NASA has detected chirping noises that sound like birds emanating from space, and the source is something straight out of a sci-fi film.
The jaw-dropping sounds burst through the Earth’s atmosphere from 62,000 miles away.
2
2
Though most people would grab their bird-watching binoculars after hearing the calls, NASA researchers looked for the source in unexplored intergalactic territories.
After investigating the noises, they learned the sounds are coming from cosmic waves that ripple at the same frequency as human hearing.
According to Allison Jaynes, a space physicist at the University of Iowa who wasn’t involved in the work, this is an incredible discovery that raises questions about the area’s physics.
The chirps, known as chorus waves, have been detected on radio antennas in the Antarctic and spacecraft since the 1960s.
The twin spacecraft, NASA’s Van Allen Probes, heard the noises from the Earth’s radiation belts, which is far closer than the new detection.
The last recorded sighting was in 2015 when NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites were launched to explore the sun and Earth’s magnetic fields.
Chorus waves can cause harmful radiation to humans and satellites, but the origin of these waves and how they change is highly debated.
The phenomenon has been spotted near other planets like Jupiter and Saturn.
Those waves are so powerful they can produce high-energy electrons capable of scrambling satellite communications.
“They are one of the strongest and most significant waves in space,” study author Chengming Liu from Beihand University told the Associated Press.
For now, most scientists believe that chorus waves form as some sort of interaction with the Earth’s magnetic field.
However, these newfound chirps were located in an area where the field is stretched out, leaving scientists in shock.
“It’s very captivating, very compelling,” said Jaynes.
“We definitely need to find more of these events.”
Nuclear space travel – how does it work?
Here’s what you need to know…
- A nuclear rocket is a popular concept for space travel
- The most widely proposed design is a nuclear thermal rocket
- This involves taking a fluid like liquid hydrogen
- This would then be heated to a very high temperature in a nuclear reactor
- It would expand through a rocket nuzzle, creating thrust
- This thrust would be able to propel an object (like a spaceship) through space
- Although design and testing has taken place, no nuclear thermal rockets have flown to date
- Nasa and Russia are both still interested in the technology, however
FULL SPEED AHEAD
NASA also recently provided an update on the Parker spacecraft’s historic mission toward the sun.
The daring spacecraft flew just 3.8 million miles from the sun’s surface, which is the closest in history.
As it creeped toward the fiery star, Parker withstood 1,800 F temperatures and moved at up to 430,000 mph.
The craft has been preparing since 2018 for the mission, and NASA was happy to report it was a success.
The group said they will now better understand how the sun’s materials can heat, investigate the origin of solar winds, and discovery how energetic particles are accelerated to light speed.
The mission is set to send in September 2025.
What is the ISS?
Here’s what you need to know about the International Space Station…
- The International Space Station, often abbreviated to ISS, is a large space craft that orbits Earth and houses astronauts who go up there to complete scientific missions
- Many countries worked together to build it and they work together to use it
- It is made up of many pieces, which astronauts had to send up individually on rockets and put together from 1998 to 2000
- Ever since the year 2000, people have lived on the ISS
- Nasa uses the station to learn about living and working in space
- It is approximately 250 miles above Earth and orbits around the planet just like a satellite
- Living inside the ISS is said to be like living inside a big house with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a gym, lots of science labs and a big bay window for viewing Earth
