Sounds from Saturn

Very cool stuff. My brain immediately reverted back to images from Space 1999 !!!

Hi julie.

Fantastic, worth every penny spent on space exploration!!! But, what is causing the phenomonen of the sound eminating from Saturn? Could you please explain?

Spencer.

According to the explanation given on jpl's page, it seems to be caused by the auroras. The website explains that the radio emissions are very similar to those eminating from the Earth's auroras. The sound file was also compressed for time and shifted down into the audible range, so it's not really as "spooky" as it may seem. It is still really cool though!

If you enjoyed the sounds of Saturn's moons, you should also check out "Music from the Galaxies" by Italian astronomer Dr. Fiorella Terenzi. She used radio-telescope data from observations of galaxies, and applied the same technique as NASA -- compressing the time domain, then frequency-shifting into the audio range. Very eerie and complex. A few of the tracks incorporate acoustic instruments along with the space sounds, hence the word "music" in the title. But this doesn't work artistically. The galactic noise is just too chaotic and bizarre to use in combination with sweet "new-age" flute music. Still, I found the galactic noise interesting.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Galaxies-Dr-Fiorella-Terenzi/dp/B000001G0Y/ref=sr_1_15/002-4751356-9487268?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1194533430&sr=1-15

While searching Amazon.com to find the above link, I was surprised to stumble upon this gem. Yes, believe it or not, this is a real album!

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Spocks-Music-Outer-Space/dp/B0000014WR/ref=sr_1_6/002-4751356-9487268?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1194533138&sr=1-6