The human tolerance for sound is, on a galactic level, puny. Volcano eruptions, jackhammer-intensive construction work, My Bloody Valentine concerts these tinnitus-inducing phenomena are barely whispers besides the majestic, roiling bursts and collisions going on in outer space.
Of course, much of this activity is technically soundlessspaces atmosphere lacks the material that make sound waves possible. So, for Giz Asks, we asked experts in astronomy and astrophysics what the loudest sound would be, if sound as we understand it existed up there. As it turns out, it sometimes does and when it doesnt, we can sometimes convert the relevant emissions to a sound tolerable to our tiny, earthbound ears.
This article was originally published in January 2019.
National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Barbara
As far as Im aware, the Perseus galaxy cluster is the current record holder for the loudest sound discovered in the Universe. Generating sound requires two conditions. First, there must be a medium that the sound waves can travel through, like air or some other gas. Indeed, there is very hot gas that pervades the space between the thousands of galaxies that make up the Perseus galaxy cluster.
This gas shines as X-ray light that we can observe with X-ray telescopes in space, like the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The second condition for sound is a source to actually produce the sound waves. A powerful black hole is at the center of one of these galaxies that make up the Perseus galaxy cluster. Periodically, this black hole ejects an enormous amount of energy into the hot surrounding gas, which transports the energy as sound waves travelling out through the cluster like expanding bubbles.
What makes the sound loud is the ability of the gas to efficiently carry away the energy released by the black hole, which amounts to an energy comparable to 100 million exploding stars! Although this sound from the Perseus galaxy cluster is very loud that is, the amplitude of the sound waves is huge we couldnt actually hear it with our own ears. Thats because the sound corresponds to a B-flat some 57 octaves below middle-C on a piano.
That means it takes about 10 million years for one sound wave to pass by, which is quite a bit longer than youre likely to live even if you exercise regularly and eat healthy.
Astronomer and Professor at the UCO/Lick Observatory at the University of California Santa Cruz
Sound is really a form of energy transmittal, its vibration. The problem is the transmittal of that energy in the form of sound there is no sound in space. But energy gets transmitted in other ways a blast wave from an explosion, for instance. Gamma ray bursts are considered to be the most energetic events in the universetheyre not fully understood, but theyre almost certainly explosions of stars, and they release more energy in 10 seconds than the sun will in its entire ten billion year lifetime.
Professor, Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sheffield, whose research is focused on Solar, space and plasma physics, MHD waves, linear and non-linear waves
Sound cannot really travel. For sound you need some mediumlike gas, for instance, in the Earths atmosphere and in space that material is very, very rare maybe one atom per cubic kilometer, or less. But that doesnt mean that a big explosion couldnt generate acoustic waves.
Space is filled by plasma, which is the fourth state of matter, the others being (according to our current knowledge) the solid, the liquid and the gas. The universe itself is 99.9% in a plasma state. Its only on Earth that we havent got so much plasma.
In space, there is a magnetic field everywhere. The same is true of Earth, but we dont really feel it. In space, if the magnetic field is not very strong, and there is plasma under these circumstances, sound could propagate.
Stars are continuously bubbling, you could say, through a process called convection. That type of disturbance in the plasma state generates a lot of acoustic waves sound waves. The sun itself does this. Sometimes these acoustic periods can last for hours, sometimes just a few seconds. You could interpret these kinds of acoustic waves as very loud sounds.
The energies involved in the generation of these acoustic waves are billions of billions of billions of times the power of an atomic bomb. The explosions that produce these sounds are absolutely massive you cannot imagine.
Assistant Professor, Theoretical Astrophysics, Caltech
The loudest sound in the universe definitely comes from black hole mergers. In this case the sound comes out in gravitational waves and not ordinary sound waves. As long as the black holes are in the range of roughly 1-100 solar masses (which is the case for black hole mergers recently detected LIGO), the sound is indeed in the human hearing range! These mergers output something like 10^52 Watts of power.
Thats about a billion billion times the energy output of the Sun. If translated to the decibel Watt scale, that equates to something like 520 decibels. That doesnt sound too large but remember the decibel scale is logarithmic, so an increase by 10 decibels is a factor of ten in volume.
Donald Gurnett
Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, whose research is focused on experimental space plasma physics
This isnt a sound, its a radio emissionbut you could convert it to sound.
The signal came back to us as a waveform, and then on the ground we converted it to a sound that you can listen to, and it is very, very loud.
It is something called a heliospheric radio emission. There is a very special radio receiver on the Voyager that covers the frequency range from about 10 kilohertz to 50 kilohertz a very low frequency, well below a car radio, for instance. We detected an intense radio emission, produced out at the boundary between the solar wind (the wind that comes out from the sun, and flows at about a million miles per hour, expanding outward almost to infinity) and the interstellar plasma (called the heliopause) which eventually stops the solar wind.
So there were an intense series of explosions on the sunoften called solar flares in 1991. These sent a shockwave out through the solar system. We detected this shockwave with four spacecraft: Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11 and Voyagers 1 and 2. We also detected it when it went by the Earth. It was moving at 600-800 km per second several million miles an hour. I postulated that this radio emission was produced when the shockwave finally reached the the heliopause and ran into the interstellar plasma.
I think this is the most powerful radio emission weve ever detected. In 1995 I quoted the radiated power as 10^13 watts. As far as emissions detected anywhere near our solar system go, it is clearly one of the most intense.
