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Did you know? The Eerie 'Sound' of a Supermassive Black Hole

Did you know? The Eerie 'Sound' of a Supermassive Black Hole

While space is largely a vacuum where sound cannot travel, a supermassive black hole in the Perseus galaxy cluster actually produces pressure waves that NASA has "heard." These aren't audible to humans directly, but they are genuine sound waves propagating through the cluster's hot gas.

Sound requires a medium to travel, which is why the vacuum of space is silent. However, galaxy clusters like Perseus are filled with vast amounts of hot gas, providing a medium through which pressure waves, or sound, can propagate. The "note" emitted by this black hole is the lowest ever detected in the universe, with a frequency so deep that it would take millions of years for a single cycle to complete. To make it audible, NASA scientists had to amplify its frequency by 57 and 58 octaves, essentially speeding up the sound waves by quadrillions of times.
🔗 The Black Hole at the Center of the Perseus Galaxy Cluster Sings the Universe's Deepest Note🔗 What Does a Black Hole Sound Like?

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