Star Sounds
Air Date: Week of March 29, 2024
Composite images and data from a series of infrared, optical, and X-ray instruments make up this view of Messier 74, a spiral galaxy also known as the “Phantom Galaxy”. (Photo: NASA, Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)
NASA turned infrared, optical, and x-ray data from space into sound in a process called “sonification,” so we can “hear” the gorgeous spiral galaxy known as the Phantom Galaxy. And within our own Milky Way galaxy is the Jellyfish Nebula, the remnant of an exploded star. Host Aynsley O’Neill walks us through these otherworldly sounds.
Transcript
O’NEILL: We leave you this week with sounds from deep space.
[SFX – Phantom Galaxy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dgle5maku8&t=8s]
O’NEILL: That’s the “Phantom Galaxy”, M74, which is a gorgeous spiral galaxy, just like our own Milky Way, that’s 32 million light-years away from Earth. What you’re hearing is infrared and optical data from the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes, plus x-rays from the Chandra observatory. NASA turned these signals into sound in a process called “sonification”, which creates an experience you don’t need to be a scientist to enjoy. So, what sounds like just the plucking of a harp actually represents stars and clusters.
[SFX – Jellyfish Nebula: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqBfQeJqkfU ]
O’NEILL: Much closer to home at just 5000 light-years away is the Jellyfish Nebula, the remnant of an exploded star, or supernova. The Jellyfish Nebula appears right next to the foot of Castor in the Gemini constellation, but you’ll need a powerful telescope to see it. This sonification also draws on x-ray data from Chandra, as well as radio data from the Very Large Array. The water-drop sounds represent background stars.
[SFX – Jellyfish Nebula: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqBfQeJqkfU ]
O’NEILL: You can find out more and see stunning images of the Phantom Galaxy and Jellyfish Nebula on the Living on Earth website, loe.org.
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