The CNN program "Science and Technology Week" for
Saturday February 24, had a very short but interesting little
story.  NASA scientists had captured the output of the Sun over a
period of time and converted this signal in to a series of
samples which were then sped up 42,000 times their actual time
and converted in to audio.

        The sound is like a base note around 100 or so Hertz
proving that the Sun pulsates for the most part very regularly.
Occasionally, however, something happens on the Sun that shakes
things up a bit and the steady hum fades out and becomes a hum
that also flickers in and out like somebody turning the volume up
and down in a random manner.  The effect is kind of like hearing
a bad piece of tape go by in an otherwise good recording.

        The signals were recorded from a satellite that
constantly watches the Sun so it is not bothered by night,
clouds, or other Earthly problems.  Since the Sun is a big ball
of gas, disturbances on the side away from us make the whole Sun
shake and bubble like a blob of Jello so scientists hope to be
able to "listen" to the Sun and know when something really nasty
has happened on the part of the Sun that we can not see at any
given time.  You might say that the Sun is its own seismograph
indicator.


Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK
OSU Center for Computing and Information Services Data Communications Group