What do galaxies sound like? Here's sonification of a ring-type galaxy dubbed Hoag's Object

Ever wondered what a beautiful galaxy like the one pictured above sounds like? NASA has shared the sonification of Hoag's Object, an unusual ring-type galaxy that spans about 100,000 light-years and lies about 600 million light-years away toward the constellation of the Snake (Serpens).

In this sonification of Hoag's Object, a clockwise radar scan transforms data in the image into sound. Bright light is represented with louder volume, and light farther from the center is higher-pitched.

Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: Ray A. Lucas (STScI/AURA); Sonification: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

Slightly larger than our home galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, Hoag's Object, was discovered in 1950 by astronomer Art Hoag. The blue ring is dominated by clusters of young, massive stars, while the yellow nucleus consists of mostly older stars. How the unusual galaxy formed, including its nearly perfectly round ring of stars and gas, remains unknown.

Galaxies are pretty to look at, but they can also be pretty to listen to – and scientifically valuable!In this sonification of Hoag's Object, bright light is represented as louder volume, and light farther from the center is higher: https://t.co/nY3Wo1e6bc#GalaxiesGalore pic.twitter.com/GesAR658K7

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) May 11, 2022

Our latest image sonification with @NASAHubble! Hoag's object is an unusually symmetrical ring galaxy and we don't know why or how it formed! https://t.co/K3EUuC7UtN

— SYSTEM Sounds (@system_sounds) May 11, 2022