At the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at CU Boulder, we are applying sonification to turn plasma wave data near Earth into sound. These waves are influenced by the solar wind and geomagnetic storms, which affect Earth’s magnetic field.

We use data from GOES satellites and shift the frequencies so they can be heard by humans. This lets us listen to an entire day’s worth of magnetic field data in less than three minutes. We can also slow down the playback to focus on interesting sounds that might reveal important scientific details.

Our work, along with other studies, shows that sonification is a valuable tool for analyzing Earth’s magnetic field, offering insights that go beyond traditional graphs and charts.

To reach a broad audience, we are creating educational videos for social media. These aim to connect scientists, sound enthusiasts, the public, and artists through the shared experience of listening to space.