What does a black hole sound like? NASA has an answer
For the first time in history, earthlings can hear what a black hole sounds like: a low-pitched groaning, as if a very creaky heavy door was being opened again and again.
NASA released a 35-second audio clip of the sound earlier this month using electromagnetic data picked from the Perseus Galaxy Cluster, some 240 million light-years away.
Sonification of the black hole at the center of the Perseus Galaxy Cluster.
NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida) YouTube
The data had been sitting around since it was gathered nearly 20 years ago by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The decision to turn it into sound came only recently, as part of NASA's effort over the past two years to translate its stunning space photography into something that could be appreciated by the ear.
"I started out the first 10 years of my career really paying attention to only the visual, and just realized that I had done a complete disservice to people who were either not visual learners or for people who are blind or low-vision," NASA visual scientist Kimberly Arcand told NPR in an interview with Weekend Edition.
While the Perseus audio tries to replicate what a black hole actually sounds like, Arcand's other "sonifications" are more or less creative renditions of images. In those imaginative interpretations, each type of material — gaseous cloud or star — gets a different sound; elements near the top of images sound higher in tone; brighter spots are louder.
For more examples of NASA's sonifications, go to the agency's Universe of Sound web page. Or read on to learn more from Arcand about the venture.
Interview Highlights
On how the black hole audio was made
What we're listening to is essentially a re-sonification, so a data sonification of an actual sound wave in this cluster of galaxies where there is this supermassive black hole at the core that's sort of burping and sending out all of these waves, if you will. And the scientists who originally studied the data were able to find out what the note is. And it was essentially a B-flat about 57 octaves below middle C. So we've taken that sound that the universe was singing and then just brought it back up into the range of human hearing — because we certainly can't hear 57 octaves below middle C.
Sonification of the galactic center of our home, the Milky Way.
NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida) YouTube
On sonifying an image of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy
So, we actually take the data and we extrapolate the information that we need. We really pay attention to the scientific story to make sure that conversion from light into sound is something that will make sense for people, particularly for people who are blind or low vision. So our Milky Way galaxy — that inner region — that is this really sort of energetic area where there's just a whole lot of frenetic activity taking place. But if we're looking at a different galaxy that perhaps is a little bit more calm, a little bit more restive at its core it could sound completely different.
Sonification of M16, The Eagle Nebula aka "Pillars of Creation."
NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida) YouTube
On the sonification of the "Pillars of Creation" photograph from the Eagle Nebula in the Serpens constellation:
This is like a baby stellar nursery. These tall columns of gas and dust where stars are forming and you're listening to the interplay between the X-ray information and the optical information and it's really trying to give you a bit of the text.
These soundscapes that are being created can really bring a bit of emotion to data that could seem pretty esoteric and abstract otherwise.
FAQs
This is because astronomers discovered that pressure waves sent out by the black hole caused ripples in the cluster's hot gas that could be translated into a note – one that humans cannot hear some 57 octaves below middle C. Now a new sonification brings more notes to this black hole sound machine.
What does black hole sound like? ›
And it was essentially a B-flat about 57 octaves below middle C. So we've taken that sound that the universe was singing and then just brought it back up into the range of human hearing — because we certainly can't hear 57 octaves below middle C.
What does NASA say about black holes? ›
A black hole is an astronomical object with a gravitational pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. A black hole's “surface,” called its event horizon, defines the boundary where the velocity needed to escape exceeds the speed of light, which is the speed limit of the cosmos.
What is a black hole answer key? ›
A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
Is NASA black hole sound real? ›
But where it does differ, is that usually NASA sonifies data in order to make it sound like something closer to traditional music (see, e.g. this one). By contrast, the black hole sound has been sonified based on the 'actual sound waves discovered in data' from Chandra. The music-like sonifications sound a bit silly.
Is NASA released black hole sound? ›
In 2003, astronomers discovered that the pressure waves sent out by this black hole cause ripples in the cluster's gas that can be translated into a note, albeit, one that humans cannot hear. But NASA has created a sonification of this sound and you can hear it below.
Can black holes harm us? ›
So, can this or any other black hole pose a threat to Earth? Not really. According to NASA, no black hole is close enough to be a danger to us. Plus, the sun is not massive enough to explode to form a black hole.
What is NASA for kids? ›
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is a U.S. government agency that is responsible for science and technology related to air and space. The Space Age started in 1957 with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik.
What's inside a black hole? ›
General relativity predicts that the very center of a black hole contains a point where matter is crushed to infinite density. It's the final destination for anything falling into the event horizon.
How loud is a black hole? ›
The sound produced by a black hole collision, if it were able to travel through a medium like air, would be deafening. The frequency of the gravitational waves generated by a black hole collision is so low that it falls outside the range of human hearing.
The possibility that a black hole could actually impact Earth may seem straight out of science fiction, but the reality is that microscopic primordial black holes could actually hit Earth. If one did, it wouldn't just impact like an asteroid, it'd pass straight through the entire Earth and exit the other side.
Can astronauts see black holes? ›
This includes light, the fastest thing in the universe. That's why we can't see black holes in space—they've gobbled up all the light. Though astronomers can't see black holes, they know they're there by the effect they have on objects that get too close. Two types of black holes exist.
Where do black holes take you? ›
When matter falls into or comes closer than the event horizon of a black hole, it becomes isolated from the rest of space-time. It can never leave that region. For all practical purposes the matter has disappeared from the universe.
What is black hole in 42? ›
If students do not put in enough effort into 42, or are lazy and immature, they will get caught at some point by this black hole. It just means they are tourists for us and need to leave their place for someone else. This ends their curriculum with no return possible.
Do white holes exist? ›
White holes are the opposite of black holes, in that they spit out light and matter, rather than trapping it. So far, white holes are purely hypothetical objects, but astronomers are contemplating how they could form in reality.
Is space completely silent? ›
Sound is carried by atoms and molecules. In space, with no atoms or molecules to carry a sound wave, there's no sound. There's nothing to get in sound's way out in space, but there's nothing to carry it, so it doesn't travel at all.
Are black holes loud or quiet? ›
The sound produced by a black hole collision, if it were able to travel through a medium like air, would be deafening. The frequency of the gravitational waves generated by a black hole collision is so low that it falls outside the range of human hearing.
What is the loudest thing in the universe? ›
One of the most powerful sounds in the universe is caused by black holes colliding. When two massive black holes merge, they produce a gravitational wave that can generate sound waves with intensities reaching up to 1100 decibels.
Can 1100 decibels create a black hole? ›
Converting the energy of 1,100 decibels to mass yields 1.113x1080 kg, meaning that the radius of the resulting black hole's event horizon would exceed the diameter of the known universe. Voila! No more universe.
