Understanding Sound in Space (03:39)

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Astronomers theorize the popular belief that all sound is lost in the vacuum of space is untrue. Researcher Bruce Betts created the "Marsinator" that demonstrates what his voice would sound like on Mars. A panel of scientists, astronomers, and physicists created a list of the ultimate sounds of space.

Sounds of the Big Bang (09:20)

The audio afterglow can be "heard" through the glowing gases that were present at the time. An astronomer asks an organ player to emulate the chaotic sound scientists recorded of the afterglow. Cosmology is so advanced, it is possible to create a computerized replication of the young universe.

Astronomy and Computers (06:25)

The Deep Tone of Perseus is the sound made by a galaxy cluster whose center is a large black hole. Sound waves are pressure waves produced when air molecules collide rapidly.

Sounds of the Solar System (07:30)

Pulsars emit a variety of sounds, but all have repeating blips. Astronomers first thought the beat of stars were messages from extraterrestrials. The sun makes sounds through the convection process; satellites detect the wind-like sounds of Jupiter's Jovian Chorus and its Bow Shock.

Plasma Wave Data (09:05)

The Jovian Moons surrounding Jupiter emit strange sounds from charged particles created by the planet's magnetic field. The Cassini spacecraft detected the sounds of Saturn through a plasma wave instrument. The Planetary Society converts the sounds of Titan from staccato noise to something audible to humans.

Sounds of Human Life (06:06)

Astronomers recreated the descent of the Cassini-Huygens' microphone to the surface of Titan. Experts determined that echoes from Earth were the most alien sounds in the universe because they were created by living organisms.

Credits: Alien Sounds (00:42)

Credits: Alien Sounds