A SONIFICATION OF THE ZCOSMOS GALAXY DATASET

Abstract

The sonification of scientific data is useful not only for the work of visually impaired scientists but also for having a feeling of the global behaviour of a set of data and has also an intrinsic artistic value. Here we present the sonification of the zCOSMOS spectroscopic survey aimed to study the evolution of galaxies within the last 6 billions years of the Universe's life. The goals of such an initiative are multiple: providing a sound-based description of the dataset in order to make hidden features emerge, hybridizing science with art in a cross-domain framework, and treating scientific data as cultural heritage to be preserved and enhanced, thus breaking down the barriers between scientists and the general audience.