Painting graphs with sounds: CosMonic sonification project

TL;DR

CosMonic is a sonification project that transforms astronomical data into sounds and visuals to enhance understanding, accessibility, and artistic inspiration, especially for visually impaired audiences.

Contribution

This work introduces specific sonification cases for inclusive astronomy outreach, combining audio and visual methods to improve accessibility and engagement.

Findings

Created sonification cases for blind and partially sighted audiences.

Enhanced understanding of astrophysics through sound and animation.

Shared experiences and ideas for inclusive outreach using sonification.

Abstract

CosMOnic (COSmos harMONIC) is a sonification project with a triple purpose: analysis (by means of sounds) of any type of data, source of inspiration for artistic creations, and pedagogical and dissemination purposes. In this contribution we present the work recently produced by CosMonic in the latter field, creating specific cases for the inclusive astronomy dissemination project AstroAccesible for blind and partially sighted people, but also aimed at a general public that wants to understand astrophysics in an alternative format. For this project, CosMonic seeks to create simple astronomical cases in their acoustic dimension in order to be easily understood. CosMonic's philosophy for these sonifications can be summarized in a simple metaphor: painting graphs with sounds. Sonification is a powerful tool that helps to enhance visual information. Therefore, CosMonic accompanies its audios with animations, using complementary methods to reach a general public. In addition to provide some cases created by CosMonic for inclusive astronomy, we also share our experience with different audiences, as well as suggest some ideas for a better use of sonification in (global) inclusive outreach.