The Sound of Space

The previously silent world of outer space is changing. In this
audio tour around the Universe, Dr Lucie Green explores the
sounds of space.


Some sounds have been recorded by microphones on-board
interplanetary spacecraft. Others have been detected by
telescopes and sped up until their frequency is tuned to our
ears. The rest are sonified X-rays, space plasma or radio waves
that reveal tantalising secrets about the universe that our eyes
cannot see.


Everyone can recall the sound of the singing comet - a symphony
created using measurements from the Rosetta mission. But many
other sounds have been created from space data, from lightning on
Jupiter to vibrations inside the Sun. From spinning pulsars to
black holes and gamma ray bursts, outside our Solar System space
becomes even stranger.


Joining Lucie Green on this sonic journey through space are: -
Prof Tim O'Brien (Associate Director of Jodrell Bank
Observatory), - Honor Harger (Executive Director of the
ArtScience museum in Singapore) and - Dr Andrew Pontzen
(Cosmology Research Group, University College London) with
archive from Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell.


Producer: Michelle Martin.