Sounds in Space Resemble Humpback Whales: Listen Here

Earth’s radiation belts create radio waves known as Earth’s “chorus.” The chorus sounds like humpback whales.

Left: The waves of the "song" captured by NASA probes in the Van Allen belts on Sept. 5, 2012. (NASA) Top right: An artist's depiction of the Van Allen belts surrounding Earth. Bottom right: A humpback whale. Miblue5/iStock

Earth’s radiation belts create radio waves known as Earth’s “chorus.” When played as sounds we can hear, it’s similar to the song of a humpback whale. 

The chorus was picked up by NASA’s twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes in 2012 as they passed through the region of space where the chorus originates. It’s an electromagnetic phenomenon in the Van Allen belts, made of radio waves. 

“This is what the radiation belts would sound like to a human being if we had radio antennas for ears,” Craig Kletzing told NASA. Kletzing’s team at the University of Iowa built a receiver to pick up the signals. 

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