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NASA Space Sounds

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While space is technically a vacuum, sound still exists in space. For some time now, NASA has used specially designed Plasma Wave antennas on its space probes to record electromagnetic vibrations within human hearing range (20-20,000 Hz). These electromagnetic waves come from interaction between the ionisphere, planetary magnetosphere, and the solar winds. Pretty cool, huh?

Recently NASA took a sample from a dozen different recordings of celestial objects (Saturn’s rings, Neptune, Earth, Uranus, Jupiter, etc) and compiled it into the above video. The result is something like a sci-fi soundtrack crossed with 1980’s whale sounds. It’s intriguing, strange, even a little eery, but mostly just very awesome. Give it a listen!

Ted Talk Tuesday

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It doesn’t matter that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave this speech a year and a half ago, nor does it matter that I only found it a few months ago. What matters is that this intensely thoughtful and intelligent woman details what discrimination looks like, what women deal with every day, even in countries/states/cities that are “progressive” or “liberated”.

While long, this is 30 minutes of your time you will not regret spending on watching this video. It is powerful, direct, and inspiring; sometimes funny, and other times deeply emotional. Give it a watch and let us know what you think!

Music Video Monday

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Here is Commander Chris Hadfield singing “Space Oddity” onboard the ISS, for the approximately four people left on earth that haven’t seen this video. It’s beautiful and poignant, and it’s a David Bowie classic! I love rewatching this video and seeing earth float behind him as he sits in the stillness. It makes me think about a future time when space travel is common and used by everyday people. I don’t think we’ll see that in my lifetime, sadly, but the next generation will stand on our shoulders, and maybe it will be possible for them.

Anyway, happy Monday and enjoy the video!