Astronomical data from Chandra X-ray and other telescopes has been converted to sound.

The Chandra Deep Field is an image of a region of space imaged by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, It is an incredibly deep image that contains an area equivalent to about 5,000 full moons. In the central region of this image, there is an incredible concentration of supermassive black holes. These black holes are among the most massive objects in the universe, and their presence indicates how much matter is present in this region of space. It is thought that these objects could be the result of the merging of galaxies and their stars, which could explain why there are so many black holes in such a small area. The Chandra Deep Field provides an incredible insight into what lies beyond our universe, and it is a testament to the power of modern astronomy.

By using the data collected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, astronomers have been able to create stunning videos and sonic representations of the universe. These videos contain sounds derived from the astronomical data, allowing viewers to explore the cosmos in an entirely new way.

At first glance, this image may appear to be a view of stars but is actually a representation of black holes and galaxies. When sound is added, the data can be heard as musical notes representing the full range of X-ray frequencies collected by chandra X-ray. This offers an incredibly unique and beautiful way to experience the cosmos and explore these mysteries of the universe in an interesting and dynamic way. It’s a powerful and captivating way to take in the vastness of space and to appreciate the beauty that lies within it.

The Chandra Deep Field video features a beautiful static image of colorful stars in a night sky. However, what appear to be stars are actually galaxies, or black holes, from the Chandra Deep Field South. As the video plays, a thin, horizontal line made up of reds, yellows, greens, and purples slowly scrolls across the image from the bottom to the top,When it encounters a dot, a spike appears in the line and a sound is played. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has enabled to use X-rays to create an audio representation of the universe. By using X-ray frequencies to assign colors to the dots on the horizontal line, we can create a spectrum of audio tones, with red representing lower frequencies and purple representing higher frequencies. This allows us to listen to the universe in stereo as the tones move along the line according to their position. It’s amazing to consider that this is all made possible by the data collected by Chandra.

The Cat’s Eye video features a beautiful image of a nebula, the Cat’s Eye nebula, surrounded by concentric circles. This nebula is a huge cloud of gas and dust expelled by a dying star, with the concentric bubbles representing the expelled material from the star over time. It resembles a pastry, with a golden yellow point at the upper right and lower left, and a blob of bright purple jelly inside the bulbous pale blue core. The jelly-like center represents X-ray data from Chandra, whereas the outer cloud and translucent circles represent visible light data from the Hubble Space Telescope. As the video unfolds, a white line radiates from the center of the nebula, scanning it in a circular motion, like a radar or clock’s second hand. The richer the sound, the further it extends into the nebula. Light that is nearer to the core has a lower pitch than those far away, with X-rays producing a harsher sound than visible light. The concentric circles create an ongoing hum, with short breaks of sound from data spokes. Other videos showcase Cat’s Eye images and audio from distinct X-ray and optical data sets. All in all, this video offers an in-depth depiction of a nebula’s beauty through sound and vision.

The Messier 51 video captures the spectacular beauty of the Whirlpool Galaxy in a unique way. It features a static, composite image of the M51 galaxy, with its veiny red arms spiraling toward a bright white dot at its centre. Surrounding these arms are translucent purple clouds and white and purple dots. As a straight white line emanates from the core and scans the image in a circle, different wavelengths of light (infrared, optical, ultraviolet and X-ray) are assigned to different frequency ranges. This creates an entrancing audio-visual experience, with the pitch rising as the spiral arms extend away from the core, and brief bursts of sound when the scanning arm passes by one of the compact sources of light within the galaxy. The additional videos feature the same radial scans for each wavelength frequency range, allowing viewers to explore this remarkable celestial object in further detail.