We suddenly realize that the universe is very much alive. It speaks in multiple ways and different concepts. The vastness of darkness echoes that of chittering, static, harmonic tones, pulses, and ambiance. To some, it is beautiful. To some, it is nothing but ambient nothingness. To others, it is horrifying.
Fear is the end and beginning. It is designed to encourage us to stay away from something. Fear has allowed us to survive against the hardships of our environment. It is both limiting and inviting to us as a method to beat. To win against fear is victory. To lose against fear can also be a victory. The complexity of one single emotion is one that can fill volumes of books. The human race both enjoys and stays away from things that invite the concept of fear.
What are the sounds of space that can inspire fear? This question alone is one that can be difficult to answer. Everyone has different tastes in what causes and invokes this emotion. To some, certain spatial phenomena' sounds can invoke terror, but to others, it is a mere annoyance. Perhaps the question is more attuned to what are the more unsettling sounds heard in space?
Again, there is no perfect answer to this question. In the Sol system alone, the more uncomfortable sounds can be measured by society's general opinion. We leave Earth behind once again. The ball of gray and orange is but a mere tool in the tour of the cosmos. Its fate has been long determined. It becomes a dot as it zips away from our sight. We fly past the seemingly nonexistent asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter. We travel through the darkness of space as a familiar planet comes into view. The ringed gas giant is one that we are all familiar with and heard before.
Saturn's sounds recorded from probes that flew by the second largest planet of the solar system are often well renowned. The gas giant's sounds are often looked at as a scream. The electromagnetic waves, combined with the enormous rings, often create a screeching sound that rises slowly up and down. If Sol had the power and were annoyed by such a world, it would have rid it by now. The most beautiful planet by some is the more fear invoking and uncomfortable sound to listen to when it comes to worlds alone.
That being said, Saturn is not the end-all of unsettling sound-producing objects in the Sol System alone. Every celestial object and the star itself produces some unique noise that is often recorded and played back. Saturn is a place that consists of many moons. We back away from Saturn as we tour through the many objects that orbit it. The moon of Enceladus is one that can be unnerving to listen to. The distant sounds of air being pushed around, even on a place that seemingly has none, is one that grabs much attention. Enceladus is pretty to look at. Its white covered surface with light blue veins is indicative of frozen water that is continually molded and crushed under the gravitational tidal heating of the massive gas giant. The moon is a treasure trove for life as it is slowly being bled off into space. It is believed that the great moon will eventually be no more in one to two million years as the incredible geysers will ultimately run down and shut off.
But, we have been to these two places before. We already know of its sounds and music as we leave Enceladus once again. Instead, we turn our attention to another moon. Measuring at almost 400 kilometers in diameter, it is so small that it barely fits within Saturn's top seven largest moons. It is the smallest moon in the known solar system that is spherical. One side consists of an enormous crater as we see its surface marked with multiple meteor impacts.
The name of the moon is Mimas. Perhaps this object produces the most unsettling of sounds when it comes to the moons of the solar system. The sound is distant, like a slow wind. It then starts to produce a low hum that slowly gets higher in tone. As it rises in volume, it begins to form a scream-like sound. It pierces the ears like spears and needles. The wind-like sound has become almost like that of an electronic screech that rises in and out. If one listens thoroughly, it almost sounds like the moon is calling out to you in terror. Voices can perhaps be heard from it as the listener desires to turn it off.
Surprisingly, this is attributed to the fact of its shape and magnetic field. Out of the many solar system objects, Mimas has one of the weakest and is continuously torn around by Saturn. Like a child being abused by its parent, Mimas has no choice but to follow its planet. Its massive crater named the Herschel crater is the single defining landmark that often reminds other readers and observers of other familiar science-fiction literature.
Instead, we must leave Saturn once again. We have been here before, and we know where the story goes. We say goodbye to the ringed world as it remains in forever orbit of Sol. Even when the star becomes a red giant, Saturn will remain. The forgotten destroyed worlds of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars will be gone, and the outer planets will be its only children. Sol is a life-giver, but it is also a cannibalistic parent.
We listen to the sounds of the solar system as we begin to veer away from Saturn so quickly that Uranus and Neptune are flickering dots. We instead travel to the sound of an electronic wind tunnel. It fluctuates in and out, drawing us to it. It can be eerie to some, but it pulls us in. Sol is far away. It is so distant that the temperatures are freezing. We are beyond Neptune's orbit as the noise draws us to this object. The ambiance is exciting but creepy. The vibrating tones echo to its music.
We instead see a small celestial object that comes into our view. Being white, gray, and brown in color, it is a desolate, lonely world in the solar system. Its harmonic resonance echoes in our ears. The concept of being alone is one that can drive people mad. This object is one that seems to let everyone knows how it feels.
It is Pluto that we see before us. It was once called a planet but was devalued to that of a dwarf planet in 2006. It was so tiny that it is smaller than Luna and Triton, the moons of other planets. The United Worlds' Alliance has even abandoned the idea of colonizing this seemingly desolate world as human beings find other habitable worlds for living and resources. Like a crying child, Pluto is one that sits, singing its songs of sorrow to the solar system.
