Deep FieldThe Impossible Magnitude of our Universe

HUDF as you’ve never experienced it before

Have you heard about the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field? Either way, you’ve likely not heard about it like this.

If you’re viewing on a desktop, run your mouse cursor over the image below and listen! Unfortunately tablet and mobile devices aren’t supported.

The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF) was created in 2003-2004 with the Hubble Space Telescope staring for a long time toward near-empty space so that distant, faint galaxies would become visible. One of the most famous images in astronomy, the HUDF is featured here in a vibrant way – with sonified distances.

Pointing to a galaxy will play a note that indicates its approximate redshift. Because redshifts shift light toward the red end of the spectrum of light, they are depicted here by a shift of tone toward the low end of the spectrum of sound. The further the galaxy, the greater its cosmological redshift (even if it appears blue), and the lower the tone that will be played. The average galaxy in the HUDF is about 10.6 billion light-years away and sounds like an F#.

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Explore Further

• Want to know what it’s like to be a blind astronomer? Watch Wanda Diaz Merced’s TEDTalk: “How a blind astronomer found a way to hear the stars”
• NASA has a whole library of audio and ringtones. Check it out on the NASA website.
• Unlock the universe’s secrets at the Hubble Deep Field Academy.
• Explore the Hubble Deep Field and journey to the wildest regions of space. Become a Galaxy Hunter.
• NASA has put together an activity guide to observe the expansion of the universe. Read The Extended Universe: Playing with Time.

Credits

Sonification by: Greg Salvesen, Data Credit: Rafelski et al. (2015)