NASA’s black hole recording sounds like something out of a horror movie | Listen

NASA has released the haunting audio clip of a black hole at the center of a galaxy cluster more than 200 million light years away – and listeners on Earth couldn’t help but note how eerie it sounds.

The recording is created from the soundwaves of a black hole at the centre of Perseus galaxy cluster. According to NASA, it is a common misconception that there is no sound in space. Most of space is vaccum, so there is no way for sound waves to travel – but the Perseus galaxy cluster is surrounded by thick gases that rippled when the black hole sent out pressure waves.

“In this sonification of Perseus, the sound waves astronomers previously identified were extracted and made audible for the first time. The sound waves were extracted outward from the center,” NASA said while sharing the audio clip.

The sound has been edited and amplified so that it is audible to the human ear - NASA said it scaled the sound up 57 and 58 octaves above their original pitch so humans could ‘hear’ a black hole.
On Twitter, where the recording has collected a staggering 12 million views, listeners compared the noise to horror movie theme songs and the wailing of ghosts. Similarly, on YouTube, where the data sonification was first released in May, users were quick to note how spooky it sounded.

“Sounds like a background music of a scariest horror movie,” wrote one person. “Great, just what I needed, existential dread! Thanks, NASA!” another joked, while a third described the sound as terrifying.