Back in July, James Webb Space Telescope’s first photos were released. And so far, we all know that they look absolutely stunning. But how do they sound? Yes, pictures can have a sound, and it’s all thanks to sonification. NASA turned Webb’s first photos into music, and here’s what it sounds when pictures “sing” to you.
Webb observed the atmospheric characteristics of the hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b. When it’s turned into sound, it reminds me of something you’d hear in Star Wars prequels.
Let’s move on to the Southern Ring Nebula. This is so spooky that I’ll probably have nightmares if I listen to it before bed:
Finally, the image of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula sounds more like something I’d like to listen to before bed. There are three of them: sonifying the sky, the “mountains,” and the stars. Too bad they’re so short, though, but play them on repeat and you’ve got yourself a beautiful space lullaby:
How do they do this, you may wonder? As I mentioned, NASA uses sonification, a process of translating data into sound. “The translation begins on the left side of the image and moves to the right,” NASA writes in a post, “with the sounds representing the position and brightness of the sources.” If you’d like to check out the whole playlist, you’ll find it here. [via Gizmodo]
