NASA Captures Stunning ‘Singing’ Galactic Spiral Arms And Elliptical Structures

A galaxy cluster recently captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows a stunning view of spiral arms and elliptical structures that apparently sound eerie as well.

Captured as part of the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS) observing program, the Hubble image showed thousands of galaxies held together by gravity. The foreground of the picture also shows some of the stars shining brightly. Interestingly, researchers from the program converted the data into recordings that revealed the range of musical tones that the galaxies can "sing."

"Time flows left to right, and the frequency of sound changes from bottom to top, ranging from 30 to 1,000 hertz. Objects near the bottom of the image produce lower notes, while those near the top produce higher ones," NASA said in its post.

"Stars and compact galaxies create short, clear tones, while sprawling spiral galaxies emit longer notes that change pitch. The higher density of galaxies near the center of the image — the heart of this galaxy cluster, known as RXC J0142.9+4438 — results in a swell of mid-range tones halfway through the video," the agency added.

Observers like the Hubble telescope get a magnified view when massive objects, like the galaxy cluster featured in the image, fall in between the observer and a far-distant target in the background. The Hubble telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 captured the image on Aug. 3, 2018. Any galaxy identified by the RELICS progam will be examined further under the James Webb Space Telescope that’s slated to launch in March 2021.

Space exploration has been making headlines regularly these days following the launch of Elon Musk's Crew Dragon. Many believe that we are now a step closer to putting humans into space after SpaceX successfully docked its space capsule on the ISS.

Anne McClain, a NASA astronaut and Expedition 58 crew member on the ISS, said in her statement during the spaceship's welcoming ceremony that such a feat opens a new chapter in space exploration.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also expressed the same thing. He said on social media that SpaceX's Crew Dragon mission marks a new generation of space flight.

The United States previously relied on Russia to bring its astronauts into space after it retired its Space Shuttle in 2011. But that is expected to change now with the success of Musk’s Crew Dragon.