Earth’s magnetic field protects us from cosmic radiation and charged particles.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a spooky, crackling audio which reveals how the Earth’s magnetic field sounds like. The magnetic field isn’t something we can actually see, but is a complex and dynamic bubble that keeps us safe from cosmic radiation and charged particles carried by powerful winds (called solar flares) flowing from the Sun.
As per ESA, researchers from the Technical University of Denmark took magnetic signals, measured by the space agency’s Swarm satellite mission dedicated to surveying the magnetic field, and converted them to sound. The results, according to them, are pretty scary.
The five-minute audio includes eerie creaks, crackling sounds and deep-breathing sounds.
Listen to the audio here:
Musician and project supporter Klaus Nielsen, from the Technical University of Denmark, said, “The team used data from ESA’s Swarm satellites, as well as other sources, and used these magnetic signals to manipulate and control a sonic representation of the core field. The project has certainly been a rewarding exercise in bringing art and science together,” as per ESA’s official website.
“We gained access to a very interesting sound system consisting of over 30 loudspeakers dug into the ground at the Solbjerg Square in Copenhagen. “We have set it up so that each speaker represents a different location on Earth and demonstrates how our magnetic field has fluctuated over the last 100,000 years,” he further said.
According to ESA, since the discovery was revealed on October 24, loudspeakers at Solbjerg Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, have been broadcasting the recording three times a day.
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They added that the intention of this activity is not to frighten people but to remind them that magnetic fields exist and the existence of life on Earth is dependent on it.
The trio of Swarm satellites are being used to understand how the magnetic field is generated by measuring precisely the magnetic signals that stem from Earth’s core, mantle, crust and oceans. It also includes the ionosphere and magnetosphere.