Most of space is a near vacuum, so there aren't enough molecules to collide with, preventing sound from traveling. (Image credit: peepo via Getty Images)
Our universe is teeming with floating nebulae, orbiting planets, and black holes. But if we closed our eyes and listened closely, what would these cosmic objects sound like? Would we hear a soft whistle? Or a deep hum?
In fact, if you were in outer space, you probably wouldn’t hear anything. “There’s a popular saying, ‘In space, no one can hear you scream,’ and there’s a reason for that,” Kimberly Arcand, an imaging scientist at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, told Live Science. “Space is inherently silent.”
Essentially, space appears silent because of the way humans perceive and process sound. “Sound is a compression wave,” Chris Impey, a professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona, told Live Science. That means that when sound moves through the air, it’s actually energy traveling through a medium where gas molecules move and collide. These vibrations are picked up by our ears, and our brains convert them into sound.
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Sourse: www.livescience.com
