Since launching in 1977, Voyager 1 has traveled farther than any human-made object, crossing into interstellar space in 2012. Now, over 15 billion miles from Earth, it’s detecting something remarkable: a low-frequency “cosmic hum”.
This eerie sound isn’t audible to human ears—it's a series of plasma waves picked up by Voyager’s instruments. These waves are generated when the solar wind—charged particles from the Sun—collides with the interstellar medium, the thin soup of gas and dust between stars.
What’s causing the hum?
Solar Wind Interactions: Collisions between solar particles and interstellar gas create ripples in space plasma.
Cosmic Clues: The hum reveals key info about the density, composition, and magnetic fields of the space between stars.
Thanks to Voyager 1’s Plasma Wave Science instrument, scientists now have a new way to explore the unseen structure of our galaxy.
In a region no spacecraft has ever reached, Voyager is still sending whispers from the void—and we're listening.
Since launching in 1977, Voyager 1 has traveled farther than any human-made object, crossing into interstellar space in 2012. Now, over 15 billion miles from Earth, it’s detecting something remarkable: a low-frequency “cosmic hum”.
This eerie sound isn’t audible to human ears—it's a series of plasma waves picked up by Voyager’s instruments. These waves are generated when the solar wind—charged particles from the Sun—collides with the interstellar medium, the thin soup of gas and dust between stars.
📡 What’s causing the hum?
Solar Wind Interactions: Collisions between solar particles and interstellar gas create ripples in space plasma.
Cosmic Clues: The hum reveals key info about the density, composition, and magnetic fields of the space between stars.
Thanks to Voyager 1’s Plasma Wave Science instrument, scientists now have a new way to explore the unseen structure of our galaxy.
✨ In a region no spacecraft has ever reached, Voyager is still sending whispers from the void—and we're listening.
