Stars produce ghostly whistling, drumming, humming or rumbling sounds, said Kurtz, though their frequencies—or speeds of vibration—must be artificially boosted to bring them into human hearing range.
Kurtz has demonstrated how Bach would sound if played by the stars, combining pitches from different stars into a computer-projected melody. He also used helium, cymbals and bottles to recreate stellar sounds.
“Stars have natural vibrations that are sound waves, just as musical instruments do,” Kurtz explained. “In the case of an instrument such as a horn, the cause of the vibrations is the musician blowing on the horn and buzzing his or her lips at a frequency that matches the natural vibrations of the horn. For the star, the vibrations start by changes in the passage of energy from the nuclear inferno in the heart of the star on its way to the surface, and escape into space.”
Early last year, researchers published a paper noting that a massive quake had left a so-called neutron star vibrating like a bell, sounding a note corresponding to what humans designate as F sharp. Early this year, scientists reported that not only stars vibrate musically—the whole Milky Way is oscillating as well, like a drumhead.
“Understanding the sounds of the stars is important for our understanding of the formation of the solar system and the Earth,” Kurtz said. Using asteroseismology, “We can even monitor dangerous ‘active’ regions on the far side of the Sun.” These stormy zones can later send out blasts that create geomagnetic storms on Earth, leading to power failures and radio disruption.