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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

interstellar medium plasmoids

3d, idealized, star-formation

black hole flux eruption

3d, idealized, black-hole

black hole binary

3d, idealized, black-hole

space-time density fluctuations

idealized, 1d

ionizing escape

3d, idealized, galaxy

space-time turbulence

idealized, 1d

stratified thermal instability

2d, idealized

protoplanetary disk gaps

2d, idealized, planet

plasmoid expulsion

2d, idealized, solar

current sheet tearing instability

2d, idealized

magnetic plasmoid

3d, idealized

magnetic turbulence

2d, idealized

galactic wind

3d, idealized, galaxy

van gogh's ocean

2d, idealized

magnetized cold streams

2d, idealized

colliding galaxies

3d, idealized, galaxy

planet-disc interaction

2d, idealized, planet

convective galaxy clusters

3d, idealized, halo