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

galactic wind

Galactic winds (or "outflows") are made up of gas driven out of galaxies by energy released from star formation related activity (supernovae), or by accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole. During a starburst-driven wind, supernova bubbles within the galactic disk overlap and begin to collectively drive motion which propagates from scales of just a few parsecs, out to tens of kiloparsecs away. This volume rendering highlights the density structure of an idealized galactic wind simulation.

Methods: CHOLLA code; NVIDIA IndeX renderer

date added Oct. 25, 2019

categories 3d, idealized, galaxy

author Evan Schneider

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