The Atlantic

NASA Just Released the Song of the Summer

The plasma waves between Saturn and its icy moon Enceladus sound like eerie music to our ears.
Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

In Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” a sweeping, seven-part composition inspired by Earth’s neighbors in the solar system, the song of Saturn begins softly, with the gentle hum of flutes. The melody, solemn and nostalgic, marches slowly forward. Then the woodwinds subside, and there’s an explosion of sound, a frenzy of horns and clanging bells. Melancholy seems to morph into menace. The roar is brief, and the movement returns to its opening softness, closing on the dreamy whisper of violins.

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