The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is considered the most advanced space telescope to date, launched by NASA on December 25, 2021. The telescope has been providing us with a lot of information and images from space and planets since its inception. The European Space Agency shared the first exoplanet photograph taken with James Webb the other day. It was also announced that the planet outside the Solar System is 6-8 times more massive than Jupiter.
As the James Webb Space Telescope continues its work, a new and rather interesting way of exploring images and data from the telescope has been found. A team of scientists, musicians and a visually impaired person turned the photographs taken with the space telescope into music.
The aim is to visualize different images in the mind of the listener.
NASA used a method called “sonification” to explore some of the images and data from the JWST with music. This method enables the sense of hearing to be activated by the effect of pressure emanating from a source and spreading in longitudinal waves in a certain environment. The method of converting images from JWST to music was led by Matt Russo, a professor of physics at the University of Toronto and also a musician.
Russo explained that their aim in this study was to make James Webb’s images and data intelligible with sound and to help listeners form their own images in their minds. Let’s listen to music created with images of the Carina Nebula, Southern Ring Nebula and gas giant exoplanet WASP-96b.
Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula
Experts mapped a near-infrared image of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula captured by NASA’s Webb Telescope into a symphony of sound. The musicians assigned unique notes to the translucent, hazy regions of the nebula and very dense fields of gas and dust, resulting in a humming soundscape.
The “Spooky” Southern Ring Nebula
Music made with stringed musical instruments may seem a little frightening to you. In this video, in which light frequencies are converted directly into sound frequencies, the near infrared light (left) has a loud sound at the beginning, while the sound decreases and the notes change as you move to the mid-infrared light (right).
WASP-96b’s data converted to music
The team turned not only the images into music, but also the data they obtained. The atmospheric data of the gas giant exoplanet WASP-96b has been turned into interesting music with effects such as descending tones and the sound of dripping water.
Close your eyes and listen to the music again. What do these notes and sounds mean to you? Do not forget to express your views in the comments.
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