Sonification of Exoplanet Discoveries by Month

Listen to exoplanets! Explore all known exoplanets — planets discovered beyond our solar system — visualized in WorldWide Telescope across a 2D all-sky map and a 3D Milky Way galaxy where audio pitch corresponds to how fast a planet orbits around its host star.

• Sonify: Press play to hear exoplanet discoveries unfold through time — each planet's orbital period maps to a guitar note. Higher-pitched notes correspond to shorter orbital periods (fast orbits close to their star); lower-pitched notes correspond to longer orbital periods (slow orbits farther out). Single-click plays from the current year; double-click (or when the timeline is at the end) restarts from 1992.
• Navigate: Click & drag (or touch drag) to pan. Scroll wheel or pinch to zoom.
• Timeline: Drag the year slider to show only exoplanets discovered up to that year. The slider also controls where play begins if you single-click it.
• Switch views: Press "View 3D Galaxy / View 2D Sky" to toggle between all-sky imagery and a 3D Milky Way.
• Identify (mobile): Use the reticle button to enable the planet reticle. Pan the sky so an exoplanet enters the reticle ring to hear its tone and see its details. Tap the button again to dismiss it.
• Identify (desktop): Hover over a dot to see its name, discovery method, and distance — and hear its orbital-period tone.
• Search: Use the magnifying glass button to find a specific exoplanet by name and jump to it on the sky.
• Discovery Types: Use the discovery types menu to show or hide planets by how they were found.
• Sky surveys (2D only): Open Crossfade Sky Survey from the menu to blend between optical and other wavelength views, then tap Change Sky Survey to pick a dataset.