Listen to the sounds coming from this distant supergiant star

 

Sonification credits: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

NASA has released a captivating sonification of the star V838 Monocerotis, or V838 Mon, based on Hubble Space Telescope images taken several months apart. The sonification reveals a pulse of light from the central star illuminating clouds of dust and gas surrounding the supergiant star that lies approximately 20,000 light-years away, at the outer fringes of our Milky Way Galaxy.

V838 Mon suddenly brightened for several weeks in early 2002 and since then, his expanding illumination of a dusty cloud around the star, called a light echo, has been revealing remarkable structures. For a brief period, it became one of the brightest stars, 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun, in our entire galaxy, before fading away in April 2002.

Over the years, the Hubble Space Telescope has revisited V838 Mon's light echo several times, with each new observation offering a unique thin-section through the interstellar dust, unveiling previously unseen features and shedding light on the complex interplay between the star and its surroundings, according to NASA.

In this sonification, the astronomers translated the brightness of this celestial object into pitch and volume, creating an auditory representation of the star and its surroundings. Additionally, the surrounding stars were assigned musical notes to complement the sonification, further enhancing the cosmic symphony.

By meticulously studying the structure of V838 Mon, scientists aim to understand the distribution of dust particles revealed by the light echo. This information is crucial in understanding the underlying mechanisms that triggered the unprecedented outburst from the progenitor star. Unlocking the secrets behind this cosmic event could offer invaluable insights into the life cycles and behaviors of massive stars.

This isn't an expanding star: this is a light echo!In this time-lapse sonification, a pulse of light from the star V838 Monocerotis gives the illusion that the surrounding dust is expanding. In reality, it's just the light from the star's flash reaching dust farther away. pic.twitter.com/QVr4h2l80U

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) May 20, 2023