In space nobody can hear you scream. There might be no soundwaves but there are plenty of other kinds of waves!
On 20 August 2024, Juice flew past Earth with a closest approach of just 6840 km. The aim was to change Juice’s speed and direction, helping to guide it on its journey to Jupiter.
ESA also took the opportunity to activate Juice’s science instruments. This gave scientists the chance to collect data from a planet for the first time in space, helping them calibrate their instruments and make sure that they are 100% ready for arrival at Jupiter.
One of the instruments switched on was the Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI), designed to measure the radio emission and plasma environment of Jupiter and its icy moons.
As Juice flew past Earth, RPWI ‘listened’ to radio waves from our home planet and from the Sun. The team then combined this data into an audio soundtrack, allowing us to ‘hear’ the radio wave environment around Earth.
Right at the beginning of the track, we hear roaring radio bursts from the northern and southern lights (auroras). During the middle part of the track, as Juice passed closest to Earth, we hear an increasing then decreasing tone representing the radio emissions from electrons surrounding our home planet flying close to the RPWI antennas. Finally at the end of the track we hear some laser-esque ‘pew’ noises – these represent radio bursts produced by electrons flying from the Sun.