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Modern computation generates data -- lots and lots of data. Obtaining scientific knowledge from the results requires synthesizing vast datasets into fundamental understanding. A single image is unrivaled in its ability to produce not only insight but also beauty, revealing as a distillate what otherwise remains impenetrably hidden: 'a picture is worth a thousand terabytes.'

In visualization many aesthetic choices must be made. While an image from a computer simulation or a vast dataset can be functional, it can also be aesthetic. Astrophysics is a discipline rich in natural beauty, from planets and stars to galaxies and the large-scale structure of the Universe.

This project is dedicated to the most arresting, most captivating, and most pioneering visualization efforts in computational astrophysics. The hope is to inspire and motivate work beyond the functional, and to capture the evolving language of design within the context of our humble corner of space.

Have a suggestion or an amazing example? Suggestions are always welcome.

Dylan Nelson

turbulent solar wind

2d, solar

interstellar medium plasmoids

3d, idealized, star-formation

black hole flux eruption

3d, idealized, black-hole

evolving cosmic density

3d, cosmological, large-scale

tangled cluster magnetism

3d, cosmological, halo

black hole binary

3d, idealized, black-hole

light in the dark

3d, cosmological, large-scale, b&w

space-time density fluctuations

idealized, 1d

ionizing escape

3d, idealized, galaxy

reionization protocluster

3d, cosmological, large-scale

space-time turbulence

idealized, 1d

stratified thermal instability

2d, idealized

protoplanetary turbulence

3d, planet

protoplanetary disk gaps

2d, idealized, planet

plasmoid expulsion

2d, idealized, solar

anvil of creation

3d, star-formation

quasar reionization

3d, cosmological, large-scale, b&w

gravity of Venus

2d, planet, solar

current sheet tearing instability

2d, idealized

accelerated particle beams

3d, solar

cosmic skeleton

3d, cosmological, large-scale, datavis

magnetic plasmoid

3d, idealized

advective-reactive nucleosynthesis

3d, stellar

general relativistic instability supernova

2d, stellar

magnetic turbulence

2d, idealized

galactic wind

3d, idealized, galaxy

convective carbon shell

3d, stellar

topological string

3d

binary neutron star merger

3d, stellar

the cosmological axion

3d, cosmological, large-scale

van gogh's ocean

2d, idealized

eruptive flux ropes

3d, solar

end of the dark ages

3d, cosmological, large-scale

magnetized cold streams

2d, idealized

microlensing caustics

b&w

to the free streaming scale

3d, cosmological, large-scale

landscape of the early universe

3d, cosmological, star-formation

nu^2 GC

3d, cosmological, large-scale

virial shock isosurfaces

3d, cosmological, halo

colliding galaxies

3d, idealized, galaxy

collimated galactic winds

3d, cosmological, halo

merging neutron stars

3d, stellar

worlds

planet, datavis

luminous blue variable

3d, stellar

magnetic field of a star

3d, b&w, stellar

molecular cloud collapse

3d, star-formation

sailing vivamus

3d, cosmological, large-scale

delaunay cosmic web

3d, cosmological, large-scale

stalking the shadow universe

3d, cosmological, large-scale

the network behind the cosmic web

3d, cosmological, large-scale, b&w

planet-disc interaction

2d, idealized, planet

magnetorotational supernova in 3D

3d, stellar

au6 magnetic field

3d, cosmological, galaxy

dark matter streams

3d, cosmological, large-scale

the large-scale structure of cosmic shocks

3d, cosmological, large-scale, b&w

convective galaxy clusters

3d, idealized, halo