Symphony of stars: NASA captures sound of space with the help of sonification

A new way has been discovered by scientists to tune in to the symphony of the cosmos. These harmonies, which are created by the planets in their orbits, have been theorised by the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras.

Scientists have used a technique known as sonification, which can translate data into sound, to assign musical notes to points of light which are present in the images captured by space telescopes, and making it possible for humans to experience the cosmos with our eyes as well as ears.

According to the experts, sonification will particularly help those with impaired vision as they will be able to appreciate the strange beauty of nebulae and galaxies in the universe.

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A team at the Harvard-based Chandra X-Ray Observatory, while using the X-ray and visual imagery captured by the space telescopes and NASA infrared, launched a programme for turning astronomical data into sound during the pandemic.

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Embedded musical notes, intriguing soundscapes

The team has been focused on printing and 3D modelling to produce tactile versions of space images for visually impaired and blind people. Since sonification is completely digital, it turned out to be a good way for keeping the project ongoing even during remote working.

A series of intriguing soundscapes have been created by the sonification process. Musicians and scientists have embedded musical notes in the images whose pitch can be tuned as per the light's wavelength or the volume which can reflect its brightness. The sound is then produced by a digital image scan.

One of the most stunning sonifications carried out is of the near-infrared image of gas clouds which looks like “Cosmic Cliffs” in the Carina Nebula. NASA’s James Webb Telescope captured it in the southern constellation of Carina (the Keel), which as per estimates is 7,500 light-years from Earth.

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Carina is one of the most unstable regions of the universe where stars die and take birth regularly. The sonification follows the “mountain range” in the image in gentle notes while using wind instruments, however, the brightest stars cause clangs and crashes from cymbals.

The images being used by scientists in sonification are the creation of scientific processes. The X-ray or infrared data cannot be seen by the human eye so it is routinely converted by scientists into space images through digital process.

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