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A famous quote says that if you are brave enough to shoot for the sky and miss, you’ll at least end up among the stars. Famed physicist Stephen Hawking, who passed away back in March at 76-years old, spent his entire tumultuous life trying to teach people about space. Now, a small part of him will forever remain up there. On Friday, his ashes will be interred between the graves of Sir Isaac newton and Charles Darwin in a ceremony which will take place at Westminster Abbey. At the same time, a huge antenna in Spain will beam his voice into space, somewhere near a black hole.
The person responsible for this incredible idea is Greek composer Vangelis, whom you may have heard of. One of his most famous hits is called Chariots of Fire. He composed an original piece of music as a tribute for the great Stephen Hawking and set his voice to it. According to a statement from Hawking’s family, who are very excited about this idea, the piece of music is meant as a message of peace and hope. It seems that the melody is six-and-a-half minutes long and features a voice over from Hawking towards the middle. It is a somber piece, but it perfectly translates the situation that humanity is in right now.
The voice of Stephen Hawking will land in space
This is the memorial stone which will be placed on top of #StephenHawking‘s grave. Incised in the stone is Hawking’s most famous equation describing the entropy of a black hole. pic.twitter.com/ClBhsXucVm
— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) June 15, 2018
The antenna that scientists are going to use for this project is called Cebreros and it’s located in central Spain. It will send the recording towards the nearest black hole that we know, called 1A 0620-00. It is about 3,500 light years away from Earth.
The music will arrive into space in about 35 minutes. When the ceremony ends, the piece will be played for the people in attendance, at a reception. Apart from this, everyone present will get a CD with it, which will also be release publicly at a later date.
Image source: wikimedia
