Cluster Music Sonification: Caldwell 73

Located 40,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Columba, this globular cluster is called Caldwell 73 or NGC 1851. A globular cluster is a spherical group of stars that are gravitationally bound to each other, with most of the stars concentrated at the cluster’s center.

As the radar scans around in this sonification, the radius of the stars is mapped to pitch, so stars farther from the center are higher pitched. The entire image is converted to the sound of a choir, while the orange and red stars are represented by a marimba, and the blue stars are represented by a glockenspiel.