If you’re an auditory rather than visual learner, this video of researchers converting solar flares into sounds is perfect for you.
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a audio-visual representation of solar activity from the last three years, using data collected by the Solar Orbiter probe, which it manages together with NASA.
How does three years of solar flares sound? In the video, we can see blue circles appearing on the surface of the Sun, each accompanied by a specific auditory tone. As time progresses to the present, the frequency of the blue circles and their associated sounds increases.
Researchers have converted solar flares into sounds
To create the video, ESA combined images captured by two of the Solar Orbiter’s instruments: the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI). STIX recorded the location and size of the X-rays emitted by the solar flares, now represented by the blue circles, while the EUI images show the sun’s outer atmosphere, represented in yellow.
Watch here:
Source: YouTube
The increase in the frequency and size of solar flares reflects the Sun’s progress toward solar maximum, the peak of activity in its 11-year cycle. According to NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), we are now at solar maximum. (This makes next year ideal for viewing the northern lights.)
The approaching and receding movements visible in the video are due to the elliptical orbit of the Solar Orbiter. Every six months, the spacecraft approaches the Sun. This movement is represented both visually in the video and aurally: the background noise increases as the probe approaches the sun and becomes quieter as it moves away, explains Space.com.
Sonification was done by Klaus Nielsen (DTU Space/Maple Pools).
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Source: www.descopera.ro
