SYSTEM Sounds

We often collaborate with NASA to explore the universe through sound. Watch and listen below and check out a few more at NASA’s Explore – From Space to Sound. The full set of image sonifications for the Chandra X-Ray Center are available at A Universe of Sound.

LISTEN TO THE UNIVERSE'S PAST

We have produced a new set of image sonifications with the Chandra X-ray Center. This includes a symphonic update of one of Chandra’s most iconic images, Cas A, plus the Tarantula Nebula and a long-armed spiral galaxy. Visit Chandra to listen to the isolated layers.

NuSTAR/CHANDRA SONIFICATION

A new x-ray image sonification of the Crab Nebula, as captured by the NuSTAR and Chandra telescopes. Listen!

LISTEN TO THE UNIVERSE

We’ve produced a new set of multi-wavelength image sonifications for the Chandra X-ray Center. Visit Chandra to read about the images and listen to the isolated laters.

NASA DOCUMENTARY

NASA has produced a documentary on our sonification project with the Chandra X-ray Center featuring interviews with Matt, Andrew, Kim Arcand, and Christine Malec

GALAXY SONIFICATIONS FOR HUBBLE

We’ve sonified images of a 2 pairs of interacting galaxies for NASA – a new image of ARP 140 featuring the contrast of bright young blue stars with old redder ones and a tantalizing duo of spirals known as the Mice galaxies.

BLACK HOLE LIGHT ECHO SONIFICATION

Our newest image sonification for NASA of the light echo caused by the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. Read all about this discovery and listen to each layer of the image.

COSMIC HARMONIES

Listen to our newest set of image sonifications with the Chandra X-ray Center. This set includes R Aquarii, JWST’s view of Stephan’s quintet, and the striking Sombrero galaxy.

Logo for NASA's Space Jam that has a cartoon and scratching a cartoon record

NASA’S SPACE JAM!

We created a coding activity with NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Center that lets you make music with planets! Millions of students will use it to learn about coding as part of code.org’s Hour of Code. Have fun!

JWST SONIFICATIONS!

We worked with a team of scientists and a member of the blind community to create 3 new sonifications of James Webb Space Telescope imagery and data. Read all about it and listen to the isolated layers.

GALAXIES GALORE!

We converted 3 images of galaxies into sound for NASA’s Galaxies Galore! Listen to a dramatic spiral, a starburst galaxy, and a mysterious ring galaxy at Explore – From Space to Sound.

OUR BLACK HOLE

To help people who are blind experience the 1st image of our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, we worked with the Chandra X-Ray Center to create an audio version of the groundbreaking image. You can also listen to a wider multi-wavelength view.

BLACK HOLE SOUND WAVE

We extracted and the re-synthesized actual sound waves generated by a supermassive black hole for NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Center. It was featured in the New York Times, went viral on social media, and has over 1 million views on Youtube!

5000 EXOPLANETS

We now know of over 5000 other worlds and you can see and hear the discovery of each one in our new sonification video for NASA.

NEBULA NOVEMBER

We converted 3 stunning images of nebulae into sound for NASA’s Nebula November! They’ve also been sharing some of our older work which is available on Explore – From Space to Sound.

JINGLE, PLUCK, AND HUM

For our 4th set of image sonifications with NASA and the Chandra X-Ray Center we converted images of the Westerlund star forming region, the Tycho supernova remnant, and M87’s black hole outflows into sound! You can also listen to the isolated layers.

HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD

NASA asked us to sonify the iconic Hubble Ultra Deep Field and here it is! You hear a note for every galaxy as you move farther into the image, back in time over 13 billion years. The pitch of the note indicates the colour of the galaxy (redder is lower, bluer is higher) and the volume indicates the apparent size as viewed from Earth. It’s also featured in the latest episode of NASA’s Curious Universe along with more of our work.

STELLAR, GALACTIC, AND BLACK HOLE

We teamed up with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center for the 3rd time to translate light from deep field black holes, the Cat’s Eye nebula, and M51 – the Whirlpool galaxy into sound. Listen to the full set.

CALDWELL 73 SONIFICATION

To celebrate a new batch of stunning Hubble images, NASA asked us to create a festive sonification of the Caldwell 73 globular cluster. Happy holidays!

NEW COSMIC TRIAD OF SOUND

For the second part of our sonification series with NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Center we converted images of the Bullet Cluster, the Crab Nebula, and the aftermath of supernova SN1987A into sound. Listen to the full set!

SOUNDS FROM AROUND THE MILKY WAY

We worked with NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Center to listen to light received from the centre of our galaxy, a supernova remnant, and the iconic Pillars of Creation. Listen to the full set!

NASA'S VIEW OF EARTH, IN MUSIC

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, NASA asked us to convert their enormous collection of Earth science missions into sound. Click here to find out how we did it!

APOLLO 50TH ANNIVERSARY

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, NASA asked us to convey the legacy of the Apollo program through sound. Click here for details on how it works.

HUBBLE GALAXY CLUSTER

We worked with NASA to convert a stunning image of a massive galaxy cluster into sound. Time flows from left to right and the frequency of sound changes from bottom to top. Listen to hundreds of compact elliptical galaxies, many elongated spiral galaxies, and a few foreground stars. Click here to learn more!

FLARING BLAZAR

We recently worked with NASA to convert the gamma rays of a famous flaring blazar into sound. Higher energy rays are represented as higher pitched notes and visualized with larger circles. On July 12, 2018, astronomers announced the detection of a high-energy neutrino created by this blazar during the flaring event heard in the video. This is the first time we’ve been able to discover the source of high-energy neutrinos coming from outside our galaxy!