The Eye of Sauron: NASA shares eerie sonification of Helix Nebula

The Helix Nebula, nicknamed “The Eye of Sauron,” has been turned into sound. It sits 655 light-years away and spans 3 light-years across, formed when a low-mass star shed its outer material near the end of its life. In this sonification by SYSTEM Sounds, the image is scanned from left to right: red light is assigned lower pitches and blue light higher pitches, just as light frequencies rise from red to blue and sound frequencies rise from low to high. Video credit- Image: NASA, ESA, C. R. O’Dell, M. Meixner, P. McCullough, G. Bacon | Sonification: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)