Science

Listen: 9 incredible sounds from space

You won’t believe your ears!

by Jennifer Walter
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Psyklon via Giphy

If you were floating through the vastness of space right now, you wouldn’t be able to hear anything.

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That’s because the sounds we hear on Earth are simply the product of vibrating air molecules.

Since space has no air, there’s no noise.

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But some spacecraft have the ability to capture electromagnetic waves.

Researchers back on Earth can convert these frequencies into sound waves to help them learn more about the Solar System’s movements.

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Here are 9 incredible sounds from the universe:

9. Solar Buzz

The Sun’s vibrations create an ethereal humming sound, as processed by researchers at the Stanford Experimental Physics Lab.

NASA via Giphy
8. Wind Near Mercury

The European Space Agency’s BepiColombo spacecraft flew by Mercury in October, and captured this “sound” of solar wind and Mercury’s magnetic field.

ESA via Giphy
7. Drumming on Earth

When zapped with electromagnetic energy from the Sun, the Earth’s magnetic field vibrates like a drum, as captured by NASA’s THEMIS mission.

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6. Jungle of noise

This chaotic symphony of radio waves in Earth’s atmosphere was captured by NASA’s Van Allen Probes.

NASA via Giphy
5. Marsquake!

NASA’s InSight lander detected a seismic event on Mars in 2019 — likely a Marsquake. Here’s what it sounds like:

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4. Noisy Poles

Saturn’s powerful auroras — much like the Northern and Southern lights we have on Earth — emit a lot of radio waves. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured the planet’s epic roar.

3. Shock waves

The “sound” of a lightning storm on Jupiter was captured during NASA’s Voyager mission.

NASA via Giphy
2. Far Far Away

The light waves from a distant star, KIC7671081B, captured by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, create a strange, synth-like sound.

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1. Just passing through

While whizzing past comet Tempel 1, NASA’s Stardust probe picked up some crunchy-sounding waves.

NASA via Giphy

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