Webb Sonifications

Sound From The Planet

Regulations*

A sonification of data recorded by the Italian Spring Accelerometer (ISA) aboard the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter spacecraft during the flyby of Venus on 10 August 2021. The accelerometer data was converted to frequency to be made audible to the human ear. The audio clip represents a period of two hours, one hour either side of the close approach to Venus, which took place at 13:51:54 UTC at a distance of 552 km from the planet’s surface. The sounds reflect the rapid change in reaction wheel velocity as the spacecraft felt the gravity of the planet, and the huge changes in temperature in the spacecraft structure.

Read more: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Sights_and_sounds_of_a_Venus_flyby

Credit: ESA/BepiColombo/ISA/ASI-INAF, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Sound of a close Venus flyby

The joint ESA/Jaxa BepiColombo mission flew past Mercury for the first time on 1 October 2021, capturing data with the magnetometer onboard ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter. A sonification of the magnetic field data is presented here.  
 
Two synthesizers can be heard, which are controlled by three characteristics of the magnetic field. The first synthesizer's pitch represents the slowly changing magnitude of the background magnetic field. First the solar wind is heard, then the increase and decrease of the planetary magnetic field, and then the solar wind again. The lower the pitch, the more intense the magnetic field. 
 
The pitch of the second synthesizer is controlled by the variations of the magnetic field magnitude. A more turbulent magnetic field is represented by a faster change in pitch. The magnetosheath crossing after closest approach is very prominent. 
 
Using the amplitude envelope as a control for the volume of the second synthesizer emphasises the different magnetospheric regions.
 
Full story 
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/BepiColombo_s_first_tastes_of_Mercury_science

Credit: ESA/BepiColombo/MPO-MAG/IGEP-IWF-IC-ISAS

Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Sound of the solar wind at Mercury

A team of experts, including scientists and musicians, has created a new way to explore the images and data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The first two tracks map the prismatic landscapes of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula as well as two views of the Southern Ring Nebula. A third track plays the notes of a transmission spectrum, which graphs the atmospheric characteristics of hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b. All allow listeners to pick out key features and experience the data in a new way.

WASP 96b - Transmission Spectrum

Southern Ring Nebula - Mid-Infrared

Southern Ring Nebula — NIRCam

Southern Ring Nebula - Side By Side

Cosmic Cliffs — Stars

Cosmic Cliffs — Top

Cosmic Cliffs - Complete Sonification

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