Sound of the universe

A former member of Irish punk-folk band The Pogues is composing a piece of music using the Jodrell Bank Observatory's Lovell radio telescope as an instrument.

The signals picked up by the Manchester University telescope will be turned into sounds for a semi-improvised musical performance by multi-instrumentalist and former Pogue Jem Finer and renowned artist Ansuman Biswas. Astronomers have been recording the noises of the universe and e-mailing them to the composers.

The musical performance will be a highlight of Jodrell Bank's First Light festival, running August 3-5. The event marks the Lovell telescope's golden jubilee.