NASA's latest sonification lets you listen to 5,000 worlds beyond Solar System

NASA, the US space agency, has confirmed the number of known exoplanets passed 5,000 on Monday. According to the NASA Exoplanet Archive, a new batch of 60 planets discovered by the NASA Exoplanet Archive and an additional five planets from other observatories brings the total tally of planets beyond our little home system to 5,005.

The Instagram page handled by NASA is a treasure trove of everything space and this animation and sonification track humanity's discovery of the planets beyond our solar system over time. 

Turning NASA data into sounds allows users to hear the pace of discovery, with additional information conveyed by the notes themselves.

 

 

 

 

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Read | Over 5,000 planets lie outside our solar system, reveals NASA

“These planets are predominately super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets, bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, which means they are a mix of rocky and volatile-rich,” Jessie Christiansen, a member of the TESS team and science lead of the NASA Exoplanet Archive, said in a press statement. “There are also a couple of Jupiter-sized planets and even a super-Jupiter.”