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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

evolving cosmic density

3d, cosmological, large-scale

tangled cluster magnetism

3d, cosmological, halo

light in the dark

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

reionization protocluster

3d, cosmological, large-scale

quasar reionization

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

cosmic skeleton

3d, cosmological, large-scale, datavis

the cosmological axion

3d, cosmological, large-scale

end of the dark ages

3d, cosmological, large-scale

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

collimated galactic winds

3d, cosmological, halo

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

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