As NASA's Juno space probe flew past Jupiter's moon Ganymede this summer, it captured data about the moon's magnetic and electric emissions. Now, researchers shifted the frequency of those radio waves into the audio range so we can hear Ganymede sing. Listen below.
"This soundtrack is just wild enough to make you feel as if you were riding along as Juno sails past Ganymede for the first time in more than two decades," says Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute. "If you listen closely, you can hear the abrupt change to higher frequencies around the midpoint of the recording, which represents entry into a different region in Ganymede's magnetosphere."
To collect the data, the researchers employed Juno's aptly-named Waves instrument which measures "radio and plasma waves in Jupiter's magnetosphere, helping us understand the interactions between the planet's magnetic field, atmosphere and magnetosphere."
I think NASA should sell the audio on Bandcamp as a a limited edition "experimental music" cassette. I joke, but I'd also almost certainly buy one.
"NASA's Juno Spacecraft 'Hears' Jupiter's Moon" (JPL)
