NASA has released some remarkable and rather eerie sound renderings of images taken from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
The process is called sonification - it translates data into sound. Scientific data is collected by Chandra and other space telescopes as digital signals that are usually turned into the stunning 'photographs' we've all got used to enjoying back here on Earth. Sonification takes that information and maps it into sound.
According to NASA, the sonification scans data from one side to the other and each wavelength is mapped out to a different range of tones that our ears can hear. The light of objects is pitched higher and the intensity of the light controls the volume. Radio waves are given the lowest tones, the medium tones are visible data, and the X-rays have the highest tones.
Here are the three sonifications that NASA has just released.
The Cosmic Hand: The first sonification is of MSH 11-52. This is a supernova remnant that is releasing a large cloud of energized particles that looks somewhat like a human hand. It’s estimated that light from this supernova reached Earth roughly 1,700 years ago.
The Phantom Galaxy: This sonification features M74, which is a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way. It is about 3.2 million light-years away from earth in the constellation Pisces. Spiral galaxies like these typically have a rotating disc with spiral ‘arms’ that curve out from a dense central region.
The Jellyfish Nebula: This is IC 443, nicknamed the Jellyfish Nebula. The nebula is about 5,000 light years away and is the expanding debris cloud from a very large star that exploded. The light from this supernova reached planet Earth more than 30,000 years ago.
Today's Articles
Dinosaur Footprints: Could a family's evening stroll along an English beach get any more exciting than this?
Top Performers: Trio of last week's most popular articles, plus the most watched (hilarious) mood boosting video.