NASA has somehow captured the soundwaves of a black hole that is 200 million light years away from us. And yes, they’ve published them. If you’ve ever been curious as to what these unfathomably powerful cosmic objects sound like, here’s your chance.
The NASA Exoplanets Twitter account posted a clip of the soundwaves, correcting the misconception that there is no sound in space (due to the fact that most of space is a vacuum). “A galaxy cluster has so much gas that we’ve picked up actual sound,” they wrote. “Here it’s amplified, and mixed with other data, to hear a black hole!”
NASA took these readings and amplified them by (checks notes) 144 quadrillion and 288 quadrillion times their original frequency. The result is a haunting, ambient sound that would fit perfectly into any horror movie. It would be awesome to hear producers sample this in a track.
You can check out the recording of the soundwaves below. Enjoy!
The misconception that there is no sound in space originates because most space is a ~vacuum, providing no way for sound waves to travel. A galaxy cluster has so much gas that we've picked up actual sound. Here it's amplified, and mixed with other data, to hear a black hole! pic.twitter.com/RobcZs7F9e
— NASA Exoplanets (@NASAExoplanets) August 21, 2022