Nova Zhang
Black holes are known for their immense gravitational pull, which is so strong that nothing can escape—but this is not entirely true. Some matter does escape, and it is this escaping matter that produces sound waves. In 2003, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered sound waves from a supermassive black hole in the Perseus galaxy cluster, located 250 million light years from Earth. These sound waves are not audible to humans as they are 57 to 59 octaves below middle C, but NASA has been able to convert these sound waves into a range that is audible to humans, producing a low-pitched groaning sound.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Do black holes make sound? | No, black holes do not make sound. |
| How is sound attributed to black holes? | Sound is attributed to black holes through sonification, which is the translation of astronomical data into sound. |
| Who developed the sonification process? | The sonification process was developed by NASA in collaboration with the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and the SYSTEMS Sound project. |
| What data is used for sonification? | Electromagnetic data, light data, and X-ray data are used for sonification. |
| What does a black hole sound like? | A black hole sounds like a low-pitched groaning, similar to a creaky heavy door being opened repeatedly, or a deep spectral moan. |
| Why is it important to sonify black hole data? | Sonification helps people with visual impairments access and interpret information about black holes and can lead to new discoveries and analysis techniques. |
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What You'll Learn
NASA's sonification project
NASA has been working on a sonification project, translating its space photography into sound. The project is aimed at helping people who are visually impaired experience outer space. Sonification is the process of translating data into sound. In the case of NASA's project, this involves converting pixels in images into sound.
The project has involved translating images of black holes into sound. In May 2022, NASA released a 35-second audio clip of a black hole in the Perseus Galaxy Cluster, located 240 million light-years away. The sound was created using electromagnetic data and was the first time in history that humans could hear what a black hole sounded like. The black hole produced a low-pitched groaning sound, as if a heavy door was being opened repeatedly.
The Perseus audio attempts to replicate the actual sound of a black hole. However, other sonifications are more creative interpretations of images. In these interpretations, each type of material, such as a gaseous cloud or a star, is assigned a different sound. Elements higher in the image sound higher in tone, and brighter spots are louder.
NASA has also released sonifications of other astronomical data, including the "Pillars of Creation" photograph from the Eagle Nebula in the Serpens constellation and the Mice Galaxies, located 300 million light-years away. These sonifications can be found on NASA's "'A Universe of Sound' website".
The collaboration behind the sonification project includes visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand, astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida.
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Sound waves in space
Sound waves are just waves of pressure travelling from one place to another in a medium. In perfect isolation, it would be impossible to hear a black hole as they are creatures of pure gravity. However, black holes are not in isolation. They are constantly surrounded by streams of matter, and that matter, as thin as it might be, can support sound waves.
In 2003, astronomers took extensive maps of the region around a supermassive black hole sitting 250 million light-years away. The gas was so hot that it glowed in X-ray radiation, and the astronomers noticed ripples and waves in the disk. These ripples are evidence of sound waves that have travelled hundreds of thousands of light-years away from the cluster's central black hole. The sound waves are caused by the jets of material shooting out from the black hole, creating pressure that generates sound waves.
While the black hole itself doesn't make the sounds, it does cause them. As gas funnels from the disk onto the black hole, it occasionally rams into itself, sending ripples of pressure waves reverberating outwards. If the black hole wasn't there at the centre to drive the whole thing like a drum, the pressure waves would cease, and the giant disk would fall silent.
NASA has released a 34-second clip of the sound a black hole makes. The sound is based on a supermassive black hole located at the centre of the Perseus galaxy cluster, about 250 million light-years from Earth. The clip was created as part of NASA's sonification project, which translates astronomical data into sound. While the sound waves are legitimate, they are on a timescale that is far beyond the limits of human hearing.
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Black holes and the no-hair theorem
The idea of black holes "having hair" is a metaphor for the characteristics they exhibit. The no-hair theorem, also known as the Black Hole Uniqueness Theorem, was formulated within the context of a four-dimensional spacetime, obeying the Einstein field equation of general relativity with a zero cosmological constant. The theorem states that all stationary black hole solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations of gravitation and electromagnetism in general relativity can be completely characterised by only three independent externally observable classical parameters: mass, angular momentum, and electric charge.
