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The Musical Universe- Black Hole Hums a Low B Flat

December 17th, 2007

       A few years ago a very interesting universal phenomenon was discovered and reported.  A note was detected coming from the Perseus cluster of galaxies.  A supermassive black hole is emanating a sound wave with an unbelievable amount of energy.  This pitch has been sounding for at least 2.5 billion years and it turns out that it is a B Flat.   I remember the day when I read about this.  Being a double bassist and usually playing the lowest sounding instrument in the orchestra , I sprang up in my chair and was fascinated.  I love reading about astronomy and have always looked for links between the construction of the universe and the architecture and execution of music.  There are several paths one can go down with this comparison.  For the sake of time and writing space, this example is a great one on which to elaborate. 

       Throughout history, music and astronomy have always gone hand in hand.  Man has stood gazing at the heavens and has pondered the natural world as long as we were able to do so.  In the days of Ancient Greece, Pythagoras and Plato philosophized often about the Music of the Spheres.  This concept was that planets orbiting around the earth produced a wonderful sound.  Every celestial body had a specific ratio of distance just like the musical scale.  Thus what we are left with is the divine harmony of the heavens.  Galileo was raised in a musical family.  Countless paintings adorn the world’s most breathtaking cathedrals with the pictures of angles playing music.  With the glorious sounds of trumpets and harps,  the music was in the clouds.   In 1619, Johannes Kepler published Harmonices Mundi.  His findings in the work correlating planetary movements with harmonic motion. 

       Perhaps we are returning to looking at the stars and experiencing the musical structure of the universe.  The B Flat is 52 octaves lower than the piano and is not audible to the human ear.  With a frequency over a million, billion times deeper than what humans can hear, it is the deepest note ever detected from an object in the Universe.  Pitch and rhythm are the basic building blocks of music.  Along with this sonorous Black hole, I thought it was appropriate to add a video of a Pulsar.  This one comes from the Crab Nebula.  This represents the pulse of the cosmos. 

      One can only imagine what the scientists of the past would say if they could observe these phenomena today.  The instincts of man have always been connected to the harmony of the heavens and how amazing is it that we can now observed it with our own eyes.  In this incredible golden age of astronomy, it is now mankind’s turn to be the audience to this cosmic, celestial symphony.  Albert Einstein was also a prolific, amateur violinist.  I have added one of my favorite quotes of his below. 

       “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. … I get most joy in life out of music.”   Albert Einstein

       For more information about this Black Hole, you can visit NASA’s website by clicking here.  

Entry Filed under: The Musical Universe