In a new video released this week, scientists have unveiled the most accurate computer simulation of the formation of out universe.
Dubbed, the "Illustris" simulation, the new video is accurate in depictions of the metals, gasses and other materials in space. According to the Los Angeles Times, the model could pass as an image taken by the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Space Telescope.
"Watching the video is like flying through the universe way faster than the speed of light and watching galaxies as they are assembling," study researcher Paul Torrey, an astronomy graduate student at Harvard, told the LAT.
A multi-institutional collaboration, the researchers published a study in the journal Nature to accompany the simulation.
The original simulation video was far too complex to release to the public, as it needed the capacity of a supercomputer to run. One from Germany and one from France produced the video the scientists released.
"Black holes do swallow material, but when they are doing that they also release a lot of energy that can lead to large-scale outflows," Torrey said. "The presence of these black holes substantially alters galaxy formation."
Study co-author Dr. Debora Sijacki, of Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy, said the simulation required 12 billion 3-D pixels to produce the astonishing detail.
"The Illustris simulation is a remarkable technical achievement," Sijacki told Cambridge News. "It shows us for the first time how the bewildering variety of galaxies and the supermassive black holes at their centers have formed."
The team also developed a tool called the Illustris Explorer, which allows people to zoom in on specific parts of the simulated universe. For the research team, this simulation is the start of their work because now they can use it to conduct further studies.
"Our work here has only just begun," Torrey told the LAT. "Now that we have this model, our job is to understand it in as much detail as possible."
