Demonstrating how to turn light into sound
Ahead of the total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026, ESA organised a day of activities in León, Spain. This event was organised in collaboration with the City of León and the University of León.
This photo shows the 'An inclusive eclipse' workshop, provided by ESA's CESAR science education team, which demonstrated tools to experience an eclipse without using your eyes. The red box held by the presenter in this photo is a LightSound device, which turns changes in light into changes in sound. This is a form of sonification: turning data into sound.
This can be used during a solar eclipse as follows. As the Moon progressively covers more of the Sun, the LightSound device emits a sound whose pitch becomes progressively lower and softer, until it disappears completely during totality. This provides a different way of experiencing an eclipse, also making it more accessible for people with impaired vision.
[Image description: A woman stands on the left, pointing at a red box she has held up in her other hand. The box is connected by a cable to a computer on a table in front of her. On the other side of the table, several people wearing headphones look on with concentrated faces. More headphones lie on the table, and further along, more people wearing headphones are paying attention to another part of the 'An inclusive eclipse' workshop.]
