Moody Marine, acknowledged that nobody had studied those salmon stocks enough to understand exactly how the industry is affecting them.

Many scientists and environmentalists argue that the MSC should require fisheries to gather crucial evidence and then apply for its label. Instead, the MSC will allow the fishing industry to certify Fraser River sockeye as sustainable for at least five years, while the industry and government gather that evidence — and meet other conditions.

Evidence suggests, however, that the fishing companies that catch sockeye have not been living up to their promises. Under the MSC's rules, every fishery that's certified must hire a commercial auditing company to check annually to see if it's meeting the conditions on time. After its 2012 audit of Fraser River sockeye, Intertek Moody reported that the fishing industry had failed to meet more than half of the 30-plus conditions attached to it. Yet MSC still allows the industry to label the sockeye sustainable.

Surveys of fisheries labeled "certified sustainable," including one conducted for the MSC, show that many fisheries fail to meet their conditions — at least not on schedule.

'Sustainable Word Is Fraught With Difficulty'

Take a look at scallops from eastern Canada, which were certified by the MSC system in 2010 — with conditions. The labels don't tell consumers that the fishing industry harvests most of those scallops by dredging, a method of dragging giant rakes across the ocean floor.

Some environmental groups argue that the MSC should flatly refuse to label any seafood sustainable if it is harvested with dredges. Studies show that using dredges can cause drastic changes in the ocean, disrupting the balance of species in the water and transforming the ocean floor.

MSC executives counter that some boats can dredge carefully, without causing serious damage. So they agreed to label Canadian scallops sustainable with conditions. The fishing companies will have to study how their use of dredges off Canada's coast impacts the environment.

Fuller says that's backward — like telling a child, "You've been really bad, but I'll give you a lollipop, and then I want you to show me how much better you can be," she says. "It just doesn't work, right? You've already got the lollipop."

"The sustainable word is fraught with difficulty, undoubtedly," says the MSC's Howes. "We keep coming back to the science." He adds, "Each unique fishery has been assessed by those scientists. It has met the [MSC] standard, and they have deemed the amount of data that is available is sufficient to enable them to make that decision."

And Howes says the system of granting conditions is one of the main strategies for protecting the oceans. By requiring fisheries to meet conditions, the MSC system is providing incentives for them to do better. Howes says "expectations of perfection" could obscure "the good that is undoubtedly happening."

Executives at supermarket chains that sell MSC-labeled seafood have been watching with a mixture of confidence and concern as controversies like these unfold. Carrie Brownstein, who oversees Whole Foods' seafood quality standards, says she is confident in the MSC system of evaluating and certifying fisheries.

"I don't think there's a program out there in the world, no matter whether they're working on seafood, or they're working on makeup or shampoo, that doesn't have some people that are extremely happy with what they do and some people that aren't," she says. "We watch the process, and we're trusting this process."

But Bob Fields, a senior buyer for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, says he and his colleagues have decided not to carry some products with the MSC label because environmental and other groups have convinced Wal-Mart they are fraught with potential problems. One of them is the so-called Chilean sea bass, or toothfish. Fields says Wal-Mart will "just back completely away," from MSC products on a case-by-case basis, if they're convinced it's too risky.

In late 2012, Canada's Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River released its final report, after a roughly two-year investigation. The commission concluded that there's no single cause that explains their "two-decade decline."

Instead, the commission concluded that "sockeye experience multiple stressors" that can damage their health and kill them — possibly including the boom in salmon farming along their migration route, climate change and pollution. And the commission warned that unless the government and industry follow its long list of recommendations, the plight of Fraser River sockeye could get worse.

Despite the report, the MSC still says sockeye salmon from the Fraser River are certified sustainable.

Researcher Barbara Van Woerkom contributed to this story.

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This App Uses The Power Of You To Report The Weather

This map shows data reported by users of the mPING app during Friday's blizzard in the Northeast.

The PING Project This map shows data reported by users of the mPING app during Friday's blizzard in the Northeast.

The PING Project

If you love to talk about the weather — or want to help collect information about it — a new smartphone app may be for you.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma are giving regular folks an opportunity to fiddle with weather reporting. Using crowdsourcing, the mobile Precipitation Identification Near the Ground app collects geographic, winter precipitation data from users. The mPING app also links to a map showing weather reports sent in by locals.

The data collected by the app will help weather officials program radar to determine exactly what's falling near you. For example, is it hail or mixed rain?

The free app is currently available for the iOS and Android operating systems.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma's new mPING app helps forecasters capture a better description of falling precipitation.

Screengrab of mPING The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma's new mPING app helps forecasters capture a better description of falling precipitation.

Screengrab of mPING

Users anonymously update reports by selecting a variation of winter weather between "none" and "graupel/snow grains,"* their GPS location is noted, and information is sent in to NOAA. (It can also be done through NOAA's website, but an extra step of figuring out your longitude and latitude has to be completed.)

"The purpose of PING is to give us ground observations of precipitation types that are not well observed from automatic systems," Kim Elmore, a science researcher working on the project, told All Things Considered. He says the gathered information will be used to build algorithms for newly upgraded radars.

The data can also help officials and the public prepare for severe weather, he says.

The PING project captures data from locals on its app or website. Users are able to choose from different types of precipitation.

Screengrab of mPING The PING project captures data from locals on its app or website. Users are able to choose from different types of precipitation.

Screengrab of mPING

"If we can better marshal our resources for dealing with it, then it may not cost quite so much and people may not be in quite such jeopardy," Elmore says. Throwing salt, buying sand, fixing wires and removing fallen trees can be constant expenses, he adds.

mPING is just the latest weather app to use crowdsourcing. Others include Weddar, which asks users to add a colorful description of the weather; and Metwit, a hyperlocal app that lets you pin photos to your weather reporting.

The app had a "soft launch" in December, but it has already become popular.

Elmore estimates about 20,000 people have downloaded the app and nearly 60,000 reports have been submitted. The project itself has been around since 2006, using different methods like cold-calling to verify falling precipitation.

Much of its popularity may come from the high level of interest in weather and science, Elmore says. The "real hook" is the data readily available for people to view on their phones.

So this app may not break the ice for your weather forecasting career, but it may someday help your local weatherman have an accurate picture of what's going on outside your window.

* In case you're wondering, NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory says graupel (aka soft hail or snow pellets) are "soft small pellets of ice created when supercooled water droplets coat a snowflake."

NPR Digital News intern Brian De Los Santos contributed to this report.

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