NASA releases sonification of NGC 1569: Listen to the sounds of this nearby galaxy

NASA has released a sonification - the translation of astronomical data into sound - of NGC 1569, a nearby dwarf galaxy known for creating stars at a rate 100 times faster than the rate observed in our home galaxy - the Milky Way.

In this Hubble image of NGC 1569, scientists represented data with sound to create a sonification with a bottom to top scan. Each of the three color channels used in this image has been given its own pitch range, with red representing lower pitches, green in medium pitches, and blue in high pitches.

Listen to the audio below:

Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA); Sonification: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

Welcome to one of the most active galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood, NGC 1569!Scientists represented data in this Hubble image with sound to create a sonification with a bottom to top scan. Brighter light is higher pitched & louder: https://t.co/9C3Xgvkif0#GalaxiesGalore pic.twitter.com/xkWgiWDtji

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) May 16, 2022

Located about eleven million light-years away in the constellation of Camelopardalis, NGC 1569 is home to three giant star clusters, each containing more than a million stars. According to NASA, these clusters reside within a large cavity of gas carved out by multiple supernovae, the energetic remnants of massive stars.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this image showcasing the brilliant core of NGC 1569 in 2008. Astronomers suspect that the IC 342 cosmic congregation is responsible for the star-forming frenzy observed in NGC 1569.