Skysynth: The cosmos captured by Rubin, for your ears

Experience NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s vast and dense view of the cosmos through sound! This interactive sonification lets you drift across Rubin Observatory’s detailed, ultra-wide view of the cosmos, translating the colors and brightness of distant galaxies and stars into an immersive, never-ending soundscape composed by the Universe itself.

Overview

Rubin Observatory will generate one of the widest and deepest views of the night sky ever captured with its decade-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time. With our interactive sonification, you’re not limited to immersing yourself visually — you can also listen to it. Rubin Observatory’s wide and detailed view of the cosmos is full of structure, variety, and endless treasures to discover, whether you use your eyes or your ears to explore.

Just as an image conveys data visually, a sonification translates data into sound. As you drift across this image, the light from each object shapes the sound you hear. Redder light creates lower tones, bluer light produces higher tones, and the brightness of each object controls the volume. As stars and galaxies pass into view, you will hear distinct musical notes played by different instruments. You can pan and zoom to explore specific regions, or let the sonification drift on its own. Either way, the experience is open-ended. Just as no two people will visually explore Rubin’s images the same way, no two listening experiences will be the same.

How It Works

To begin your exploration:

• Press Play to start drifting across Rubin’s vast field of view.

• Use the slider at the bottom of the screen to control how fast you move.

• Press Pause to take control manually.

• Use your arrow keys to move in any direction.

• Or, click and drag with your mouse or trackpad (or tap and drag on a touchscreen) to explore freely. Release to resume drifting.

Pro tip: leave the sonification open in a browser tab in drift mode for a background ambiance composed by the cosmos.

Mapping the Data to Sound

This soundscape is built from astronomical data from Rubin Observatory in two different ways.

Ambient Tones:

The light in the central focus area is converted into a sustained tone. The star icon in the center shows the color being translated to sound.

• Color → Pitch: Redder light (longer wavelengths) corresponds to lower pitch, while bluer light (shorter wavelengths) maps to higher pitch.

• Brightness → Volume: Brighter areas are louder, while darker regions are quiet.

Object Notes:

Every time a galaxy or star enters the central focus area, a note plays.

• Galaxies are represented using a harp and stars are represented using a glockenspiel.

• The color of the object sets its pitch, and brightness sets the volume of the note played by each instrument.

• The left-right stereo position of each note matches the object’s location on the screen. Move right, and new notes will enter from the right—creating a dynamic stereo experience.

This mapping creates a harmony between vision and hearing and an intuitive way to explore the size, structure, and variety of the Universe.

About SYSTEM Sounds

SYSTEM Sounds is a sci-art outreach project founded by astrophysicist/musician Matt Russo and musician/developer Andrew Santaguida. They regularly produce data sonifications for NASA and they’ve been featured in the New York Times twice. Visit system-sounds.com to learn more.