Chandra Release - February 25, 2026

Visual Description: Planetary Sonifications 

This release features three sonifications, each focusing on a different planet in our solar system. The sonifications are presented as soundtracks to short videos. Each video features a composite image and an activation line. As the activation line sweeps across the image, it encounters visual elements. These elements are translated into sound, or sonified, according to parameters established by Chandra's sonification team.

The first sonification focuses on the planet Jupiter. At the center of the associated composite image is the gas giant itself; a seemingly perfect sphere with an atmosphere of latitudinal bands. The bands are different shades of grey, brown, and black, each with its own texture and width. Flanking Jupiter are neon pink and white clouds, representing X-rays from energetic particles in a ring around the planet. In the video, the activation line moves from our left to right. It first encounters a pink cloud, triggering whooshing woodwinds. When the activation line encounters Jupiter, dramatic low notes are triggered. Listen for the dip as the line passes over the Great Red Spot in Jupiter's southern hemisphere. The activation line continues toward our right, passing more pink X-ray clouds. The largest cloud, the last one encountered, has a bright white core, which translates to loud gusty woodwinds.

The second sonification focuses on the ringed planet, Saturn. In the composite image, the large gas giant fills the frame, its spherical outer layer a pale sandy grey. In this image, the wide bands of rings surrounding the planet are in shades of pale grey and sandy yellow. Here, Saturn is tilted away from us, making the round rings appear oval in shape. Dotting the planet are small pockets of neon blue. These represent reflected X-ray light observed by Chandra. In this video, the activation line moves from our right to left. When the line passes over the rings, a whooshing sounds spreads, conveying the widening middle of the oval shapes. Pockets of neon blue X-ray light trigger synthesizer sounds, with the pitch mapped to each pocket's vertical position in the image. When the line sweeps across Saturn's large round body, a low rumbling synth tone is triggered. The volume is linked to brightness, such that the low tone fades when the line reaches the shady side of the planet, on our left.

The third sonification features the planet Uranus. In the composite image, the icy giant is a greenish-blue cyan color, with a blush of neon pink X-rays hovering over its core. Uranus has a collection of very narrow rings, much finer than the wide disk-like rings surrounding Saturn. In this image, the fine rings are near vertical and slightly tilted, creating an oval shape with rounded points at our lower left and upper right. In this sonification, the activation line moves from our left to right. Brightness is mapped to volume and height is mapped to pitch, such that brighter objects at the top of the image sound louder and higher. Here, the curved oval shape of the rings is conveyed as a swooping cello note, with the pitch sliding up as the activation line passes the oval tilted toward our upper right.