Saturday, October 13, 2012

Radio Storms - in our Solar System

There is always something new to discover and experience. This time I was fascinated by the sounds of the radio storm recorded from Jupiter.

This one was on Jupiter a few nights ago.

Turn on your speakers and listen to it.

Information as found on www.spaceweather.com :


Two nights ago, there was a storm on Jupiter--a radio storm. Amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft recorded the event using a shortwave radio telescope located in New Mexico. Click on the dynamic spectrum (a plot of intensity vs. frequency vs. time) to hear the whooshing, crackling, popping sounds that emerged from his telescope's loudspeaker.
"Listen to the recording in stereo," advises Ashcraft. "I recorded the audio from two separate radios at 21.1 MHz and 20.9 MHz, so there is a stereo spatial effect from the frequency drift of the emissions."Jupiter's radio storms are caused by natural radio lasers in the planet's magnetosphere that sweep past Earth as Jupiter rotates. Electrical currents flowing between Jupiter's upper atmosphere and the volcanic moon Io can boost these emissions to power levels easily detected by ham radio antennas on Earth. Jovian "S-bursts" and "L-bursts" mimic the sounds of woodpeckers, whales, and waves crashing on the beach. Here are a few audio samples: S-burstsS-bursts (slowed down 128:1), L-BurstsNow is a good time to listen to Jupiter's radio storms. The distance between Earth and Jupiter is decreasing as the giant planet approaches opposition on Dec. 3rd; the closer Jupiter gets, the louder it gets. NASA's Radio Jove Project explains how to build your own receiver.


As a kid I loved to turn the radio dial all the way to the end to hear all the squeaking and squawking and "white" noise, imagining it was aliens communicating with us. 
But maybe, it just was Earth and space. ;-)

And Earth's magnetic field  "sings" too. 


or here:




There are many more sounds in space, we just need to learn to listen to them. 
It's not only with our eyes that we can perceive wonders. Our complete body can. 
Ears, skin, and other sensitive parts we might not even be aware of yet.

We just need to be "quiet" to  sense those not so direct interactions of us with what surrounds us. Technical things can help, but some things not even those can perceive.


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