Dear New Media Curating,

Please find below an invitation to the opening of the installation of r a d
i o q u a l i a's "Radio Astronomy" installation at ISEA2004:
http://www.radio-astronomy.net/isea_pr/

The sound installation and radio broadcast launch today - Friday 13 August
- at the URSA Observatory in Helsinki, Finland.

If you are already in Helsinki for ISEA, please feel free to join us for
the opening celebration at 1900 this evening.

The theme of the opening is 'the stars & the ocean'.
Guests are encouraged to bring a clear or a blue drink to toast the sea and
the stars.

We hope this is of interest to some of you and you'll be able to join us
for the celebration.
Sincere apologies for cross-posting!

Very best wishes

Honor Harger & Adam Hyde


r a d i o q u a l i a

http://www.radio-astronomy.net



r a d i o q u a l i a invite to join us for the opening of:

..........................................................

RADIO ASTRONOMY: AT ISEA2004, HELSINKI, FINLAND

Dates: 13.08.04 - 22.08.04

Opening Time: 1900 on 13.08.04

Location:  URSA Observatory, Kaivopuisto park, Helsinki, Finland

On-air: ÄÄNIRADIO 103.1FM

On-line: http://www.radio-astronomy.net

..........................................................


BALTIC SEA OBSERVATORY BECOMES VENUE FOR THE SOUNDS OF SPACE

A new exhibition of sounds received by radio telescopes is launching at the
ISEA2004 festival this Friday.
Radio Astronomy is an art and science project, which will broadcast sounds
intercepted from space, live on the internet and on the airwaves.  The
project is a collaboration between the art group r a d i o q u a l i a, and
radio telescopes located throughout the world. Together they are creating
'radio astronomy' in the literal sense - a radio station devoted to
broadcasting audio from our cosmos.

On 02 September 2004 the Radio Astronomy radio station will begin to
broadcast live on the internet.  Before the live broadcast starts, a
special exhibition is being staged at the ISEA2004 festival in Helsinki.
Listeners will be able to encounter the sounds of space in two ways:

- by visiting a sound installation at the URSA Observatory
- by tuning into 103.1FM from midnight till dawn each night

The radio transmission and exhibition are comprised of the acoustic output
of radio telescopes. Listeners tuning in may hear the planet Jupiter and
its interaction with its moons, radiation from the Sun, activity from
far-off pulsars, or other astronomical phenomena.

Many of these sounds are fascinating from both an aesthetic and conceptual
perspective, prompting comparisons with avant-garde electronic music.  Yet
very few people have heard these sounds, considering space to be silent,
rather than the rich acoustic environment it turns out to be. Radio
Astronomy intends to share these sounds with visitors to the ISEA2004
festival and.


ISEA2004

The Radio Astronomy installation and FM broadcast will launch at the
ISEA2004 festival on 13.08.04
In mid August, the Baltic Sea becomes the center of electronic music, new
media art and digital design.  ISEA2004 <http://www.isea2004.net> is the
12th Symposium on Electronic Arts.  Exhibitions, performances, conferences
and concerts will transform venues across Helsinki in Finland, Tallinn in
Estonia, and the luxury Silja Opera ferry, into vibrant expressions of new
media culture.

At ISEA2004, the Radio Astronomy sound installation is being exhibited at
the picturesque URSA observatory in Kaivopuisto park, Helsinki:
http://www.radio-astronomy.net/isea_pr/images/URS_sml.jpg

The URSA dome overlooks the glittering Baltic Sea, and has a stunning view
of both the stars and the ocean at night.  The Radio Astronomy installation
will be open during evening hours, allowing visitors to not only view the
night sky, but listen to it.  Radiation from the Sun, the planet Jupiter,
and other astronomical phenomena will be audible inside the URSA dome,
providing a captivating soundtrack to the starry night sky.


ON-AIR IN HELSINKI

Radio Astronomy will also be accessible to residents of Helsinki using
standard transistor radios.  ÄÄNIRADIO <http://aura.siba.fi/aaniradio/> is
a temporary radio station broadcasting in Helsinki on 103.1FM.  From
midnight to dawn each night, Radio Astronomy will be broadcast on
ÄÄNIRADIO.  The extraterrestial signals emanated by the Sun, Jupiter and
other astronomical phenomena will be broadcast alongside the more prosaic
sounds of commercial music and news reports.  Some radio listeners may
encounter the celestial transmission by chance, while tuning through the
radio spectrum, looking for their favourite radio station.


BROADCASTING SOUNDS FROM SPACE

r a d i o q u a l i a think of large radio telescopes such as the Ventspils
International Radio Astronomy Centre, Latvia
<http://www.radioqualia.net/documentation/spacelab/dish.jpg> as radio
receivers.  Unlike normal transistor radios, these receivers are listening
to signals being transmitted from planets and stars.

Radio Astronomy connects broadcast radio - the transmission of audible
information - and the science of radio astronomy - the observation and
analysis of radiation from astrophysical objects. The signals from planets
and stars are converted into sound and then broadcast on-line and on-air.
r a d i o q u a l i a's project is intended a literal interpretation of the
term, "radio astronomy" - it is a radio station broadcasting audio from
space.



VENUE AND OPENING HOURS

URSA Observatory
Address: Kaivopuisto Park, Helsinki.
Directions: Tram line 3T (direction Eira) from Rautatieasema to Eiran
sairaala (Eira Hospital, Tehtaankatu 30). From there, change to tram 3T
(direction Töölö/Eläintarha), from the Eiran sairaala stop to Kaivopuisto
(Tehtaankatu 2). Circa 0,4 km walk to the Kaivopuisto Park.

Opening Hours:
14.08.04 - 22.08.04
1730 - 2030 each evening

or

By appointment: telephone: Adam Hyde on + 358 40 8761932



CREDITS

Radio Astronomy is a collaboration between r a d i o q u a l i a, the
Windward Community College Radio Observatory in Hawaii, USA; NASA's Radio
Jove network; and the Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre in
Latvia.

Radio Astronomy is supported by the Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art,
Science, and Technology <http://www.fondation-langlois.org/>

Radio Astronomy at ISEA2004 is realised with the support of the Helsinki
International Artist-in-residence Programme <http://www.kaapeli.fi/hiap/> &
ÄÄNIRADIO <http://aura.siba.fi/aaniradio/>
Thanks to:  Dino Karlis, Sophea Lerner, Amanda McDonald Crowley, Hanna
Harris, the ISEA2004 team  & Dick Flagg.


CONTACT INFORMATION

r a d i o q u a l i a
PH: + 358408761932
Email: adam @xs4all.nl   or   [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.radioqualia.net

*

ISEA2004
Email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.isea2004.net

*

URSA Astronomical association
PH:  +358505211543
Email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.ursa.fi/