Supernovas release violent energies into the universe, and for over 25 years, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been mapping these extreme objects and their role in shaping our cosmos. Supernova Symphony is an unfolding project showing the many wonders of the universe uncovered by Chandra.

The Crab Nebula was first detected in 1054 by Chinese astronomers who spotted a bright "guest star", and we now know that this was the cataclysmic supernova explosion which created the Crab Nebula. The nebula continues to expand and dissipate to this day, and has left a bright X-Ray signature showing clouds of gas and metals reaching out into the cosmos. In time, they will form new stars and new planets. All the gold and silver on Earth formed at the heart of exploding stars.

At the core of the nebula is an incredibly dense object called a pulsar: the remnant of the exploded star shrunk into a ball of pure neutrons. The pulsar is rapidly spinning at 30.2 rotations per second, with a rhythm so precise it can be used to make detailed measurements of other processes in the universe like gravitational waves. At the beginning of the piece, we hear the pulsar's light transformed into a sound wave of 30 Hz - a deep B flat - which is accompanied by pulsing melodies from the ensemble. Later, we wander in a meandering disk-shaped melody around the pulsar's ring, intermittently blasted by jets of plasma launched into interstellar space. The clarinet explores the delicate shells of expanding metals and gas. Over time, we become entranced and overwhelmed by the rhythmic energies of the pulsar system.