Messier 104 (M104 for short), located about 28 million light-years from Earth, is one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster. As seen from Earth, the galaxy is tilted almost edge-on, allowing us to see its bright core and the spiral arms that surround it. By sonifying this data, we can listen to each type of light separately or together. Either option starts at the top and sweeps down the image. Brightness controls volume and pitch, meaning the brightest sources in the image are the loudest and highest frequencies. Data from the three telescopes are associated with different types of sounds. Chandra’s X-rays sound like a synthesizer, Spitzer’s infrared data are strings, and Hubble’s optical light sounds like bells. The galaxy's core, its dust lanes and spiral arms, as well as point sources of X-rays are all audible elements in the sonification of these data.

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