The number of known exoplanets officially passed 5,000 on Monday, with NASA confirming the discovery of 65 new worlds. Do you want to hear what that…sounds like?
Created by Toronto-based musicians Andrew Santaguida and Matt Russo of SYSTEM Sounds, in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the above video is a soundscape created using NASA data of each time an exoplanet — other celestial bodies orbiting other suns, like the planets in our own solar system — was discovered.
It shows the scale of the discovery of worlds beyond our own system with a stunning piece of music. It’s beautiful to hear, with a note every time a new exoplanet has been found.
“As each exoplanet is discovered, a circle appears at its position in the sky,” according to NASA. “The size of the circle indicates the relative size of the planet’s orbit and the color indicates which planet detection method was used to discover it.
“The music is created by playing a note for each newly discovered world. The pitch of the note indicates the relative orbital period of the planet. Planets that take a longer time to orbit their stars are heard as lower notes, while planets that orbit more quickly are heard as higher notes.”
