Description
What does a black hole sound like? Well, something like this. Yeah, that’s not terrifying at all, sounds like the stomach groans coming from a Taco Bell bathroom. But scientists at NASA were able to capture pressure waves coming from a supermassive black hole located in the center of the Perseus Galaxy Cluster, roughly 240 million light years from Earth. However, you’re probably wondering how sound is even possible since space is a vacuum. Well, typically these clusters consist of hundreds if not thousands of galaxies, and the large amount of hot gas between them acts as a medium for sound waves to travel through. This data then could be translated into notes, through a process known as sonification. But since these waves were too low in frequency for the human ear to register, as they are around 57 octaves below a middle C, it had to be pitched 144 quadrillion to 288 quadrillion times higher in order to be audible. And if you think that’s incredible, I made it through this entire short without making a Uranus joke.
SOURCE:
[1] By National Aeronautics and Space Administration - New NASA Black Hole Sonification with a Remix, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/new-nasa-black-hole-sonifications-with-a-remix.html
[2] By Marina Koren - The Spookiest Sound in Astronomy, https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/08/nasa-black-hole-sound-perseus-galaxy-cluster/671211/
[3] By Matthew Schuerman & Michael Radcliffe - What does a black hole sound like? NASA has an answer, https://www.npr.org/2022/05/28/1101763397/black-hole-sound-nasa
IMAGE:
[1] By NASA/CXC/Stanford/I. Zhuravleva et al - http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/14-296.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36450935
[2] By Anthony92931 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22501800
[3] By NASA/JPL-Caltech - http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_738.html (accessed January 15, 2007), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6865989
[4] By David Chifiriuc - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57810483
[5] By http://www.ForestWander.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 us, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21353851
[6] By Andy Weeks - Double Cluster in Perseus, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93362350
[7] By NASA/CXC/Stanford/I. Zhuravleva et al - http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/14-296.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36450935
[8] By Bowiewagen1979 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61005122
[9] By Genusfotografen (genusfotografen.se) & Wikimedia Sverige (wikimedia.se), CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83661793
[10] By ESO/L. Calçada - ESO website, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39626793
[11] By Giuseppe Donatiello from Oria (Brindisi), Italy - The Double Cluster in Perseus, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93603904
[12] By Kevin Gill from Los Angeles, CA, United States - Uranus - January 14 1986, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57203446
VIDEO:
[1] By CBS News - What do black holes sound like? NASA releases recording of black hole in distant galaxy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWBkZ3bMSV0
[2] By YourDankMemeDoner - Lady blowing up the target toilet, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M853jP4COIU
[3] By MuseScore, https://musescore.org/en