What sound do shooting star make ? It might sound like a stupid question , but it ’s actually rather surprising – and evenly interesting , too .

Theansweris that a meteor burning up in our atmosphere can bring forth the auditory sensation of rustling foliage or   faint voicelessness   to beholder on the ground . The intellect is due to the bright light raise as it burns up .

As explained in a late clause inScientific Reports , led by Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico , the procedure is known as photoacoustic coupling . When the meteor produces a bright light , lasting up to two mo or more , the pulses of light can inflame the surfaces of things on the ground , such as leaf , grass , glowering paint , and even your hair .

“ The surface rapidly warm and lead heat into the nearby zephyr , generating press waves , ” the article notes . “ A taking over of clear - pulse - produced pressure waves can then evidence as auditory sensation to a nearby observer . ”

Alexander Graham Bell first noticed the effect back in 1888 , watch how sunlight produced sounds when impacting on a variety of materials . Other inquiry haspicked up on this effectbefore .

This explanation helps to solve a conundrum about meteors , namely how they can be accompany by a easy hissing phone , but well before legal wave from the event should have reached us .

“ The photoacoustic hypothesis provides an alternate explanation for this longstanding whodunit about generation of concurrent sound by fireballs , ” the generator of the clause wrote .

In their experimentation , the authors used a assortment of materials to come to their termination , including a browned wig , dark cloth , and wood . The wig was find to produce a sound at about 40 decibel when hit by luminousness of a specific frequency , which is slightly more than a whisper ( 30 decibel ) and rustle leave of absence ( 20 dB ) .

There are other factor that will affect whether you hear a shooting star or not , though . These include being in a restrained surroundings , the brightness level of the shooting star , and the frequency of the illumination it emits .

But if everything is in your favour , the next time you see a meteoroid , it might – just might – be accompanied by a small whisper .