Study: Sun sounds cause the Earth to shake

PARIS, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- European Space Agency scientists have proved sounds generated deep inside the sun cause the Earth to shake and vibrate.

Researchers involved in the HISCALE experiment -- Heliosphere Instrument for Spectra, Composition and Anisotropy at Low Energies -- aboard the Ulysses spacecraft also found Earth’s magnetic field, atmosphere and terrestrial systems are also affected by the sound vibrations.

The researchers -- David Thomson, Louis Lanzerotti, Frank Vernon, Marc Lessard and Lindsay Smith -- have determined distinct, isolated tones, predicted to be generated by pressure and gravity waves in the sun, manage to reach Earth and are detectable in our environment.

The scientists discovered the tones in seismic data and have found them in voltages induced on ocean cables, along with a wide variety of terrestrial systems.

Although the tones are all around us, they are undetectable by the human ear.

The Ulysses spacecraft is a joint project of the European Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.