NASA shares sound created by butterfly nebula

Butterfly Nebula:

Data sonification is used to convert data into sound. It is equal to the technology which visualizes things from the data. NASA used this particular technology to help us listen to the nebula sound from space. The butterfly nebula also known as NGC 6302 lies within the milky way galaxy approximately 2,000 light-years away from our planet. It has two wings of gas heated to nearly 20,000 celsius. NASA took up this data sonification program recently to make the knowledge perceivable to all age groups.

NASA shared this sound on Instagram with the symphonic sounds of many instruments combined. The sound isn’t exactly what the nebula makes but it is close to it. The image of this butterfly nebula was also the most liked photograph on Instagram. The wings of the nebula stretch approximately to two light-years. Its sound travels all over space with a speed of around 9,66,000 km per hour. This star was first recorded on the Hubble telescope in 2009. It is located on the constellation Scorpius.

A Hubble telescope is a space telescope launched in low earth orbit in the 1990s and continues to function. It is not the first telescope to be launched but it is a versatile one with high functionality benefitting astronomy. A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Some nebulae are the formation of a dead star while some are just the beginning of a new star. They are made out, especially of hydrogen and helium. The dust and gas are spread out but gravity brings them together slowly. Nebulae exist between the stars. The closest nebula to the Earth is the Helix nebula. 

Krishna Amrutha

Content Writer (Erakina by RTMN)

17-11-2021