July 6, 2011

Great Big Saturnine Storm

At its most intense, the storm generated more than 10 lightning flashes per second. Even with millisecond resolution, the spacecraft’s radio and plasma wave instrument had difficulty separating individual signals during the most intense period. Scientists created a sound file from data obtained . . . at a slightly lower intensity period.

If you listen vary carefully to the audio file, you can hear Sun Ra.

posted by in astronomy, audio, beauty, music, photographs, science, sound, space, technology, translation | * | 6 comments 

comments

  1. Joel Bernstein on July 6th, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    Looks like an extremely large pigeon just flew overhead.

  2. Sheila Ryan on July 6th, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    Pigeon bigger than Saturn.

    Or Neptune.

    Certainly bigger than Uranus.

  3. Joel Bernstein on July 6th, 2011 at 4:25 pm

    I was trying so hard to avoid a Uranus joke.

  4. Sheila Ryan on July 6th, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    I said it so that you would not have to, Joel.

  5. Joel Bernstein on July 6th, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    Instead I went with the classy ‘bird shit’ joke.

  6. Sheila Ryan on July 6th, 2011 at 4:31 pm

    You can’t go wrong with pigeon poop.