Now You Can Listen To This Star, Thanks To Data Sonification Treatment

Astronomy enthusiasts have long enjoyed stargazing, but in recent years, new technology has made it possible for us to hear the sounds of the stars. The science-art outreach project SYSTEM Sounds has sonified data for RS Puppis, a Cepheid variable star located approximately 6,500 light-years away, according to Sciencealert magazine.

The magazine also stated that they used a Hubble image of the star to translate the light into sound, assigning volume to the light's brightness and pitch to the direction from the image's centre.

According to NASA, RS Puppis is a gleaming star 200 times the size of our sun, wreathed in dust that reflects starlight. Located about 6,500 light-years away, this star rhythmically brightens and dims over a six-week cycle.

According to the space agency, scientists have created a new, joyful way to see RS Puppis by sonifying the data contained in the photograph. As the circle moves inward, points near the top of the circle are mapped to higher notes, and points near the bottom are mapped to lower notes. Pitch is allocated based on direction from the centre.

Sonification of RS Puppis:

Light toward the left is heard more in the left speaker, and light toward the right is heard more in the right speaker. Furthermore, the brightness of the image is associated with a higher volume.