Solar Storm Hits Earth And Creates An Eerie Cosmic Audio Clip

Space is full of fascinating phenomena and is an area of science that constantly amazes. Adding to its collection of beautiful and weird galactic discoveries is a new audio clip from the European Space Agency of a solar flare from November 3, 2011, that caused a geomagnetic storm to rattle Earth and its magnetic field.
 
The magnetic field protecting Earth keeps us from radiation and charged particles from solar winds. However, this phenomenon also produces a bizarre audio that would make the hairs on your arms stand.
 
Have a listen for yourself here below.

The sound conjures up images of glaciers breaking off from their plateaus or large trees falling in a forest. These almost woody reverberations are underpinned by an electric cosmic chime that intermittently ripples through the audio clip. When thinking of magnetic fields and solar winds, it is hard to imagine them producing a noise anything as close to something as sturdy as wood, yet here we are.
 
The galactic recording was taken by three Swarm satellites that the ESA has stationed in space. Scientists from the Technical University of Denmark retrieved the data and turned it into a song from space.
 
According to Klaus Nielsen, “the team used data from ESA’s Swarm satellites, as well as other sources, and used these magnetic signals to manipulate and control a sonic representation of the core field. The project has certainly been a rewarding exercise in bringing art and science together.”
 
Previously, NASA released its recordings of what a black hole sounded like.  
 
So, if the five-minute SoundCloud clip wasn’t enough for you, and you happen to be in Copenhagen until the 30th of this month, the ESA will be blasting the cosmic audio at Solbjerg Square over some loudspeakers to give us Earthlings the full effect of the sounds of space.
 
 
 
[via Engadget and Hypebeast, cover image via European Space Agency]