While noise is constant on Earth, it is often completely absent in outer space. So, what could the solar system sound like if we put Earth's noise in it? In a new episode of the podcast series "Twenty Thousand Hertz", NASA scientists explore the factors that alter or prohibit sound waves at a particular planet. For one thing, Mercury has no atmosphere for reverberations to travel through. Thus, it would be very quiet on its surface.
However, vibrations could be heard if someone presses his or her ear to the ground. On the contrary, Venus has a very thick carbon dioxide. Sound waves may feel muffled because they are passing through something thicker than air but thinner than water.
Live Science reported that it is almost impossible for sound waves to move on Mars because its atmosphere is thinner than Earth. Therefore, there would be "very few" molecules for audios to pass. For one thing, the movie "The Martian" is actually quieter in real life.
On the other hand, Jupiter is probably one of the loudest planets in the solar system. Exaggerated thunder and lightning bolts would sound "really, really, loud." On the podcast, the chief of the planetary systems lab at Goddard, Keith Noll, explained that the gas giant has a lot of cloud layers so any noise will create many bounces. Theoretically, one sound will have numerous echoes.
Per the official website of Twenty Thousand Hertz, Dallas Taylor hosts each of the 15-minute episodes. Taylor is a renowned sound designer who has worked with mixing sounds for news, sports programs, and even video games. He noted that the podcast, featured on the same site, showcases the world's "most recognizable and interesting sounds." Reportedly, the Mars 2020 rover will carry a sophisticated microphone to the Red Planet to better record natural sounds of another planet.
