If you believe that Earth is a planet where there's no place for mystery, you might change
your opinion soon.
For years, scientists have been struggling to explain bizarre sounds - some repeating,
some heard only once - that fill the atmosphere of our planet.
From bewildering hums to worrying sonic booms and bloops, yes, bloops -- the air is literally
filled with outlandish acoustic phenomena.
And most of these sounds still leave researchers scratching their heads.
1.
The Upsweep This long train of sounds was registered for
the first time in 1991 in the Pacific Ocean.
One of the most unusual things about this signal is that it keeps changing, as if trying
to confuse researchers even more.
Thus, like some unearthly howl, it varies from high to low frequencies and then back
again, and you can hear it better in the spring and fall than in the winter and summer.
But why "the Upsweep"?
It's simple: the sound travels from the bottom of the ocean toward its surface, as if sweeping
up.
Scientists have a theory explaining this phenomenon - and it's the activity of undersea volcanoes.
Hot lava that's pouring into ice-cold ocean water could theoretically create such noises,
but there’s no solid proof yet.
2.
Skyquakes You don't need to travel to a particular part
of the world to hear a skyquake.
Mysterious sonic booms ramble from the skies everywhere, from the US to India and Japan.
Interestingly, this sound phenomenon occurs mostly near the coast or a big body of water.
Rattling glassware and windows in nearby houses, skyquakes could relate to military airplanes
breaking the sound barrier... except for the fact that people started to hear the first
skyquakes in 1824!
Anyway, there are other explanations for the mysterious booms as well.
For example, scientists believe that near a coast, skyquakes can be caused by huge waves
crashing against the rocks.
Sand dunes, apparently, can also be responsible for the deafening booms.
Other theories include meteors entering the atmosphere, distant volcano eruptions, the
cracking of the Earth's crust caused by earthquakes, and even gas bursting out of underground vents
in the sea or a lake bottom.
Never mind the stories of gas bursting out of my bottom!
Oh, did I say that?
Pardon me.
3.
The Sound of Apocalypse In different countries around the world, people
have been paralyzed with fear after hearing otherworldly trumpet sounds that seem to be
coming from the sky.
The inhabitants of Russia, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Philippines have
already heard this hair-raising noise since it was first recorded in 2008.
Until recently, nobody could understand the origin of the sounds, but these days NASA
claims that there's nothing to be afraid of.
The noise could be a naturally occurring sound from our own planet.
Usually, it's quiet and, thus, inaudible to the human ear.
But when it gets louder, the outcome is the very trumpet sounds that scare people all
over the world.
4.
Bristol Hum It started in the 1970s, when hundreds of
Bristol's inhabitants began to complain about a bizarre noise audible only at night.
The noise was a low-level hum, and nobody could identify or trace the source of the
sounds.
But the strangest thing about the noise was that one day, it stopped as abruptly as it’d
started, but not before the people in other towns across Britain reported hearing similar
sounds.
Some time ago, the mysterious sound returned.
In 2015, a group of French scientists claimed that they’d solved the mystery of the Bristol
Hum.
They stated that the culprit was ocean waves that made the ocean floor vibrate.
But while that’s all good and well, it didn't explain why the sound was only around for
several years, or why it chose to return.
My theory?
Well, Bristol hums, because it doesn’t know the words.
Yeah that’s an old one…
5.
The Taos Hum If you ever come to the town of Taos in New
Mexico, don't let another strange and unexplained phenomenon send you running for the hills.
This phenomenon is a faint low-frequency hum ringing in the desert air, and grating on
your nerves.
Even stranger, only 2 percent of the people who live in Taos hear this noise.
But for those who do, it's unstoppable torture.
On top of that, everyone describes the sound in a different way: from a quiet whir to an
eerie hum or even a persistent buzz.
And while some people believe that the Taos Hum is the result of unusual acoustics, and
others suspect a serious case of mass hysteria, no-one has located the origin of the hum yet.
6.
