Experience the first full-color images and data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in a brand new way. NASA’s Webb Telescope uncovered two views of the Southern Ring Nebula, one in near-infrared light and one in mid-infrared light. The colors in the images were mapped to pitches of sound — frequencies of light converted directly to frequencies of sound — in a data sonification.

This video only includes sounds from the mid-infrared view. Mid-infrared light is represented by lower notes overall to reflect that mid-infrared includes longer wavelengths of light. There are two stars in the center of this planetary nebula. Listeners will hear a low note just before a higher note, which denotes that two stars were detected in mid-infrared light. The lower note represents the redder star that created this nebula, and the second is the star that appears brighter and larger.

Sonifications support blind and low-vision listeners first, but are designed to be captivating to anyone who tunes in. This sonification, which scans the images from left to right, was adapted to a video to allow sighted viewers to watch as a vertical line moves across the frame.

The sonification does not represent sounds recorded in space. Two musicians mapped the telescope’s data to sound, carefully composing music that represents near- and mid-infrared light, specifically to hear their contrasts. In a way, this sonification is like modern dance or an abstract painting – it converts two of Webb’s images into a new medium to engage and inspire listeners

свернуть