Blazars are galaxies whose central supermassive black hole, weighing millions to billions of times our Sun’s mass, blasts a particle jet almost directly toward us at nearly the speed of light.

This track sonifies a decade of gamma rays from the blazar TXS 0506+056 detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope between August 2008 and May 2018. The percussive sounds match the energy of the detected gamma rays. Unprecedented flaring activity began in April 2017 and continued for months. On Sept. 22, 2017, an observatory at the South Pole detected a high-energy neutrino thought to have originated from the blazar. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration., Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida/SYSTEM Sounds

Blazar Flare Sonification

The core of our Milky Way galaxy is densely packed with gas, dust, stars, and stellar remnants, but its centerpiece is a monster black hole with a mass of 4 million Suns called Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A-star”).

This sonification tracks an image of the galactic center captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in X-ray, optical, and infrared light, respectively. A different instrument represents each observatory, with a xylophone for Chandra, a violin for Hubble and a soft piano for Spitzer. The translation begins on the left side of the image and moves to the right, with sounds representing the positions and brightness of the sources. The light of objects located toward the top of the image have higher pitch, while the intensity of the light controls the volume. Stars and compact sources emerge as individual notes, while extended clouds of gas and dust produce an evolving drone. A crescendo happens in the brightest region of the image, where the supermassive black hole resides. The Hubble image outlines energetic regions where stars are being born, while Spitzer’s infrared data show glowing clouds of dust containing complex structures. X-rays from Chandra reveal gas heated to millions of degrees from stellar explosions and outflows from Sagittarius A*. 

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScI; IR: Spitzer NASA/JPL-Caltech; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/Kimberly Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (Matt Russo, Andrew Santaguida)

Galactic Center Sonification

The core of our Milky Way galaxy is densely packed with gas, dust, stars, and stellar remnants, but its centerpiece is a monster black hole with a mass of 4 million Suns called Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A-star”). This sonification tracks an image of the galactic center captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in optical light.

The translation begins on the left side of the image and moves to the right, with sounds representing the positions and brightness of the sources. The light of objects located toward the top of the image take on higher pitches, while their brightness controls the volume. Hubble’s view of the galactic center outlines energetic regions where stars are being born. 

Credit: Optical: NASA/STScI; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/Kimberly Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (Matt Russo, Andrew Santaguida)

Galactic Center Optical Light Sonification

Messier 51 (M51) is perhaps better known by its nickname, the Whirlpool Galaxy, because its face-on orientation to us highlights its winding spiral arms. This gives our telescopes a different perspective on a spiral galaxy similar to our Milky Way, whose structure we cannot observe directly since we’re inside it. The sonification tracks along a line emanating from the galaxy's core to the edge of the image and scanning clockwise. The light encountered by this line has been mapped to the notes of a melodic minor scale. The sequence represents infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. 

At this wavelength, the spiral arms are prominent, so the pitch creeps upward as the spiral extends farther from the core. The bright core, which harbors a supermassive black hole, produces a constant low hum punctuated by short sounds from compact bright sources within the galaxy. 

Credit: IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Univ. of AZ/R. Kennicutt; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/Kimberly Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (Matt Russo, Andrew Santaguida)

M51 Infrared Sonification

Messier 51 (M51) is perhaps better known by its nickname, the Whirlpool Galaxy, because its face-on orientation to us highlights its winding spiral arms. This gives our telescopes a different perspective on a spiral galaxy similar to our Milky Way, whose structure we cannot observe directly since we’re inside it. The sonification tracks along a line emanating from the galaxy's core to the edge of the image and scanning clockwise. The light encountered by this line has been mapped to the notes of a melodic minor scale. The sequence represents ultraviolet data from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer. 

The bright core, which harbors a supermassive black hole, produces a constant low hum punctuated by short sounds from compact bright sources within the galaxy. 

Credit: UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/Kimberly Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (Matt Russo, Andrew Santaguida)

M51 Ultraviolet Sonification

Listen to the rhythms of the pulsating red giant star called 74 Draconis based on brightness measurements from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Just below the surfaces of these stars, hot gas rises, cools, and then sinks, where it heats up again, much like a pan of boiling water on a hot stove. This motion produces waves of changing pressure – sound waves. The interaction of these waves results in orderly motion called standing waves that create measurable changes in the star’s brightness. Larger stars produce longer oscillations and thus have deeper tones. To produce audible tones, astronomers multiplied its oscillation frequency by 3 million times. (Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (USRA), M. Hon et al., 2021)

Red Giant Star 74 Draconis Pulsation

Listen to the rhythms of the pulsating red giant star called Edasich based on brightness measurements from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Just below the surfaces of these stars, hot gas rises, cools, and then sinks, where it heats up again, much like a pan of boiling water on a hot stove. This motion produces waves of changing pressure – sound waves. The interaction of these waves results in orderly motion called standing waves that create measurable changes in the star’s brightness. Larger stars produce longer oscillations and thus have deeper tones. To produce audible tones, astronomers multiplied its oscillation frequency by 3 million times. (Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (USRA), M. Hon et al., 2021)

Red Giant Star Edasich Pulsations

Planck Sounds Of The Ancient Universe

InSight Lander Martian Quake Sol 235

Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, M. Russo & A. Santaguida

Chandra X-ray Observatory: Cassiopeia A, Silicon

Chandra X-ray Observatory: Cassiopeia A Blast Wave High Energy

Hello, we’re NASA. You may have seen our astronauts, rocket launches, or Mars rovers — but have you heard our sounds? From interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.

M51 Infrared Sonification

NASA

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