ESA has published a “musification” of the 12 August 2026 total solar eclipse, an artistic interpretation of data in which the eclipse determines when and how much of each sound is heard. The collaboration involves ESA’s CESAR team and Rubén García Benito of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), using nine parameters from a Stellarium simulation of the eclipse as viewed from the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre in Spain.

In the piece, an arpeggio represents visible sunlight, its rhythm, near-four-octave range and volume shaped by the light, with the chord following the sky’s colour. A background pad darkens as light becomes redder and warmer, while a deep bass conveys the weight of darkness, deepest during totality. A heartbeat reflects how quickly light is falling and comes to rest during totality; bells mark the contacts C1, C2, maximum eclipse and C3, with no C4 because the Sun sets before the eclipse ends. Shimmering sound accompanies the corona during totality, a descending whoosh marks the Sun disappearing below the horizon, a low drone signals the onset of night, and soft sparkling tones represent stars visible at night but not during totality. The data govern behaviour, while scale and pattern are artistic choices in some elements.