Play Saturns Rings Like a Harp
Explanation:
Sure, you've seen Saturn's rings -- but have you ever
heard them?
Well then please take this opportunity to play
Saturn's rings like a
harp.
In the
featured sonification, increasing brighter regions of Saturn's central
B-ring play as increasingly higher
pitched notes.
With a computer browser, click anywhere on the image to begin,
and pluck consecutive strings by sliding the spacecraft icon's
magnetometer boom across the strings.
Both manual and automatic
modes are possible.
The
featured natural-color image was taken by the
late
Cassini spacecraft in 2017 July as it
grazed
Saturn's rings and took the highest-resolution ring images ever.
The reason why the mostly
water-ice rings have a tan hue -- instead of
white -- is currently a topic of research.
Played in minor
harmony, a
different false-color version of the same image appears where regions with a
greater abundance of water ice appears more red.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
