NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center has been using a process called “sonification” to convert data from telescopes into notes and sounds since 2020. The project’s goal is to make space noises playable. The data is translated into musical notes and sounds so that they can be heard rather than seen. 

For example, in one project, the velocity of each planet as it went around the sun was converted to different notes. Higher speeds corresponded to higher pitches, while slower velocities had lower pitches. 

NASA’s HARP team also developed an interactive tool that allows you to listen to the sounds of space. The tool speeds up the frequencies of the waves THEMIS measures so that they can be converted to sound waves.

Now a new collaboration is enabling actual data from NASA telescopes to be used as the basis for original music that can be played by humans. Since 2020, the “sonification” project at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center has translated the digital data taken by telescopes into notes and sounds

NASA has released an album called Universal Harmonies that features sounds from the universe. The album is part of NASA’s Sonification Project, which aims to make space data audible to visually impaired people. 

NASA has also released a video featuring the sounds of distant galaxies. 

NASA’s Sonification Project also creates symphonies from space data.

NASA’s “cosmic harmonies” are a series of sonifications that provide new ways to experience the universe.  The sonifications map different types of data sets from space telescopes to different types of sound.  For example, in a sonification of a white dwarf and red giant in orbit, the volume changes based on the brightness of the sources. The distance from the center determines the pitch, with higher notes being farther out. 

Here are some examples of how NASA maps different wavelengths to different tones: 

• Radio waves: Lowest tones 
• Visible data: Medium tones 
• X-rays: Highest tones 

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has sonified many objects

NASA’s sonification process involves: 

1. Capturing digital data from space telescopes 
2. Scanning across a three-tiered image 
3. Mapping each wavelength to a different range of audible tones 
4. Translating the data into frequencies that can be heard by the human ear 

NASA uses data from telescopes like the: 

• Chandra X-ray Observatory 
• Hubble Space Telescope 
• James Webb Space Telescope 

NASA also uses satellites as audio recorders to listen to the Sun’s electromagnetic symphony.

Here are some examples of sonification: 

• Geiger counter: Invented in 1908, this device uses a tube of low-pressure gas to detect particles. When a particle ionizes the gas, it produces a pulse of current that creates an audio click. The clicks represent the presence of radioactive material. 
• Clock: A clock ticks at one-second intervals. 
• Seismology: Researchers can listen to earthquakes. 
• Astronomy: NASA has used sonification for astronomical data. 
• Astronify: A tool developed by the Space Telescope Science Institute to sonify their Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). 

Some other applications of data sonification include: 

• Interpreting cluster analysis 
• Geoscience 
• Understanding what networks respond to 
• Understanding how a response varies with depth and feature index

Here are some places to download NASA space sounds: 

• Splice: A large library of space sounds, including rocket engine sounds 
• Videvo: Five royalty-free NASA sound effects in MP3 and WAV 
• Pixabay: Royalty-free sound effects 
• Storyblocks: 71 NASA royalty-free music and sound effects 

NASA also has audio and ringtones available for download

The sound of the universe is carried by gravitational waves.  These ripples in space-time were predicted by Albert Einstein. Gravitational waves sound like the hum of a large gathering.  The movement of massive objects, like colliding black holes, throughout the universe sets off this low pitch hum. 

The sound waves from the early universe are called baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs). These sound waves influenced the distribution of galaxies. Researchers have explored the imprint of these sound waves back to when the universe was three billion years old. 

NASA has also released a 34-second clip of the sound a black hole makes. NASA has said that the sound of the universe is the holy and eternal sound of sanatana Dharma OM or AUM

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