The space agency NASA provides new insights into space with the help of a newly released video. On the occasion of this year’s “Black Hole Week,” the astronomers are making the pressure waves emitted by a black hole audible — revealing eerie sounds.
It’s a common misconception that there are no sounds in space because most of space is a vacuum, giving sound waves no chance to propagate, the scientists explained via Twitter. However, a cluster of galaxies contains such large amounts of gas that noise can actually be absorbed – and this is exactly what the scientists have done.
Hot gas makes sounds audible
The black hole at the center of the Perseus cluster has been associated with sound since 2003. Astronomers found that the pressure waves emitted by the black hole in the cluster’s hot gas created waves that could be converted into sound.
However, this tone is not audible to humans as it is about 57 octaves below middle C. The scientists have now amplified the signals, mixed them with other data and now make the black hole audible.
In other words, the signals are heard 144 trillion or 288 trillion times higher than their original frequency. (A quadrillion equals 1,000,000,000,000,000,000) The radar-like scanning of the image makes it possible to hear waves radiating in different directions.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
