The Inner Sound of Stars - The Modern Music of the Spheres

Kollath, Zoltan

Just as in the air, sound waves can travel in the huge gas spheres of stars. For a certain group of the stars, there exists a generating mechanism by which these vibrations become permanent. This pulsation can be registered from the Earth as a change in light. From the study of changing stars their inner sounds can be reconstructed. The use of seismology or ultrasound in medical diagnostics demonstrates convincingly the theory that we may map the inside of the matter examined if we pick up the waves travelling in it, and based on their characteristics we can form a picture of the medium they travel in. That is why the sounds of stars and the study of the processes in them are so important. The conditions existing in the Sun and stars cannot be recreated in a laboratory on the Earth.

The study of the inner functioning of stars can reveal to us the future of our planet and the Sun. It is important that the study of certain changing stars can also help in specifying the distance scale used to measure the Universe. We cannot hear the sound of stars directly. While the sound does not travel in the interstellar space devoid of air, these sounds are much deeper than the perceptive range of a human ear. Speeding up the data obtained from observations and models can make these distant infra sounds audible. The music of the stars is varied. We can hear many interesting sounds from the simple humming sound to noise-like, strange, polyphonic booming. The beauty of the starry sky can perhaps be reflected in the music of the stars.

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