What use do most of us have with satellite data from the moon? We turn it into music, of course.

Moonbell is a free program that takes the topographic data of the moon and uses the geographical ups and downs to create music. The data is taken from a Japanese satellite orbiting the moon using a laser to map out the topography — the same satellite that's generating the images for Google Moon. The program turns the elevation profile of the orbit into a frequency plot. You can track a straight orbit, or just trace a line across the lunar surface to create your own astronomic masterpiece in the Free Scratch mode.

It's not just a monophonic melody; the harmonies are created by evaluating the area right around the track, and the bass line looks at a wider area around the orbital line.

Who knew the man in the moon was a musician?

Moonbell via Telegraph