HIGHLIGHTS

The Juno probe recorded the sound of Ganymede.

The sound was obtained by Juno's Waves sensor during a flyby of Jupiter earlier this year. 

WHAT'S IN THE NEWS

Researchers are firing all weapons to learn more about the planet around us, from our Moon to Mars to Jupiter. While the present attention is on the Moon and Mars, a probe orbiting Jupiter already exists. Juno is a probe whose mission is to learn about the origins and evolution of the solar system's biggest planet. Juno managed to catch some unusual views and sounds of Jupiter and its biggest moon Ganymede after a flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede earlier this year.

The images of the gas giant's 'surface' are breathtaking, but the sound of Ganymede is the true holiday gift for space fans. The 50-second audio file was uploaded on YouTube by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Juno's Waves instrument recorded the sound. Around the 30-second mark, the pitch takes a sharp turn. The rapid change, according to researchers, signals the spacecraft's transition from one section of Ganymede's magnetosphere to another.

In a statement, Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton stated, 'This soundtrack is just crazy enough to make you feel like you're riding along as Juno sails past Ganymede for the first time in more than two decades. ' Another scientist, William Kurth, speculated that the quick change in frequency of the sound may be related to Ganymede's transition from night to day.

Astronomers have discovered a planet 10 times the size of Jupiter around a pair of massive stars :

Astronomers have discovered a 10-times-larger-than-Jupiter planet around a pair of gigantic, extremely hot stars, long considered to be too hostile for a planet to develop. The planet is known as 'b Centauri (AB)b' or 'b Centauri b' by scientists. The planet 'B-type' dual star 'emits large amounts of high-energy ultraviolet and X-ray radiation, both of which have a strong impact on the surrounding gas that should work against planet formation,' according to the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which photographed the planet from its Very Large Telescope in the Chilean desert. In the Centaurus constellation, the stars and planet are in the centre of a solar system. The planet b Centauri (AB) b is an exoplanet, meaning it exists outside of our solar system. According to the researchers, their findings reveal that planets may develop in considerably more massive star systems than prior research had shown. It is one of the largest planets ever discovered, being ten times the size of Jupiter. The planet's orbit, according to the observatory, is 'one of the largest ever known,' measuring 100 times the distance between Jupiter and the sun. 'This great separation from the centre pair of stars might be crucial to the planet's existence,' it continued.

The finding was found in July and was officially reported this week in the journal Nature. 'The discovery casts doubt on prevailing models of planet and star formation,' the researchers write.