Hear galaxies and black holes translated into music from NASA data

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) On Wednesday released audio tracks that let us listen to ‘music’ comprise translated visual data into sounds.

The resulting ‘music’ gives people an entirely different way to experience a particular image, including observations of space from various missions like the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The latest installments in the series cover three particular space scenes. 

In the latest instalment in NASA’s data sonification series, observations by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes have been converted into sound, producing audio tapestries that complement the visual representations. 

The latest instalment incorporates three captivating vistas: the Chandra Deep Field South, the Cat’s Eye Nebula and Messier 51, the Whirlpool galaxy.

Chandra Deep Field South — a deep look into the southern hemisphere of the sky -- is on the lighter end of the sound spectrum. "This is the deepest image ever taken in X-rays, representing over seven million seconds of Chandra observing time," said NASA in a statement on Wednesday. 

"The wide range of musical frequencies represents the full range of X-ray frequencies collected by Chandra of this region," said NASA.

"To listen to these data, there is a radar-like scan that moves clockwise emanating from the center point to produce pitch," said NASA. "Light that is further from the center is heard as higher pitches while brighter light is louder."

(With inputs from agencies)