Read this article:
Whats The Loudest Sound In The Universe? - Gizmodo Australia
- Rotational spectra of isotopic species of methyl cyanide, CH_3CN, in their ground vibrational states up to terahertz frequencies [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Cosmological parameter extraction and biases from type Ia supernova magnitude evolution [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Continuous monitoring of pulse period variations in Hercules X-1 using Swift/BAT [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Constraining the ortho-to-para ratio of H{_2} with anomalous H{_2}CO absorption [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- A photometric and spectroscopic study of the new dwarf spheroidal galaxy in Hercules - Metallicity, velocities, and a clean list of RGB members [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Luminosities and mass-loss rates of SMC and LMC AGB stars and red supergiants [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Electron beam – plasma system with the return current and directivity of its X-ray emission [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The propagation of the shock wave from a strong explosion in a plane-parallel stratified medium: the Kompaneets approximation [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Analysis of hydrogen-rich magnetic white dwarfs detected in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Letter: Centaurus A as TeV \gamma-ray and possible UHE cosmic-ray source [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Young pre-low-mass X-ray binaries in the propeller phase - Nature of the 6.7-h periodic X-ray source 1E 161348-5055 in RCW 103 [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Radiative rates and electron impact excitation rates for transitions in Cr VIII [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Solar granulation from photosphere to low chromosphere observed in Ba II 4554 Å line [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Does the HD 209458 planetary system pose a challenge to the stellar atmosphere models? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Effect of asymmetry of the radio source distribution on the apparent proper motion kinematic analysis [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Destriping CMB temperature and polarization maps [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs. II [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Precise data on Leonid fireballs from all-sky photographic records [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- An X-ray view of 82 LINERs with Chandra and XMM-Newton data [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Radio observations of ZwCl 2341.1+0000: a double radio relic cluster [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Candidate free-floating super-Jupiters in the young \sigma Orionis open cluster [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The metallicity gradient as a tracer of history and structure: the Magellanic Clouds and M33 galaxies [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- XMMSL1 J060636.2-694933: an XMM-Newton slew discovery and Swift/Magellan follow up of a new classical nova in the LMC [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The inner rim structures of protoplanetary discs [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The solar Ba{\sf II} 4554 Å line as a Doppler diagnostic: NLTE analysis in 3D hydrodynamical model [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Magnetic evolution of superactive regions - Complexity and potentially unstable magnetic discontinuities [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Low-mass protostars and dense cores in different evolutionary stages in IRAS 00213+6530 [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- PMAS optical integral field spectroscopy of luminous infrared galaxies - I. The atlas [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- First AGILE catalog of high-confidence gamma-ray sources [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Radiative hydrodynamics simulations of red supergiant stars - I. interpretation of interferometric observations [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs around A–F type stars - VII. \theta Cygni radial velocity variations: planets or stellar phenomenon? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Cosmic rays and the magnetic field in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253 - II. The magnetic field structure [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Physical structure and water line spectrum predictions of the intermediate mass protostar OMC2-FIR4 [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The bright galaxy population of five medium redshift clusters - II. Quantitative galaxy morphology [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dust in brown dwarfs and extra-solar planets - II. Cloud formation for cosmologically evolving abundances [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The quiet Sun magnetic field observed with ZIMPOL on THEMIS - I. The probability density function [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Complexity in the sunspot cycle [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Properties and nature of Be stars - 26. Long-term and orbital changes of \zeta Tauri [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The massive Wolf-Rayet binary LSS 1964 (=WR 29) - II. The V light curve [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Supernova progenitor stars in the initial range of 23 to 33 solar masses and their relation with the SNR Cassiopeia A [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram of Star Clusters [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Table of the 10 Brightest stars within 10 Parsecs of the Sun [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram of the Nearest Stars [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Magnitude and Color in Astronomy [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Stellar Types [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Brown Dwarfs [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Spotting the Minimum [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Structure and Evolution of Brown Dwarfs [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- No Bang from the Big Bang Machine [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Sizes of the Stars and the Planets [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- An Implausible Light Thrust [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- the Masses of Degenerate Objects [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Degeneracy Pressure [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Introduction to Degenerate Objects [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Radii of Degenerate Objects [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Inevitability of Black Holes [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Scientific Pig-Out [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Neutrino Cooling of Degenerate Dwarfs [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Neutrino Cooling of Neutron Stars [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Overview of Supernovae [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Energetics of Thermonuclear Supernovae [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Thermonuclear Supernovae [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Nuclear Reactions in Thermonuclear Supernovae [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Core-Collapse Supernovae [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Neutrinos and SN 1987A [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Revealing the sub-AU asymmetries of the inner dust rim in the disk around the Herbig Ae star R Coronae Austrinae [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Probing the dust properties of galaxies up to submillimetre wavelengths - I. The spectral energy distribution of dwarf galaxies using LABOCA [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- On the physical origin of the second solar spectrum of the Sc II line at 4247 Å [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- On detecting the large separation in the autocorrelation of stellar oscillation times series [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Imaging the spotty surface of Betelgeuse in the H band [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Chandra observation of Cepheus A: the diffuse emission of HH 168 resolved [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- A planetary eclipse map of CoRoT-2a - Comprehensive lightcurve modeling combining rotational-modulation and transits [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The chemical composition of carbon stars. The R-type stars [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Flow instabilities of magnetic flux tubes - IV. Flux storage in the solar overshoot region [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Fragmentation of a dynamically condensing radiative layer [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Temporal variations of the CaXIX spectra in solar flares [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Deuterium chemistry in the Orion Bar PDR - “Warm” chemistry starring CH_{2}D^+ [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Metal abundances in the cool cores of galaxy clusters [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The nature of the X-ray binary IGR J19294+1816 from INTEGRAL, RXTE, and Swift observations [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Relating basic properties of bright early-type dwarf galaxies to their location in Abell 901/902 [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]