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Abstract
From the cosmic background noise that proved the so-called Big Bang Theory in the 1960s, to more recent models using sound waves to explain solar activity, modern science agrees with ancient cosmology that the universe is far from silent. But, as most twenty-first-century space scientists will assert, there is no serious place for sound in the modern study of outer space. This dissertation demonstrates sound’s ability to simultaneously mediate and reinforce social and ontological boundaries within the network of ideas, values, individuals and institutions that produce information about the universe. I argue that the rejection of both sound and music from astronomy can be attributed to the discourse within space science communities that conflates ideas about music with ideas about sound, and to the increased use of music in the marketing and public relations initiatives of nationally funded science agencies. I also outline some of the politics by which sound, music, and listening define collective culture for communities of space scientists and contribute to the creation of scientific truth despite being considered essentially non-scientific.
