NASA Converts James Webb Telescope Images to Sound; listen!

After being satisfied with the first color infrared images and recordings sent by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the aerospace agency is now making it available sound adaptation of images. Scientists, musicians, and a member of the blind and visually impaired community turned Webb’s data into sounds through a process known as sonification.

Of course, the resulting traces not real sounds recorded in space, but the musical compositions were made by musician and professor of physics at the University of Toronto (Canada) Matt Russo and collaborator Andrew Santaguida. Sonifications are abstract pieces that try to faithfully represent the mapped details of Webb’s visual information.

Under the premise that music can touch people’s emotional centers, Russo explains, “Our goal is to make Webb’s images and data intelligible with sound – to help listeners create their own mental images.”

How does sonification convert image to sound?

Sonification begins by sweeping the image from left to right. When it comes to the so-called “Cosmic Abyss” image of the Carina Nebula, the soundtrack is lively and full. The brighter the vertical light, the louder the sound.. Darker, earthy areas are translated to lower frequencies and lighter notes.

The Ring Nebula is shown above in two images, one in the near-infrared from NIRCam (left) and the other in the mid-infrared from MIRI. The light on the left is first represented by higher frequencies, then the notes change and become lower in the mid-infrared.

The above image shows the atmospheric features of the gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b, showing signs of open water. Here, the four water signs are represented by the sound of falling water drops. However, the voices align to the highest data points.