Other characteristics, such as geometry and magnetic moment, are uniquely determined by these three parameters. All other information about the matter that formed a black hole or is falling into it is permanently inaccessible to external observers after the black hole "settles down" by emitting gravitational and electromagnetic waves. This idea was expressed by physicist John Archibald Wheeler with the phrase, "black holes have no hair".
The no-hair theorem was originally formulated for black holes by Werner Israel in 1967, and the result was quickly generalised to the cases of charged or spinning black holes. There is still no rigorous mathematical proof of a general no-hair theorem, and mathematicians refer to it as the no-hair conjecture. Even in the case of gravity alone, the conjecture has only been partially resolved by results of Stephen Hawking, Brandon Carter, and David C.
In 2004, a counterexample to the theorem was discovered in spacetime dimensions higher than four, in the presence of non-abelian Yang-Mills fields, non-abelian Proca fields, some non-minimally coupled scalar fields, or skyrmions. These exceptions are often unstable solutions, and the "spirit" of the no-hair conjecture is maintained. It has been proposed that "hairy" black holes may be considered bound states of hairless black holes and solitons.
In recent years, NASA has been "sonifying" its famous photos of outer space to help people who are visually impaired. This involves taking data and extrapolating the information needed to convert it from light into sound. In 2022, NASA released a 35-second audio clip of a black hole in the Perseus Galaxy Cluster, some 240 million light-years away. The sound is a low-pitched groaning, as if a very creaky heavy door was being opened again and again. It is important to note that this is not the sound of the black hole itself, but rather an interpretation of the radiation and other matter surrounding it.
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The Perseus galaxy cluster
The galaxy NGC 1275 is located at the centre of the Perseus cluster, where the X-ray emission is brightest. In 2003, a team of astronomers led by Andrew Fabian at Cambridge University discovered one of the deepest notes ever detected after 53 hours of Chandra observations. This note, caused by the inflation of bubbles of relativistic plasma, is inaudible to humans as its time period between oscillations is 9.6 million years, which is 57 octaves below middle C.
In May 2022, NASA released a 35-second audio clip of the sound of the black hole at the centre of the Perseus galaxy cluster. This sonification was created using electromagnetic data gathered nearly 20 years ago by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The data was translated into sound as part of NASA's effort to make its space photography accessible to people who are blind or low-vision. The sonification of the Perseus black hole is a creative interpretation, with each type of material given a different sound and elements higher in the image sounding higher in tone, and brighter spots sounding louder.
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The Milky Way's supermassive black hole
In 2022, astronomers unveiled the first image of Sagittarius A*, marking the first direct visual evidence of the black hole. This image was produced by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, utilizing observations from radio telescopes worldwide. The image revealed a dark central region, known as the "shadow," surrounded by a bright ring-like structure. The mass of Sagittarius A* is estimated to be approximately 4.297±0.012 million solar masses, making it a comparatively small supermassive black hole.
The existence of a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy is a common feature, as indicated by observational evidence. The gravitational forces of these black holes play a significant role in shaping the formation and evolution of galaxies. The accretion of interstellar gas by supermassive black holes powers active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars.
While black holes themselves do not emit sound, the phenomenon surrounding them can be translated into sound through a process called "sonification." NASA has pioneered this technique, converting electromagnetic data from the Perseus Galaxy Cluster's black hole into sound. The result is a low-pitched groaning sound, resembling a creaky door. It's important to clarify that the sound is not the black hole itself but an interpretation of the radiation and surrounding matter.
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Frequently asked questions
Black holes themselves don't make sounds as they are creatures of pure gravity. However, they can generate sound waves in their environment.
Black holes are surrounded by streams of matter that support sound waves. As gas funnels from the disk onto the black hole, it occasionally rams into itself, sending ripples of pressure waves reverberating outwards. These pressure waves are also caused by the jets of material shooting out from the black hole.
No, humans cannot hear these sound waves as they are too deep. The black hole is in the key of B flat, but 57 octaves below the B flat next to middle C.
NASA used a process called sonification to translate the light and other data captured by telescopes into sound.
The sound waves could explain the presence of hot gas in galaxy clusters. They could also lead to new studies that will further our understanding of black holes.
