The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space crafts are nearing interstellar space and can enter the realm between the stars any time now. They are around 15 billion kms from earth now. Both of them carry a gold LP record (gramophone record). The record contains sounds from the planet earth. Sounds of the earth, greetings in a host of languages and popular songs from around the world. This was added to the payload of the spacecrafts just in case intelligent life in the universe stumbles upon our space craft. From these gramophone records they will come to know about it's origins and get an small piece of the culture of the human race. Carl Sagan who was instrumental in this effort had to meet quite a few of bosses of the music industry to get copyright releases signed so that the music which they `owned` could be put on that greatest adventure mankind has ever taken up.
On a lighter note, I was reminded about the way in which the book `hitchhiker's guide to the universe` begins. A guy is protesting the demolition of his house to make way for a highway to connect two cities. The same afternoon his house is demolished, Earth gets a notice that it's inhabitants should move as Earth was going to be demolished to make way for an inter galactic highway! Are copyrights valid outside earth? Anybody can enlighten? Regards, Arun http://wondroussky.blogspot.in/ "கற்றது கைமண் அளவு, கல்லாதது உலகளவு" - ஔவையார் Known is a drop, Unknown is an ocean _______________________________________________ ILUGC Mailing List: http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc