How NASA "Hears" the Solar System
Because space is a near-vacuum, traditional acoustic sound waves cannot travel. Instead, spacecraft like Voyager, Cassini, and Juno record electromagnetic plasma waves and radio emissions that are shifted into the human audible range (20 Hz – 20 kHz).
Planetary Electromagnetic Emission Frequencies
Jupiter Kilometric Radiation (KOM)
10 kHz – 1 MHzRecorded by the Juno Waves instrument. Driven by electrons spiraling along magnetic field lines between Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io.
Hear Jupiter in 3D Space Studio →Saturn Kilometric Radiation (SKR)
100 kHz – 1.3 MHzCaptured by the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument. Eerie rising and falling glissandos linked to Saturn's polar auroras.
Hear Saturn Radio Waves →Earth Magnetosphere "Chorus" Waves
500 Hz – 5 kHzRecorded by the Van Allen Probes in the radiation belts. Sound like birds chirping at dawn due to whistler-mode electron cyclotron resonance.
Hear Earth Chorus Waves →Pulsar Fast Spin Acoustics
1.4 Hz – 716 HzNeutron stars spinning hundreds of times per second. Highly regular radio beam sweeps create rhythmic mechanical percussion.
Open Pulsar Observatory →