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This is how space “sounds”: NASA’s Voyager 1 first catches its eerie permanent buzz

The instruments in «Voyager 1»Of the US Space Agency (NASA), which, about nine years ago (2012), left the territory of our solar system, detected for the first time and sent to Earth the faint monotonous, permanent and eerie buzz of interstellar space.

The imperceptible sound is caused by the constant vibrations of the gases in the interstellar space. It is essentially the background noise in the vast expanses between the stars. These vibrations, called permanent plasma waves, have been detected in radio frequencies and are too weak to be heard by the human ear, according to researchers at Cornell University in the United States, published in the journal Nature Astronomy. Reuters agency.

Launched in September 1977, Voyager 1 is now about 22.7 billion kilometers from Earth or 152 times the distance from Earth to the Sun and is the farthest man-made structure in space. Having visited Jupiter (1979) and Saturn (1980) decades ago and continuing his “Odyssey” beyond the ends of our solar system (sunset), he continues to collect and transmit data, allowing scientists to better understand interstellar space.

The vast regions between the stellar (solar) systems of our galaxy are not completely empty, as matter (mainly gases) and radiation compose the so-called interstellar or interstellar medium. About 15% of our galaxy’s visible matter is made up of such interstellar gases, dust, and cosmic ray particles. Much of the interstellar medium is in the form of ionized (electrically charged) plasma. In this creature among the stars there are only 0.1 atoms per cubic centimeter, while in the air of the Earth there are billions of atoms.

Previously, Voyager 1 had detected disturbances in interstellar gases caused by periodic solar flares. Now the ship has revealed the permanent vibrations of the gases, which are unrelated to solar activity and cause a buzz with a frequency of about 3 kHz.

After 44 years of voyage, Voyager 1 – which despite being numbered was launched a few weeks after the twin Voyager – will continue its adventure, but at some point it will cease to be energized, probably within this decade.

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