The Whistle Ever heard that annoying sound when a kettle
of boiling water is informing you that it's time to make a cup of tea?
Well, then you can imagine what the Whistle sounds like.
But even though it may not be as bloodcurdling as some other unexplained sounds, it doesn't
make it any less mysterious.
On top of that, the Whistle is very elusive.
In 1997, only one underwater microphone was able to pick it up, and, therefore, researchers
didn't manage to pinpoint the source of the noise.
The most likely cause of the unusual sound is an eruption of one of the submarine volcanoes.
But, once again, scientists don't have enough proof to make sure.
7.
The Bloop Let's admit it, the nickname of this noise
sounds far less scary than the thing really was.
It mimicked the noise created by marine animals, but its volume was so great that no living
creature known to science could have made it!
When the Bloop occurred, underwater microphones managed to record it from a distance of a
whopping 3,000 miles away!
One of the most powerful and famous unexplained sounds on our planet, The Bloop was recorded
in 1997 by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and continued for approximately
1 minute.
It started as a low rumble, and gradually rose in frequency.
Rumor has it that the noise could be connected with the fictional half-octopus monster, whose
name I can’t pronounce, but will try: Cthulhu, or some other colossal deep-water creature
with an easier name.
But if you don't believe in monsters, science has another explanation - iceberg fracturing.
The thing is that "icequakes" recorded in the Scotia Sea resemble the mysterious Bloop
a bit too much.
8.
Slow Down For the first time, Slow Down was recorded
on May 19, 1997, not far from the Antarctic Peninsula.
Sensors that were located almost 3,100 miles apart managed to detect this sound.
The noise got its curious name because it usually lasts for about 7 minutes, gradually
decreasing in frequency.
Over the years, this sound repeated in the same region, and it made researchers believe
that drifting icebergs that hit the seafloor and came to a screeching halt could be the
source of the weird phenomenon.
On the other hand, there are, again, those who blame a giant squid for scaring people
with such sound effects.
9.
The Loneliest Whale This sound is often called "52-hertz whale"
because the animal that creates it calls at a unique frequency for these creatures - 52
hertz.
When you listen to this noise, it sounds like a low bass note.
At the same time, it's much higher than the normal frequency of a whale call, which registers
between 10 and 40 Hertz.
Interestingly, scientists have been listening to the world's loneliest whale for decades,
but haven't managed to figure out its precise location.
Nobody knows whether the mammal is male or female, what its species is, or if the animal
is still alive.
After all, its call was recorded for the last time in 2004.
Aw…
10.
Julia When you first hear this noise, you might
think that someone's whining or cooing at a distance.
The eerie sound was first heard on March 1, 1999, and it was so loud that the whole underwater
microphone network of the equatorial Pacific Ocean was able to record it.
Scientists claim that the sound could be made by an Antarctic iceberg that ran aground,
but then, what size must this iceberg be to create so much noise?
11.
Storms of Jupiter As NASA's Juno spacecraft was approaching
its destination - Jupiter - on July 4, 2016, it recorded a bizarre mixture of roaring and
screeching sounds.
This cacophony wouldn't stop for more than 2 hours; the amount of time it took Juno to
cross the boundary of the planet's super-strong magnetic field.
Astronomers think that the sounds could be generated by supersonic winds coming from
the sun, or the collision of Jupiter's magnetic fields.
However, these theories are yet to be proved.
What about you?
Juno?
Nah, me neither.
12.
A Singing Black Hole Not only have astronomers confirmed that black
holes can sing, but they've actually found one that's been doing it for 2 billion years!
It’s a supermassive black hole located approximately 250 million light-years away from our planet.
Scientists say that the black hole has been performing the longest-lasting symphony known
to us humans, and this symphony is being played at the lowest note in the universe at that!
And if it’s that much gravity, well, I’ll bet that note B flat!
What about you?
Have you ever heard bizarre sounds you couldn't explain?
Let me know down in the comments!
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