Sonification of Exoplanet Transit Light Curves from the Kepler Mission

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Authors: Emily Liao
Cited by: 0

Abstract

There is a plethora of publicly accessible data on the light curves of exoplanet transits that are more often represented using visual graphs. This project aims to make the data more accessible by sonifying the light curve data, presenting it through audio means and picking up patterns not visible through data visualization. Data was taken from the Kepler mission from the NASA Exoplanet Archive, and Python libraries such as lightkurve and MIDIutil were used to sonify the data. The flux was mapped to frequency, amplitude, note duration, and musical pitches. In each of the sonifications, the transits were clearly audible. This project could aid in accessibility of scientific data for the visually impaired, education, fusing of music and science, and pattern detection.

Fields of Study & Subjects

History and Developments in Astronomy Historical Astronomy and Related Studies Tactile and Sensory Interactions

Publication details

Journal / source
Scholarly review .
Volume
Winter 2025/2026
Issue
15
Publication date
5 January 2026
Language
EN