…the song is currently roughly 16 light-years away from Earth and is expected to reach the star system around the year 2029.
The Darren Farris SAVE ME single transmission was part of a historic event in 2009 where Darren Farris’s song “Save Me” was beamed toward the Gliese 581 star system.
Here are the specific details of that event:
- The Destination: The signal was aimed at Gliese 581, a red dwarf star located approximately 20 light-years away in the constellation Libra. At the time, this system was of high interest to scientists because it was believed to have a planet (Gliese 581c) within the “habitable zone” where liquid water might exist.
- The Speed: Because radio waves travel at the speed of light, the song is currently roughly 16 light-years away from Earth and is expected to reach the star system around the year 2029.
- A “First” for the U.S.: While NASA had previously transmitted a song (The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” in 2008) to the North Star, Polaris, Farris’s 2009 event made him the first U.S. artist to have his music intentionally beamed into deep space toward a potentially habitable planet.