NASA Unveils New Space Sounds From Black Holes Using Sonification

NASA has released three new space sounds linked to black holes. These audio clips, created using a method called sonification, translate data from space telescopes into sound, taking us closest to what black holes may sound like, as per NASA.

With the help of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), the US space agency presented three new space sounds.

Black holes are neither static nor monolithic. They change over time and can vary in size and the environments they're in. So, these sounds give us a glimpse of their dynamic nature.

The first sound that NASA created represents the potential birth of a black hole. WR124, a Wolf-Rayet, is a short-lived giant star located about 28,000 light-years away from Earth. The Webb telescope's infrared image captured the spectacular structures formed as these layers ejected.

The first sound of the outer layers is represented by flute music, and the background stars are heard as bells. At the centre of WR124, there's a hot core of the star that might explode into a supernova and then collapse, possibly forming a black hole. As the sound moves out from the centre outward, it changes X-ray signals from the Chandra Telescope into harp sounds.

According to NASA, initially, the star makes a scream-like sound and ends with string music.

The second movement of this black hole allows listeners to explore a duet of a binary star system called SS 433, which is located about 18,000 light years away. SS 433 consists of two members: a star similar to our Sun orbiting a considerably heavier companion, potentially a black hole or a neutron star, creating a kind of dance. 

The background for this cosmic waltz is created by combining these X-ray notes with radio and infrared data. The nebula in radio waves sounds like a drifting manatee. Water-drop sounds represent the background stars, and the pulsing sound matches the movement of the binary stars as they orbit each other.

The third and final part of the black hole music features a distant galaxy called Centaurus A, about 12 million light-years away from Earth. At the centre of this galaxy lies a massive black hole, sending a powerful jet across the entire galaxy.

Initially, the X-rays are turned into wind chimes, and as the sound flows continuously, it creates a wind-like noise. The visible light from the galaxy's stars turns into the sounds of a string instrument, representing the stars in the foreground and background.

The Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) led this sonification, with assistance from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the agency's Universe of Learning initiative, which is a component of the NASA Science Activation program.