It isn't to say that Pluto is not entirely lonely. It does have its companions. The dwarf planet does have moons. Five celestial objects have been observed that orbit Pluto with Charon being the largest. Shaped like a cracked ball, Charon produces a single pitch in a volume that rings in the ears. It gradually goes up and down. If Pluto enjoys this sound, then it has a happy neighbor, but to many, the desolate location hallmarks the edge of the Sol System. The darkness of space permeates the spectrum as many consider Pluto's future and its role for humankind.
Instead, we say goodbye to Pluto. Never again will we visit this world. Maybe one-day humanity will see this world to give it the attention that it long desires. We float away as we listen to the universe. Our goal is to follow the distant sounds of space. We watch as Sol gets smaller and smaller as it is nothing but a faint speck of dust in the galaxy. Pluto and the other planets of the Sol System are left behind.
We travel faster than the speed of light as objects zip past us. We listen, and we hear the sounds of space itself. The electromagnetic waves continue to sing to us, but we are attracted to the various sounds. Some are harmonic and beautiful, but others are unsettling.
Why are we attracted to the beautiful and horrific sounds? The harmonic sounds may or may not be a representation of a pleasant environment. The music and noise have no bearing on places that humanity may wish to go to, but it still draws us toward it. Perhaps we are looking for a pattern. Maybe if we head towards something of familiarity, we can find new homes or worlds for the human race to call home. We instead try to follow the things that may have some semblance. If life can develop on a G-Type star such as Sol, then perhaps other G-Type stars can find homes for humanity.
The sounds of the sun are a deep low hum that comes in and out. It oscillates up and down as if it is alive. It is almost like an ohm like sound as it is very deep. To some, it is beautiful, and others, it is an unsettling sound. It is, however, our reference point in helping us find other stars. When we tune our ears to it, we are now able to begin tracking similar sounds of that pattern.
Our head turns as we listen.......the noises are everywhere. The Milky Way Galaxy is filled with billions of stars. We decide to pick a random one, and it is located in the Draco Constellation. We hear a similar pattern so that it might be a G-Type star. We zoom towards it moving faster than anything alive. Stars and dust fly past us at blazing speeds. Our goal is clear. We must find other worlds for human beings to live on. We must find the things that we are most comfortable with if we are going to survive as a species.
It comes into view. Traveling over seven hundred light-years, we track the humming to a star that can be barely-viewed from Earth. The star is indeed a G-Type star. The yellowish glow is intense as it fills our eyesight. Worlds must fill this system. If a G-Type star gave us life, then what new wonders can be found in this system alone?
You see it first as you turn your head towards a planet that is close to the star. At first, you think that your vision is still adjusting to the brightness. You realize that you have traveled to the system known as TrES-2. You have traveled further than most human beings had ever desired.
Yet, you still see no light coming from the close planet. TrES-2b, the world that orbits this star, is still hard to see. It is massive, yet it is black as the void of space. We get closer and closer to it. Perhaps the relative luminosity of the star is still making the planet hard to see. Closer and closer we get until we are finally right next to it. Again, we must close in on it.
It is a gas giant that is bigger than Jupiter itself. It is so close to its star that it takes a little over two days to make one orbit. The planet is tidally locked as one side is scorched by the star, yet one problem remains. We got so close to it that we practically ran into it. The reasons are apparent.....we couldn't see it.
The planet is dark. It is so dark that only about 1 percent radiates any light from its gaseous surface. You crash through the dark clouds that are blacker than coal. Only faint lights of red can be seen as you feel the searing heat of almost 1600 degrees Celsius permeate your body. You can't see the stars as the temperatures are hotter than the planet Venus. You can't see anything. It is as if Satan himself came up and wrapped his hands around your eyes. You realize all too well that you are in hell.
It must be impossible as you struggle to find your way out. To this day, scientists struggle to figure out why TrES-2b is one of the darkest planets ever to exist. A possible belief is that the atmosphere's gases consist of chemicals that can absorb light, such as sodium or potassium, that produces low luminosity. The proximity to its star may also be a trigger to the events as well. For now, learning about this world is not your priority. Our goal is to escape it.
By reversing your direction, you hold your breath as your heart beats faster. Like a blind person, you must rely on your hearing to get you out. Only the star's sound is your guide as you move faster and faster through the hellish blackness of the environment. Finally, you see it as you fly through the clouds and back out into space. We have escaped the clutches of TrES-2B.
Unfortunately, we have found little for humanity to benefit from. This world is not what we are looking for. By trying to find a G-Type star, we didn't succeed in our mission. It is no easy task as the melody of the star is next to us. We watch as the gas giant starts to leave us. At 5 billion years of age, the star will eventually turn into a red giant and consume this hellish world anyway. For all you believe, it is best to let the star have it.
We believe that being here accomplishes little else. Finding new worlds for humans to live on is no easy task. Even with the famed Gabatrix experiment, having to check every little spot in the galaxy takes considerable time. Even by this period, humanity has only explored a tiny fraction of the galaxy alone. The territories are consumed by their enemies and allies.
But, the vastness must harbor places to live, and life must exist. We say goodbye to TrES-2 and its close planet. You watch as the star shrinks in size as we get further and further away. A part of you feels the relief. Perhaps it is best to find a world that is closer to human-controlled space. Maybe it is for the best to let humans do their work in finding other planets to live on. We instead watch as the stars become dots of twinkling sand as we move faster than the speed of light. A pleasant view of the center of the galaxy consumes the view. Stars zip past you as we once again listen to the sounds of the electromagnetic radiation.
