Space

Jupiter's Haunting Sounds Recorded By Juno Spacecraft While In Orbit (Video)

Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Oct 11, 2016 05:03 AM EDT

The University of Iowa instrument that was onboard the Juno spacecraft recorded haunting sounds from the emissions of Jupiter's auroras while it was in its full orbit around Jupiter. Juno was then traveling about 2,600 miles above Jupiter's swirling clouds.


According to Science Daily, the instrument was paying attention to Jupiter's auroras. It recorded the sounds, which were radio emissions cast by Jupiter's auroras and was dubbed as "Waves." Then, the UI engineers converted it into sound files.

Bill Kurth, the research scientist at the UI and co-investigator for Waves said that Jupiter is talking in a way only gas-giant worlds can. He further said that the waves identified the signature emissions of the energetic particles that generate the massive auroras that encircle the Jupiter's north pole. He added that the emissions are the strongest in the solar system and they are trying to find out where the electrons that are generating them come from.

NASA stated that the emissions from Jupiter were detected in the 1950s. On the other hand, it has never been examined from a close vantage point. The data was collected when the spacecraft orbited the gas giant planet on August 27, 2016.

In the video below, it shows the sounds from radio emissions in a format same as to a voiceprint. This indicates the intensity of the radio waves as a function of frequency and time. Those in warmer colors have the largest intensities. Meanwhile, the frequency range of the signal is from 7 to 140 kilohertz known as "kilometric emissions." Their wavelengths are about a kilometer long. The data has 13 hours' time span that begins shortly after Juno's closest approach to Jupiter, according to NASA.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

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