The Golden Oldies

{the golden record, now in space image credit via NASA}

Do you enjoy riding along with your parents or grandparents in the car and singing out loud to the music on the radio? Maybe you have a favorite CD you always bring with you or your own mp3 player or iPod. Did you know that before things like iPods and CDs, people listened to music on devices called records? A record is a large black disc with data-containing grooves which allow you to hear music when a needle is passed over them.

Scientists have used something called a golden record as a way to communicate if a spacecraft happened to encounter an intelligent life-form in space. In 1977, identical golden records were placed on the outside of the twin Voyager spacecraft before they launched into space. The 12-inch gold-plated copper disks contain sounds and images chosen to illustrate the diversity of life and culture on earth. The information put on the golden record was selected by a NASA committee and includes 115 images, natural sounds such as bird calls and other animal noises and 55 spoken language recordings.

The upper section of the record’s cover shows a diagram for how to play the recording. The lower left section depicts a map of how to get to our solar system as well as a picture of hydrogen atoms. According to NASA, this picture would help a smart alien figure out the proper playback speed and how to display the pictures on the record. The record would show what life was like on Earth in 1977, but a lot has changed since then.

If you were asked to help gather information for a new golden record, what do you think would be a good thing to include? Maybe a description of the internet or images of computers? What about pictures of your family or clips from your favorite movies or shows? How about an episode of Janet’s Planet?