Data sonification turns Hubble Space Telescope’s view of merging galaxies into a beautiful melody

  • NASA transforms image of galactic collision into music
  • Galaxies NGC 274 and NGC 275 merging to form Arp 140
  • Data sonification process assigns pitch to colors in the image
  • Higher tones represent blue light from NGC 275, lower tones represent NGC 274
  • Lenticular and spiral galaxies exhibit different structures

NASA has composed a beautiful melody to represent the cosmic collision of two galaxies, NGC 274 and NGC 275, known as Arp 140. Using a process called data sonification, scientists assigned each color in the image data captured by the Hubble Space Telescope to a pitch, creating a musical composition that moves from left to right across the image. The higher tones represent the blue light emitted by NGC 275, indicating the presence of newly formed stars resulting from the galactic collision. In contrast, the lower tones represent NGC 274, which is primarily composed of old stars. Lenticular and spiral galaxies, like Arp 140, have different structures, with lenticular galaxies having a more elliptical shape and lacking well-defined arms. This new Hubble image offers a full view of the intricate details of both merging galaxies.

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Factuality Level: 8
Justification: The article provides accurate information about the composition of the melody representing the cosmic collision of two galaxies, the process of merging, and the transformation of image data into music. It also includes details about the different structures of lenticular and spiral galaxies. The information is supported by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observations and statements from NASA officials.

Noise Level: 8
Justification: The article provides interesting information about the cosmic collision of two galaxies and how NASA transformed the image data into music. However, the article lacks scientific rigor and intellectual honesty as it does not provide any evidence or data to support its claims. It also dives into unrelated territories by mentioning other instances of data sonification and unrelated articles about space. Overall, the article contains some noise and filler content, reducing its overall rating.

Financial Relevance: No
Financial Markets Impacted: No

Presence of Extreme Event: No
Nature of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating of the Extreme Event: No
Justification: The article does not pertain to financial topics and does not describe any extreme events.

Reported publicly: www.space.com