Slow Radio

Original version

BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Disengage from the frenzied pace of modern life with this diverse selection of programmes. Tune in, drop out. It's time to go slow.

Slow Radio: A Sonic Journey across the Universe

A Sonic Journey across the Universe

BBC Radio 3 - Slow Radio, A Sonic Journey across the Universe

The sounds of the cosmos revealed by sonification of astronomical data.

An exploration of our musical cosmos, from Earth to the edge of the observable universe, created through sonification of astronomical data.

Sound can’t travel across the vacuum of space but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing out there to be heard. By converting light and other signals into sound through the process of sonification we can experience the beauty of the cosmos with our ears. This musical journey begins on Earth, looking up at the night sky, and then takes off to travel through the solar system and beyond, eventually reaching the edge of the observable universe. Throughout the journey you will hear the patterns, cycles, waves - and in some cases, even literal sound - of the vast universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

A variety of sonification techniques are used to create this cosmic soundscape. Radio and magnetic waves detected by satellites and space probes are converted into mysterious sweeping sounds that are reminiscent of sci-fi soundtracks. Literal sound waves rumbling through the sun are made audible by bringing their frequencies into the human hearing range, resulting in a deep meditative drone. The spiralling rhythms and subtle harmonies of planetary systems are realised by actual instruments after speeding up their motions by many times. Fluctuating light received from pulsating stars can be heard as rich, flickering tones and in some special cases, as rhythmic heart beats. Even telescopic images of distant galaxies can be converted into music by mapping visual properties to sonic qualities. At the farthest extreme, we can recreate the primordial sound waves that resonated shortly after the big bang to hear the descending hum of our expanding universe.

The universe is a very musical place; we just need to know how to listen.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Slow Radio

A Sonic Journey across the Universe

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3