NASA’s clip features an eerie sound that illustrates sound waves emanating from the “monster heart” of the Perseus galaxy cluster.
The website Science Alert recently published a chilling clip provided by NASA, showcasing a mesmerizing cosmic object producing a roar reminiscent of a monster.
It is a supermassive black hole – commonly referred to as a monster black hole – located at the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster, also known as the Perseus constellation, because from Earth, the galaxies in the cluster appear like stars.
The cosmic monster in the Perseus galaxy cluster roars – (Clip: NASA).
In 2003, astronomers made a truly remarkable discovery: Sound waves propagating through the massive gas surrounding this black hole, which had previously been famous for its strange “whispers.”
In reality, the human ear cannot perceive these sound waves in the way we hear them in NASA’s clip, but the U.S. space agency has raised the pitch by several octaves to make it audible.
The frequency of the sound released by NASA is also heightened by 144 to 288 trillion times its original pitch.
The sound waves actually include the lowest note in the universe that humans have ever detected, which is, of course, significantly lower than the human hearing range.
Monster black hole in the Perseus galaxy cluster – (Photo: NASA).
Additionally, NASA added some notes from individual sounds emitted by the black hole to complete the “haunting melody” that is truly propagating through intergalactic space.
Sound waves traveling through the environment inside the galaxy cluster help heat that very environment, as they transfer energy through plasma.
Since temperature plays a crucial role in star formation, sound waves could be significant in the long-term evolution of galaxy clusters.
This temperature also allows us to detect sound waves. Because the environment within the cluster is extremely hot, it emits brilliant X-rays, which NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured.
