Example Bank for Astronomy

Here we provide a bank of pre-made example sonifications (audio only and audio-visual) for astronomy communications. For ideas of how to incorporate these into shows and for complementary workshops see our Usage Suggestions pages. These are released under a CC-BY 4.0 License, unless otherwise stated.

Black Holes

Growing Black Hole (flat screen)

X-ray and visible light data of a stellar mass black hole that is rapidly growing.

A detailed description of how this sonification was constructed is available at this link.

The video, or audio only (stereo) file can be downloaded at this link.

Warning! This video contains flashing lights and should be used with care. Be sure to warn audiences, or consider using the audio-only version.

Data and visuals attribution: Paice et al. (2019): https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slz148

Gravitational Waves (fulldome or equirectangular)

Sonification of the Gravitational Wave events detected by LIGO/Virgo in 2019. Data from: https://gwosc.org/O3/O3a/ and https://gwosc.org/O3/O3b/.

Fulldome video: for download (203.5MB).

Equirectangular video: for download (111.3 MB).

Galaxies

Growing Supermassive Black Hole and Galaxy (flatscreen)

COLIBRE.mp4

This is a sonification from a simulation of a galaxy being formed, as part of the COLIBRE simulations.

Sound is used to express the supermassive black hole accretion rate, the star formation and the energy outflow rate of galaxies as they evolve. These use rhythmic, musical and textural representations, respectively, to distinguish them. Watch the explainer video below to understand more.

The content including an explainer video for the sonifications can be found on the COLIBRE Simulations website: https://colibre.strw.leidenuniv.nl/videos.html

Data attribution: The COLIBRE Team (Schaye et al. 2026).

Flatscreen only available for download.

Merging Galaxies

GalaxiesMerge.wav

Over a timespan of millions to billions of years galaxies can attract each other and subsequently collide or merge. The Milky Way galaxy will eventually collide with the Andromeda galaxy. Although we can not watch this process in real galaxies because it takes too long, we can create a simulation in a computer to speed up time. This sonified material allows the audience to listen to two galaxies merging, and the surround sound enables them to hear the galaxies approach from each side and orbit around each other before finally merging together. This material is part of the A Dark Tour of the Universe astronomy show for the blind and visually impaired, but it has been modified from full surround sound (6.1) to stereo.

Credit: Mitchell Allen/Kim Jones (Arup); Chris Harrison (ESO); Florent Renaud (Lund Observatory)

Stars

Brightness versus time graph for cataclysmic variable star V334 Lyr

Cataclysmic variable sonification (downloadable) - V334 Lyr.

This is just one example sound design, check out the Sonification Suite for more options!

Graph of brightness as a function of time for the heartbeat star V477

Heartbeat star sonification (downloadable) - V477 Cyni

This is just one example sound design, check out the Sonification Suite for more options!

Graph of brightness as a function of time for the pulsating variable star V1154 Cygni

Pulsating variable star sonification (downloadable) - V1154 Cygni.

This is just one example sound design, check out the Sonification Suite for more options!

Exoplanet transit sonification (downloadable) - Kepler-12.

This is just one example sound design, check out the Sonification Suite for more options!

Solar System

This is an audio representation of the orbits of the eight major planets of the Solar System. Each planet is represented by a unique musical instrument and pitch. The sounds appear to perform "orbits" by moving the sounds in stereo panning and with a volume envelope. The orbital speeds are correct with the real data, relative to each.

The video can be downloaded on this page.

Earth

Sonification to represent the Earth's rotation (light reflecting off the Earth). The data is the water coverage as a function of longitude. When there is more water coverage the sound is brighter (louder and more intense).

The video can be downloaded on this page.

Full Shows

Tour of the Solar System (flatscreen or fulldome)

Information about the show is available on these pages.

Available in full-dome format. The audio track (in 5 languages) and the full-dome visuals are available on the ESO archives.

Flat screen version also available for download on this page.

Tour of the Solar System (Caribbean Version)

Flatscreen version available for download along with the audio track (English only, stereo only) on this page.

Information about how and why we re-made the show is available on these pages.

A Dark Tour of the Universe Preview (Audio Only)

VI_Astronomy_Show_Preview.mp3

This is a show preview (stereo) of the audio and tactile show we produced called a Dark Tour of the Universe.

Information about the show is available on this page.

The file of the preview, and some example sonifications, can be downloaded from this page.

V344_Lyr.wav

Listen to a Cataclysmic Variable star

Some stars are very variable and have huge changes in brightness as they flare up. This sonified material allows the audience to listen to a Cataclysmic Variable star (V344 Lyr) that shows both short, low-amplitude (lasting for approximately 5 days) and long, large-amplitude (lasting for approximately 15 days) outbursts. The data were taken from NASA’s Kepler mission that tracks how the star varies in brightness through time. This material is part of the A Dark Tour of the Universe astronomy show for the blind and visually impaired.

Credit: Mitchell Allen and Kim Jones (Arup); Chris Harrison (ESO); Kepler Space Telescope data

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